5 Creative Moves the New York Jets Can Pull on Draft Day

Just when you think you have all the answers to how the NFL draft will go down, commissioner Roger Goodell says those fate-changing words:

"There has been a trade…"

With months to come up with a plan, general managers will do whatever they can in order to acquire the prospects they covet the most of all—sometimes, that means moving around the draft board by either trading up to get a higher-ranked player or down if a particular spot offers less-than-desirable value. 

Even after spending all that time devising a strategy, the plan can change at the drop of a hat if a certain player is—or is not—available. 

The New York Jets hold the No. 6 pick in the draft, putting them in a position of power to select one of the draft's best prospects or to collect a king's ransom to allow another team to do that. 

But the trade options are not just limited to the first round, so here's a look at some other moves the Jets could consider when the clock starts ticking.

Trade Up into the Top 5

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At No. 6 overall, the Jets would only have to move up one spot to be in the top five. The price of admission may be a lot steeper than you'd think. 

In 2012, the Washington Redskins moved up four spots, from No. 6 to No. 2, in order to acquire quarterback Robert Griffin III. In addition to the sixth overall pick, Washington also had to send its second-round pick as well as its next two first-round picks: one in 2013, one in 2014. 

That's a lot of capital to forfeit, but if a franchise quarterback is the investment, and if the player they select ends up being the franchise quarterback the Jets covet, there's no price that the Jets shouldn't be willing to pay.

The Jets would then have an opportunity to select Florida State's Jameis Winston or Oregon's Marcus Mariota, depending on who is still available. 

Trade Down with Their 1st-Round Pick

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There are a lot of things the Jets could do that would elicit boos from their fans on draft day. This is one of them. What, you think it matters that the draft isn't being held in New York this year?

It might be unpopular, but it might also be wise. The Jets have loaded up on top-tier talent this offseason by trading for wide receiver Brandon Marshall, signing guard James Carpenter, safety Marcus Gilchrist, cornerbacks Darrelle Revis, Antonio Cromartie and Buster Skrine and re-signing linebacker David Harris.

The Jets have severely improved their starting roster. Now may be the time to focus on spots 25-53. 

Even when the Jets were competing for the AFC Championship in 2009 and 2010, their lack of depth was still their Achilles' heel. The draft will present a perfect opportunity to enhance the roster battles at multiple positions, which should even help push the top of the depth chart to play their best football as well.

Trade for San Diego Chargers QB Philip Rivers

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The Jets have been one of the most active teams in the league in 2015, and now, they are a quarterback away from being a serious threat to a playoff spot in the AFC. With one move, they could go from pretender to contender. That move would be to acquire a top-notch signal-caller.

The San Diego Chargers are reportedly not interested in trading quarterback Philip Rivers—"It's not even on our radar," said GM Tom Telesco, via Eric Williams of ESPN—but just because it's not on their radar now doesn't mean they can't suddenly spot a large heat-seeking missile that they hadn't noticed before. 

The Jets need to be that heat-seeking missile, no matter how steep the price may be.

Over the past two years, Rivers has turned pumpkins into carriages with the Chargers offense. His 63 touchdown passes are tied with Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck for fourth-most since 2013, behind only Peyton Manning (Denver Broncos, 94), Drew Brees (New Orleans Saints, 72) and Tony Romo (Dallas Cowboys, 65).

Rivers also has the sixth-highest passer rating (99.5) in that span, and while his 29 interceptions are tied for eighth-most, they're also only four more than Manning and Luck. 

It will probably cost the Jets more than the No. 6 overall selection to trade for Rivers, and it could even be upward of two first-round draft choices, but the Chargers quarterback could arguably be the piece that completes the Jets' offseason overhaul.

Trade Dee Milliner

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Jets owner Woody Johnson opened his checkbook for cornerbacks Darrelle Revis, Antonio Cromartie and Buster Skrine already. There's only enough room for so many cornerbacks on the field at a time.

The Jets may need to have a capable fourth and fifth cornerback at some point this season, but they may also find the value of their current fourth corner to be too great to let him sit on the bench for more than 50 percent of the snaps in a given season.

That being said, cornerback Dee Milliner's stock may never be lower. One of the team's two first-round picks in 2013, Milliner is coming off a torn Achilles that ended his 2014 season in October. He had a strong finish to the 2013 season, but he struggled for much of his rookie season up to that point and had been benched three times for poor performance. 

The Jets were hoping for him to become a shutdown cornerback, and there's still hope he might, but not with the kind of playing time he'll get with the Jets. That being said, despite being drafted only two years ago, Mike Maccagnan has no ties to Milliner. Despite his low value, the Jets may not be compelled to move forward with Milliner if they can still get something for him. 

Acquire Picks for 2016

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The Jets look like they're pushing to contend for the Super Bowl this year, but hopefully, they're not content with just contending this year. If they want to keep themselves in the race for years to come, they have to keep their focus on the long term rather than the short term.

Right now, the Jets still have all seven of their original draft picks in the 2016 draft. They are not projected to receive any compensatory picks, according to Over The Cap, so if they want to go into next year as one of the power players in the 2016 draft, they will need to pick up a couple extra picks along the way in 2015. 

That, in turn, can help the Jets make the necessary improvements at those roster spots 25-53 by giving them more opportunities to find the depth that they currently lack.