Don't Expect the Jets to Even Consider Trading Muhammad Wilkerson

It should surprise nobody that predraft trade rumors involving New York Jets defensive end Muhammad Wilkerson have emerged. 

All of the right ingredients for a trade rumor are in place: star player holding out on offseason workouts with one year remaining on his contract under a new regime, with his team holding a top-10 pick. General managers looking for help along the defensive line and/or considering an attempt to move up or down the draft board wouldn't be doing their jobs if they didn't at least inquire. 

And at least two of them have, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. 

But even in a year in which trades involving big-name players have become a thing, don't start thinking there's anything better than a fat chance your team is going to deal for a consistent and versatile 3-4 defensive end with All-Pro potential at the age of 25. 

Wilkerson isn't Sam Bradford, who has played in only nine games the last two years due to a twice-torn ACL. Or Nick Foles, who was the league's seventh-lowest-rated qualified passer in 2014. Or even LeSean McCoy, who has an All-Pro background but might have plateaued as his yards-from-scrimmage total dropped from 2,146 to 1,474, his touchdown total shrunk from 11 to five and his yards-per-attempt average plummeted from 5.1 to 4.2 in 2014. 

This isn't a Brandon Marshall- or Mike Wallace-type scenario. Marshall has always presented character concerns and is 31, while the Wallace trade from the Miami Dolphins to Minnesota Vikings was a salary dump. Ditto for the Jimmy Graham trade from the New Orleans Saints to the Seattle Seahawks. 

Sure, Wilkerson wants a new deal now from the Jets, and it appears Gang Green is playing hardball. But that's just business. Wilkerson has yet to miss anything mandatory—his rep told Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports earlier this month that Wilkerson is "engaged in a workout program with his personal trainer"—and the Jets can't blame him for sending what appears to be a light message by staying away from voluntary practices. 

The thing about the Jets is they don't have a lot to cling to.

They don't know if they have a franchise quarterback in Geno Smith, but early signs aren't positive. They have Marshall and Eric Decker at wide receiver but not a lot of support. They have major questions everywhere on offense and even some on defense. Even with the return of veteran cornerbacks Darrelle Revis and Antonio Cromartie, they're thin in the secondary. 

The defensive front is the one area in which the Jets can not only survive, but excel. Wilkerson and Sheldon Richardson make up one of the best young defensive line duos in the NFL. Both recent first-round picks are below the age of 26, and both ranked among the top three 3-4 defensive ends in the league last season, per Pro Football Focus.

The way PFF saw it, it just was just those two and J.J. Watt. 

Player	Grade
1. J.J. Watt	107.5
2. Sheldon Richardson	39.9
3. Muhammad Wilkerson	33.7
4. Calais Campbell	31.1
5. Fletcher Cox	30.5

One could argue that a team with so many holes doesn't have the luxury to load up so heavily in one spot, but it's not as though Richardson and Wilkerson can't contribute simultaneously. The Jets aren't stashing a kick-ass backup on the roster. Both are great pass-rushers and superb run defenders, and together they make life extremely difficult on opposing offensive coordinators. 

Despite winning only four games in 2014, the Jets had the league's sixth-ranked defense. They ranked fifth against the run and finished tied for seventh in the league with 45 sacks, with so much of that pressure coming as a result of the work being done by Richardson and Wilkerson.

PFF ranked Wilkerson second among all 3-4 defensive ends when it came to run-stop percentage, while Richardson ranked third in terms of pass-rushing productivity. 

In that respect, the two complement each other, something the Jets would be silly to give up for anything less than a king's ransom. 

It would be one thing if the Jets didn't hold a high draft pick and felt the need to use Wilkerson as a bargaining chip to move up and make a run at a particular player whom they feel can change the direction of the franchise. But they pick sixth overall, so there's no reason to be desperate and start pawning quality players for picks.

And new general manager Mike Maccagnan has already stated in a press conference that he likes the idea of adding picks. If you trade down, you likely don't need to trade a star player. 

It would be another thing if the Jets were making significant scheme changes under new head coach Todd Bowles and new defensive coordinator Kacy Rodgers.

But like Rex Ryan, Bowles is considered to be an aggressive defensive mind. He also brings scheme versatility to New York and is the type of coordinator who can adapt his schemes to the strengths of the personnel. Look for him to try to get from Richardson and Wilkerson what he got from Calais Campbell and Darnell Dockett in Arizona. 

And finally, it would be another thing if the Jets were tight for cash and felt as though Wilkerson was too expensive. That may have been the case for the Dolphins and Saints when they traded their respective stars, but the Jets have plenty of money to spend. In fact, they have no choice but to spend it.

As NJ Advance Media's Dom Cosentino wrote in February for NJ.com, a lack of player spending from former general manager John Idzik has the Jets throwing cash around in order to comply with the league's cash-spending rules. Even after splurging during free agency, they have over $10 million in salary-cap space right now, according to Over the Cap.

And if the key to building a quality roster is drafting, grooming and re-signing players, the best way for New York to spend that excess cash is on budding homegrown stars like Wilkerson. Maccagnan must realize that, which might explain why Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News reports that the team doesn't plan on trading Wilkerson anywhere. 

Obviously the Jets don't want to risk letting Wilkerson get away for nothing next year. But the franchise tag is there if need be, and there's no reason to panic right now.

If you can't extend him this offseason and he steps it up in a contract year, you can feel comfortable spending big money on an extension or a tag. Now that the Jets have picked up Quinton Coples' fifth-year option, Wilkerson is slated to be the team's only notable unrestricted free agent next spring. 

Basically, unless the Jets absolutely need to use Wilkerson as a bargaining chip in order to land a player they believe can become their next franchise quarterback, they'd be silly to even consider trading him.

And in the aforementioned far-fetched scenario, they still might want to think twice. Considering how rarely trading up for quarterbacks has paid off and how rarely first-round quarterbacks have delivered in recent years, New York would be better off keeping its best players and gambling that it'll find a quarterback outside of the top five. 

Brad Gagnon has covered the NFL for Bleacher Report since 2012.

Follow @Brad_Gagnon