{"id":261887,"date":"2026-01-14T13:30:55","date_gmt":"2026-01-14T18:30:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=261887"},"modified":"2026-01-13T16:55:11","modified_gmt":"2026-01-13T21:55:11","slug":"three-reasons-why-darren-mougey-showed-hes-a-capable-gm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2026\/01\/14\/three-reasons-why-darren-mougey-showed-hes-a-capable-gm\/","title":{"rendered":"Three Ways How Darren Mougey Showed He\u2019s a Capable GM"},"content":{"rendered":"

After going 3-14 in their first season, it was a rough start to the Aaron Glenn\/Daren Mougey era. The New York Jets are heading into the offseason with a lot of questions. Who will start at quarterback? How will the defense improve with a new defensive coordinator? Can they retain coveted running back Breece Hall with an extension? All worthy questions to ponder this winter. However, there is some upside. While questions remain on whether the coaching staff is fit to lead, they have done pretty well with general manager Darren Mougey<\/a>. It was a dire situation before Darren Mougey<\/a> arrived. But the first time general manager has made some decent moves since running the show. It’s unknown whether the Jets will end their 15+ year playoff drought with these two. However, there’s a major chance for upside at the very least.<\/p>\n

\"New
New York Jets General Manager Darren Mougey and Jets Head Coach Aaron Glenn, shake hands as they pose for the press, at the Atlantic Health Jets Training Center, Monday, January 27, 2025, in Florham Park. Mougey and Glenn were introduced to the press in their new positions for the first time.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Three Ways Why Darren Mougey Showed He\u2019s a Capable GM<\/h2>\n

Entering his second season as a general manager, Darren Mougey will have holes to fill in New York. Outside of quarterback and a second wide receiver, the team really needs to add size to the linebacker room. As well as looking for a turnover-generating safety, along with edge rushers with pass-rushing upside. Not to mention finding an experienced defensive coordinator to pair with Aaron Glenn. While that’s the talk of the offseason, it wasn’t all bad for the young general manager.<\/p>\n

Gained Cap Space and First Round Picks<\/h3>\n

With the need for long term financial flexibility and draft capital, the Jets were active during the trade deadline. Looking for a splash, the Jets traded star cornerback Ahmad Gardner<\/a> to the Indianapolis Colts<\/a> and beloved defensive tackle Quinnen Williams<\/a> to the Dallas Cowboys<\/a>. While it was hard to part with two fan favorites, it accomplished what Mougey sought after. As a whole, the two trades netted the Jets three future first-round picks between 2026 and 2027. Entering the 2026 NFL Draft<\/a>, New York will have four picks within the top 45 to work with this offseason. After the Gardner extension early in the 2025 offseason, New York also freed up extra cap space. Depending on extensions, New York could have over $90 million in cap space<\/a> this season to work with.<\/p>\n

<\/smartframe-embed><\/p>\n

Gambled on Underutilized Young Talent, and it paid off<\/h3>\n

The problems of the Jets have been well documented, but Darren Mougey has done well in finding a place for young talent looking for a home. While it was inconsistent, wide receiver Adonai Mitchell<\/a> has found himself in a good spot since arriving from Indianapolis. Seen as a throw-in from the Sauce Gardner deal, Adonai Mitchell capitalized on his short stint in New York. He flashed some decent chemistry with veteran quarterback Tyrod Taylor<\/a>. Mitchell finished the season with 33 catches on 74 targets for 453 yards and his first two touchdowns of his career. By retaining Mithcell for an additional year, the Jets have an affordable wide receiver three who can play on the outside and should pair well with a rookie in this draft class.<\/p>\n

However, Mitchell wasn’t the only low-risk acquisition that paid off. In August, the Jets made a deal with the Cleveland Browns<\/a> to acquire second-year defensive tackle Jowon Briggs<\/a> with a late-round 2026 pick swap. The young defensive tackle<\/a> has been a sensational addition to the Jets defensive line. After playing in all 17 games, Briggs flashed his ability as a run stopper but also as a pass rusher. Briggs finished the season with an impressive four sacks on the year. His ability to generate interior pressure during the pass rush is going to make life easier for the Jets edge rushers.<\/p>\n

Successfully rebuilt the Special Teams Unit<\/h3>\n

It’s no secret that the Jets offense and defense have been abysmal this season. However, one unit you can’t fault is special teams. The unit has greatly improved under renowned special teams coordinator Chris Banjo<\/a>. After moving back and forth between the practice squad, Isaiah Williams completely turned his season around. He emerged as a productive kick and punt returner. For the season, Williams returned 28 punts for 396 yards and two touchdowns. He also added 837 yards on 28 kickoff returns. Along with Kene Nwangwu<\/a>, who, despite missing five games, returned 18 kicks for 604 yards and a touchdown. In addition, veteran kicker Nick Folk<\/a> was amazing. Folk finished 2025 by missing only a single field goal, including making every extra point kick. Along with going 14-15 on all field goals over 40 yards this year.<\/p>\n

Main Photo: [Kirby Lee] – Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Despite a 3-14 record in his first season, general manager Darren Mougey has turned in a quietly decent season with the New York Jets.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4597,"featured_media":262711,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[54,6],"tags":[32427,33225,32757,8969,8070,32562],"class_list":["post-261887","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-editorials","category-jets","tag-adonai-mitchell","tag-darren-mougey","tag-isaiah-williams","tag-john-metchie","tag-josh-myers","tag-jowon-briggs"],"modified_by":"Michael Zimmelman","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/261887","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4597"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=261887"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/261887\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":261891,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/261887\/revisions\/261891"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/262711"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=261887"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=261887"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=261887"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}