Identifying a potential trade target: Wide receiver Terrace Marshall

Coming off a last minute win against the Philadelphia Eagles, the New York Jets enter into their bye week. As luck would have it, the NFL’s trade deadline is the week after, which makes now a perfect time for the Jets to look to add any potential pieces. This would give the player extra time to learn the playbook.

While the Jets are 3-3, their offense still lags well behind the NFL’s best, which is going to be a problem if they aim to beat the odds and win the Super Bowl. One area the Jets could stand to upgrade is at receiver. They are currently using veteran Randall Cobb as their WR3. Randall Cobb’s overall PFF grade is 46.5 and his receiving grade is 48.8. Needless to say, this makes the Jets a prime candidate for an upgrade in their wide receiver room.

However, the Jets may be so far away from being a true contender based on the current performance level of their offense that spending premium draft capital is unwise. This is compounded by the Jets already having traded their 2024 second round pick for quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who now sits on injured reserve.

This leaves the Jets in a pretty specific boat. They need a WR upgrade, but they need one cheap. To me, that means they need to be very intentional in the types of players they target and aim for a specific skillset rather than a complete WR, as the latter will likely cost more than the Jets can afford to pay.

To date, the Jets have largely run their offense through wide receiver Garrett Wilson, as noted by his 32.5% target share, which is the 5th highest in the league. The Jets are unlikely to find a wide receiver who can hold a candle to Garrett Wilson, so this is unlikely to change much. They also have Allen Lazard, who has always profiled as more of a possession wideout. Putting that together, the best complement is likely a player who can stretch the field and create chunk plays that lead to touchdowns, which are two things the Jets offense has been lacking this season.

In walks Carolina Panthers wide receiver Terrace Marshall, who was recently highlighted on PFF’s list of potential deadline trade candidates.

By no means is Marshall a complete wide receiver. To date, his highest season output is only 490 yards, which he reached last season. What makes Marshall potentially interesting is how he earned those yards, which was largely on the back of a 17.5 yards per reception and a 10.4 yards per target that ranked 2nd and 3rd in the league, respectively. As you might guess with those numbers, Marshall largely operated as a deep threat last season, and he was a pretty good one at that. As detailed by PFF:

Terrace Marshall in 2022 on targets 10-plus yards downfield

88.6 receiving grade

18 receptions for 382 yards (21.2 yards per reception)

Six contested catches (top 35 among WRs)

Two missed tackles forced after the catch (top 20 among WRs)

4.2% drop rate (one drop on 24 catchable targets)

117.4 passer rating when targeted (20th among WRs)

Marshall should come pretty cheap, given his role in the Panthers offense is unclear. He didn’t play a single snap in Week 5, making him a potentially expendable player for Carolina.

Based on that and the limited production of Marshall to date, I would guess that he goes for a conditional late pick. Probably a 7th that can rise to a 6th or maybe even a 5th based on whether certain statistical thresholds are met. For me, that’s a price worth paying to address a potentially big need in the middle of a decade-long playoff drought. What say you?