BREAKING: Stafford Traded; Texans Asking Price For Deshaun Watson Skyrockets?

If the Houston Texans have to deal Watson, the Jets have the best assets to trade. And the Stafford deal just re-set the price

HOUSTON - The Houston Texans are embroiled in a self-created controversy that has led to their star quarterback Deshaun Watson asking for a trade.

The Texans have plenty of suitors for Watson, but his no-trade clause makes it a Watson-driven pool of teams to choose from. Houston on Saturday night did grab a bit of an edge in all of this, though: Detroit is trading QB Matthew Stafford to the Rams in exchange for two future first-round picks, a third-round pick and QB Jared Goff.

The price for Watson, therefore, just skyrocketed.

"Somebody gotta give up five first-rounders, their wife, plus their first-born,'' tweeted former Texans cornerback Charles James II.

The New York Jets might not have all that to offer. But in light of the Stafford deal, with or without Watson's approval, we say the Jets should be the team discussions begins with first. 

The Jets are owners of two additional first-round picks in the next two drafts by virtue of trading Jamal Adams to the Seattle Seahawks. They also have additional selections in the third round and fifth round of this year's draft. 

Only the Jaguars possess a more valuable selection of draft picks. 

READ MORE: Deshaun Watson Officially Requests Trade From Houston Texans

We know that the Texans are denying any willingness to deal Deshaun. We shall see. But ...

We know Watson wants out, and that he would be a fan of a move to New York, as Robert Saleh, a Watson favorite in this round of coaching hires, is the new head coach. The ability to expose the Deshaun Watson "brand" would be excellent as well. 

So with the idea Watson would give a thumbs-up to New York and the Jets possessing a treasure trove of selections, let's make a deal. 

New York Jets Receive

Deshaun Watson

2021 Arizona Cardinals 4th Round Pick via Texans - TBD

Houston Texans Receive

2021 Jets 1st Round Pick - 2nd Overall

2021 Seattle Seahawks 1st Round Pick via Jets - 23rd Overall

2021 Jets 3rd Round Pick - 66th Overall

2022 Jets 1st Round Pick - TBD

2022 Seattle Seahawks 1st Round Pick via Jets - TBD

QB Sam Darnold

Analysis: This would be a big ask for the Jets, but we say it's easy for New York to say "yes'' to this. They're getting Deshaun Watson and don't totally move out of any middle rounds because they have an extra Seahawks pick. 

The Texans would then have four selections in the top 67 spots of the draft with three of them coming via this trade and their own pick in the third round sitting at 67th overall. It then gives them three first-round selections in the 2022 draft as well. 

This is the quarterback-heavy approach. The second-overall selection would put Ohio State's Justin Fields and BYU's Zach Wilson in play. Fields might be difficult to select based on the fact he has the same agent as Deshaun Watson, but it would be worth trying to make it work if the Texans deemed him much better than Wilson. 

As Houston would suddenly employ Darnold, it also provides a sweet spot for trading down, as a number of teams could be thinking quarterback. It could lead to the Texans ending up with a number of additional picks, including another first-round selection in 2022. 

The wildcard element of this is Darnold, the current Jets quarterback. Would Houston have interest in Darnold? Why not? The Texans could do a lot worse than a scratch-off with no downside and potential. 

Five draft picks in the next two first rounds, with one of them possibly being a quarterback, and Darnold, too, is as good as it gets when your star quarterback forces his way out of town.

It isn't ideal, because "ideal'' is keeping Watson. But it's a sweet pot, made sweeter by the standard just set in the Stafford swap.

CONTINUE READING: Watson Watch: Deshaun Scrubs 'Texans' From His Social Media