When Leonard Williams - the presumptive "best player" in the 2015 NFL Draft - fell to the New York Jets in the first-round, it created an immediate logjam at the defensive end position for the new brass in NY.
Former first-round picks Muhammad Wilkerson and Sheldon Richardson are still on the roster and the ultra-versatile Wilkerson has already made it known he's ready for a fat new deal and will be staying away from Jets workouts - at least the voluntary ones - until such time as he receives said deal. Richardson, who will enter the final year of his rookie deal next year, is likely to follow suit in a season's time.
While Wilkerson has yet to reach a Pro Bowl, he's widely viewed as an elite defender and were it not for Houston's J.J. Watt, perhaps the best 3-4 defensive end in the league.
Considering the money already spent by Jets head coach Todd Bowles and GM Mike Maccagnan this offseason, the three bodies on the New York roster for two starting defensive end spots and the price tag Wilkerson is likely to command, should the Jets listen to potential trade offers for him?
Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports believes they should and points to the Cleveland Browns as a potential suitor for the mammoth defender.
"The Browns in particular, coached by Mike Pettine who worked closely with Wilkerson in New York, should be all over this given their massive issues on the defensive line in recent years. This dude would solve so much of what ails them, and, at age 25, is just entering his prime despite already being the best 3-4 defensive end in the NFL not named J.J. Watt."
While the Browns were able to add Danny Shelton and Xavier Cooper to their defensive line rotation in the NFL draft, Shelton is best suited to the nose and Cooper likely can't be depended on in the immediate future as a potential starter.
Wilkerson would immediately upgrade one of the two spots outside of Shelton, moving either Desmond Bryant or Randy Starks to a back-up role and increasing the depth and overall talent level on the Browns defensive line ten-fold.
Of course, while La Canfora believes the Jets should listen to trade offers, he doesn't believe they'd actively shop him and sees the price tag for Wilkerson falling somewhere in the neighborhood of a first-round pick and a third-round pick - to start.
That's a hefty investment even for a high-impact defender like the man they call "Mo," but if the Browns really want to create an elite unit, adding Wilkerson would go a long way toward making that dream a reality.
