Houston Texans trade edge rusher Shaq Lawson to New York Jets

The New York Jets are hoping they can replace one Lawson with another.

The Jets acquired pass-rusher Shaq Lawson from the Houston Texans on Sunday in exchange for a 2022 sixth-round pick. The trade comes a week after New York lost Carl Lawson for the season to a torn Achilles.

Trade: the #Texans are trading DE Shaq Lawson to the #Jets, per multiple reports. Third AFC East team for Lawson, who will look to come in and help replace Carl Lawson.

— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) August 29, 2021

Shaq Lawson was traded to Houston this offseason one year after signing a three-year, $30 million deal with the Miami Dolphins. He spent the first four seasons of his career with the Buffalo Bills, who drafted him in the first round of the 2016 draft.

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NFL IMPACT

Lawson a proven pass-rusher: Lawson has settled into being a consistent force as an edge rusher over the past few seasons, averaging 38.5 total pressures for two different teams within the AFC East since 2019.

Lawson no slouch in run defense, either: The best PFF grades of Lawson's career have come as a run defender, headlined by an 81.1 mark in 2018 for the Buffalo Bills.

Jets' pass-rush struggles are clear: No edge-rushing unit in the league has graded out worse than the Jets' (62.4) since 2017. New York also ranks 32nd league-wide in pressure rate from the edge (16.9%) over that same period. With Carl Lawson lost already due to injury, the Jets simply had to find a source of edge pressure.

Jets Edge Rusher Production in 2020

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BETTING IMPACT

The New York Jets still offer long-shot value: The Jets' are signaling a win-now mentality by filling the void left by the Carl Lawson injury with Shaq Lawson. It should be considered a net negative for New York, but the team's hand was forced.

PFF's Power Rankings are high on the Jets, as they do offer some long-shot value to win the AFC East. Given the signal of this move, it is a spot to sprinkle on as we head into the regular season.

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