For new general manager Joe Douglas, there’s a lot to like about this Jets roster.

Though he inherited it from a former regime, Douglas thinks the squad he has on hand is good enough to compete. In fact, he even tried to acquire some of the players already on the team when he worked for the Eagles.

Douglas loves what he sees in Sam Darnold, but the Eagles were obviously never looking into drafting a quarterback with Carson Wentz on the team. However, they were reportedly interested in taking tight end Chris Herndon in 2018 draft and signing Avery Williamson that offseason.

In an interview with Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer Douglas mentioned that the Eagles liked Herndon coming out of Miami. Douglas reportedly watched tape on six of Darnold’s games before interviewing for the GM job, where he saw footage of Herndon that confirmed his positive evaluation on the young tight end.

The Eagles needed a second tight end for their offense after Trey Burton left in free agency, but decided to take South Dakota State’s Dallas Goedert with the 49th overall pick in the second round. Ironically, that was one of the two second-round picks the Jets traded to the Colts to move up from No. 6 to No. 3 to take Sam Darnold. The Jets drafted Herndon 58 picks later in the fourth round – the seventh tight end selected. Herndon actually outperformed Goedert during his rookie season with more yards (502), more receptions (39) and more starts (12).

When Breer asked Douglas what he thought about the Jets’ defense, he also noted that linebacker Avery Williamson was on the Eagles’ “radar” that offseason. Douglas didn’t elaborate and the Eagles didn’t sign any other inside linebackers despite targeting Williamson, who went on to lead the Jets with 120 tackles.

Douglas is also incredibly high on wideout Robby Anderson, whom the Eagles reportedly attempted to acquire before the trade deadline this past season.

Now with the Jets, Douglas gets to work with three players he already wanted on his team in the past. Even though many see New York’s roster as a work in progress, Douglas seems content with what he has already. Obviously, there will be adjustments, additions, and subtractions to come, but Douglas’ comfortability with the roster makes his job that much easier heading into the 2019 season.