The Jets find themselves in an interesting spot coming into the 2020-21 season. They're fresh off their best year since 2015 (almost .500, wow), and the AFC East is as open as its been in my lifetime, with the Patriot's dynasty coming to an end. Even though the Pats definitely still have a few years left of solid football and probably winning the division, they're on their way out and the Jets have an opportunity to establish themselves as their heir.
The past three drafts have gone fairly poorly for the Jets in every round except the first. The first-round picks have been excellent though, featuring the likes of Jamal Adams (a top tier safety), Sam Darnold (a young quarterback with A LOT of potential, more on him later) and Quinnen Williams (A very likable defensive end who struggled as a rookie and got arrested like a MORON but is still highly talented). The later rounds are a different story though, with their best 2nd-6th round picks in recent years being Chris Herndon (a solid young tight end), and Blessaun Austin (RU Rah Rah!), and Marcus Maye (an alright safety in tandem with Jamal Adams). There isn't much of anything to say about the remaining 15 players the jets have selected in these past 3 drafts.
What that means is that the Jets HAVE to cash in on the first round since they'll probably swing and miss with the rest of their picks. With an impact player added in this year's first-round (and MAYBE a contributor in the later rounds with some luck) the Jets can push over the .500 hump, possibly contend for a wild card, and with a few more years of strong first rounds maybe even win the division. That all starts this year though. What's the plan for this year?
So there are two main schools of thought (and a third, smaller, dumber, one). They are to add an Offensive lineman or to add a Wide Receiver. These both make sense, as they both help to put Sam Darnold in a position to succeed, which of course puts the team in a position to succeed. The third idea is to draft a quarterback to replace Darnold.
Option 1: Pick an O-lineman
The Jets have a god awful offensive line which has not done Darnold any favors over the years. His biggest issue is poor decision making leading to picks, which often happen on plays where he's under pressure and the pocket collapses. As he gets older the game will slow down for him and this will cease to be an issue, but at the moment it is still an issue and an improved line would bandage it up very nicely. The class of O lineman features Jedrick Wills Jr, Tristan Wirfs, Mekhi Becton, Andrew Thomas, and Josh Jones as first-round probables
Option 2: Pick a wide receiver
The Jets receiving core is not nearly as bad as the line, but it's still definitely not good, especially with the loss of Robby Anderson. It's not exactly a hot take for me to sit here and tell you that better weapons to throw to would make a quarterback better, and therefore make a team better. The class features talent like CeeDee Lamb, Jerry Jeudy, and Henry Ruggs III all slated for the top half of the first round.
Option 3: Pick a quarterback (Stupid)
As for the asinine idea of selecting a QB with the 11th pick of the first round (which thankfully I've only heard occasionally, but that's still too much): Sam Darnold has shown promise and even though his overall stats could be better and does NOT need to be replaced. Watching him in a game he looks strong 29 plays out of 30. The issue is the 1 play out of 30 when he does something completely inexplicable (like his second and goal interception week 9 vs the dolphins last year). As I mentioned before these mistakes will be fixed with maturity and with talent around him. Also, the only quarterbacks the Jets could get are Jordan Love (who makes worse decisions than Darnold), Jacob Eason (who also struggles immensely when pressured) and maybe Justin Herbert (Who has Jamies Winston pt. 2 written all over him). So no I don't think that that's a viable option.
My take
So what do I think the Jets should do? I think they should pick an offensive lineman. With that being said I wouldn't necessarily be upset if they instead picked a WR, and I think all three the I mentioned before will have solid NFL careers (especially Lamb), but the way to be in the best position going into 2020 is to add protection. I believe Darnold will be able to throw to his receivers if he just has more time in the pocket, even if they don't have a star wideout. This is also a remarkably deep receiver class so they can still get a strong pass threat in the second round (like Jalen Reagor or Micheal Pittman Jr). A top tier O-lineman will help Le'veon Bell as well (even though what he REALLY needs is a new head coach). What's more, is that there are five linemen in this class who I approve to wear the green and white, so I'm not concerned about the Jets going in looking for one and coming up empty.
Who should it be? Ideally the Jets would grab Wills or Wirfs, but neither will likely be around by the time the Jets are on the clock, so realistically the Jets options are Mehki Becton out of Louisville, Andrew Thomas out of Georgia, and Josh Jones out of Houston. Neither is a bad option but I take Andrew Thomas. Mehki Becton is a far better run blocker than pass blocker, which is useful but doesn't help with the Sam Darnold time-to-throw problem. Jones didn't play quite as strong competition as the other two, which concerns me, as well as his reputation for having sub-flawless technique. Thomas on the other hand is much more balanced between pass and run, he is also a recipient of the Jacobs Blocking Trophy, for the best O-Lineman in the SEC.
As for the rest of the draft, I don't have high hopes for the Jets to come up with any steals, but they can still get a quality wide receiver in round two as I mentioned before. For their two third-round picks the Jets should stick to another O Lineman and a CornerBack to boost their average secondary to the next level. My eyes for the first pick of the third are on lineman Prince Tega Wanogho out of Auburn, who is very raw with as much upside as any of the first-round lineman (also has the best name in the draft, sorry CeeDee Lamb). For the second pick I like CB Cameron Dantzler out of Mississippi State, who was one of the best corners in the SEC before having his draft stock fall with a poor combine performance. The Jets also have a 5th and two 6th round picks. I want them to take another receiver with one of them, but past that those are completely up in the air.
Overall, the Jets have a great opportunity here to improve their team a LOT. Even though I want Andrew Thomas they really can't go wrong with anybody in the first round. With the strong draft I'm anticipating and the free agent moves they've already made (Perriman and Fant) the Jets should be coming into the season strong. Now all they have to do is hope the season isn't canceled, hope that their players live up to expectations, and FIRE ADAM GASE.
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