After trading up from the sixth pick to now sitting at No. 3, the New York Jets have theoretically opened themselves up to even more possibilities in the NFL Draft. Really but not really.
See, the crystal ball has the good old Jets really only interested in one player. And the crystal ball here at Metro just isn’t wrong.
Remember back when, weeks before free agency started, the crystal ball said that the Jets wouldn’t be signing Kirk Cousins. Crystal clear. Boom.
The Jets are getting a quarterback and the ball is clear on this. So, yea, no doubt about that, lest we remind you about our clairvoyance concerning Cousins again.
Hello Broadway
The crystal ball sees the Cleveland Browns taking Sam Darnold No. 1 overall and the Giants being unable to trade the second pick and taking Saquon Barkley. So that leaves the Jets able to take Wyoming’s Josh Allen or UCLA’s Josh Rosen, right?
Um, no.
The Jets are taking the draft’s best quarterback, Baker Mayfield. The Oklahoma quarterback won the Heisman and the Maxwell Award as the nation’s top player but he’s much more than awards and accolades. This kid is a gamer.
A high completion percentage, accuracy and his ability to lead his receivers are prized by NFL scouts and talent assessors. Factor in his toughness, his football IQ and his burning desire to win and, well, talk about a great fit for a team that hasn’t had a franchise quarterback in four decades.
With Josh McCown and Teddy Bridgewater ahead of him on the depth chart, Mayfield can sit for a year and develop. He also will excite the fanbase and help sell tickets. Talk about a perfect fit.
No major trades
After sending their first-round pick, two second round picks this year and a second-round pick in 2019 to the Indianapolis Colts to trade up in the draft, the Jets are done with major wheeling and dealing. They need to add more bodies and can’t package away any more picks without affecting their two-deep.
Expect the team to target depth with their one Day 2 pick and their remaining four picks on Day 3. There won’t be a ton of reaches here, just the Jets looking for some good value to augment their team.
They could use a good pass rusher and Rutgers Kemoko Turay is an option in the third round. But they also need a tight end and could find one such as Dalton Schultz in the third round as well. The Stanford tight end is fantastically under-rated and could be a gem for the Jets while filling a position of need.
