We are entering the home stretch before the draft and every team is putting the finishing touches on their draft boards, making calls to other teams to set up potential draft day trades, and preparing for worst-case scenarios.
Joe Douglas is preparing to make one of the most important draft selections of his career and one that could wind up being his last. While Woody Johnson hasn’t expressly said so, it is pretty clear from his comments and Woody’s history that the jobs for Robert Saleh and Joe Douglas will depend on how the team fares this season.
With jobs on the line, will Joe Douglas really put his faith in a tight end for his first-round pick? I think he might.
The tight end in question is Brock Bowers out of the University of Georgia. Clearly the best tight end in the draft and arguably one of the best players overall in the draft. Several big-time draft experts and mock draft slingers have penciled in Bowers at number 10 for the Jets.
Kiper and co. aren’t the only ones who think the Jets have their eyes on Bowers. Vegas currently has the Jets with the highest odds of drafting Bowers at around +150.
But is Brock Bowers worth a top ten pick? ESPN’s Mel Kiper seems to think so.
Mel isn’t alone in his belief in Bowers. The Athletic’s Dane Brugler wrote about Bowers in his yearly draft guide, “The Beast”:
A three-year starter at Georgia, Bowers was the featured weapon in offensive coordinator Mike Bobo’s scheme, lining up across the formation, with his career snaps spread between the slot (52.2 percent), inline (36.6 percent) and wide (9.5 percent). He led the team in receiving each of his three seasons in Athens and joined Herschel Walker and David Pollack as the only three-time first team All-Americans in school history. He also became the first two-time winner of the John Mackey Award as the nation’s top tight end. With both short-area burst and long speed, Bowers makes quick, dynamic cuts to create spacing as a route runner and hits another gear with the ball in his hands to be a home-run threat. He is a natural hands-catcher outside his frame and snatches without breaking stride. His physicality (before the catch, after the catch and as a blocker) is almost as impressive as his athletic traits, although his lack of ideal size and length will show in some inline blocking situations. Overall, Bowers is explosive pass catcher who creates mismatches all over the field with speed, ball skills and competitive edge. He has NFL star potential in the mold of George Kittle, if he lands with a play caller prepared to feature his unique and versatile talent.
That last part of Brugler’s analysis is the only thing that give me pause for the Jets. Is Nathaniel Hackett smart enough or creative enough to utilize Bowers the way he is meant to be used? Bowers is a physical mismatch all over the field, but offenses need to create that mismatch and not just count on the defense to do it for them.
Maybe Hackett isn’t creative enough to create the mismatch, but Rodgers might be. And Bowers would love to play with Aaron Rodgers. Speaking at the NFL combine, Bowers was asked specifically about playing with the future Hall of Famer. "It'd be pretty sweet," said Bowers. "He's one of the best all-time at quarterbacks. It'd be cool to learn under him, play with him and learn some stuff." Bowers is from Napa, CA which is not too far from Chico, CA where Rodgers grew up.
Bowers is an immediate upgrade for the Jets and that is not saying Tyler Conklin isn’t a good player. He is a steady, sure handed, safety valve. Bowers is a matchup nightmare for opposing defenses. Drafting Bowers doesn’t eliminate Conklin from the offense or the team. It simply adds a new wrinkle that will be tough to stop.
Bowers isn’t replacing Conklin. Bowers isn’t replacing anyone. He is a different type of player that the Jets haven’t had. His position is listed at tight end, but he can line up all over field and be utilized in a lot of different ways.
The argument against the Jets taking Bowers is more of an argument for someone else, as opposed to against Bowers. If they take Bowers, they won’t be able to take another offensive lineman or another wide receiver. Bowers is the real deal and worth every bit of the hype. The question is would the Jets be able to live with taking a tight end if they wind up needing a tackle or wide receiver later in the year.
Glad I don’t have to make that decision.
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