Joe Douglas and co. have been hard at work this offseason trying to put together a team that will end the 13-year playoff drought, and maybe even compete for a Super Bowl in 2024.
With a completely rebuilt offensive line and the additions of Mike Williams as the number two wide receiver and Javon Kinlaw as the number two defensive tackle, Joe Douglas has certainly addressed the major area of needs on the roster through free agency.
But free agency is only one of the steps in an NFL off season. Sometimes it is actually the least important step depending on how well an organization handles all the other steps. Arguably the most important step in an offseason is the NFL draft which takes place beginning April 25.
Speaking at the NFL owners’ meetings in Orlando, Joe Douglas was asked about his feeling on potentially taking a tight end with the Jets first-round pick, 10th overall presumably referring to Georgia’s Brock Bowers who is now the betting favorite to land in New York. In his usual Joe Douglas way, he played coy to where the team was in the draft prep process and gave the standard say nothing answer.
Except maybe he didn’t. If we pay close attention to his choice of words, we may be able to get a clue as to which way the Jets are leaning in the draft. Have a listen to his response:
The key word in what he said there was “immediate”. An “immediate impact” on the team. While the speculation and the logic states that the New York Jets are in win now mode, that is coming straight from Joe Douglas’ mouth.
While the feeling going into the offseason was the Jets would be looking to take an offensive lineman, the moves in free agency would prevent one from starting this season and thus, not be an immediate impact. For the record, it would not be the worst thing if the Jets grabbed an offensive lineman at 10 considering the age and injury history with the position.
When you look at the Jets roster as currently constructed, there are very few positions where the Jets could look to make an immediate impact. I would argue that the only positions on this Jets roster that fit that description are pass catcher, running back, safety and pass rusher.
We can immediately throw out running back as this draft is weak at the position, and even if it wasn’t, you wouldn’t take a RB top 10 just to share time with Breece Hall. Safety is interesting but there really isn’t a safety with a top 10 grade.
So, we are left with pass rusher and pass catcher. Robert Saleh has said you can never have too many pass rushers, but with the Jets flirting with Jadeveon Clowney and the fact that they took Will McDonald IV in the first-round last year, I would put pass rusher as less likely. Still, the Jets could take a good luck at Dallas Turner out of Alabama or even Jared Verse out of Florida State.
Which brings us to pass catchers. I would argue that there are four players worthy of being taken in the top 10 that fit that description. Wide receivers Marvin Harrison Jr out of Ohio State, Malik Nabers out of LSU, Rome Odunze out of Washington and tight end Brock Bowers out of Georgia.
Any one of these players would have an immediate impact on the 2024 New York Jets and create matchup problems as the Jets hope to have a top offense led by Aaron Rodgers to go along with their topflight defense.
My guess is that Joe Douglas will likely look to move down in the draft at this point considering the Jets only have two picks in the top 100, but I can’t imagine he would be too upset if one of those four players falls to him at number 10.
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