The New York Jets have the bad luck to be picking out of the top 5 which means they might miss out on one of the three elite prospects in this draft. There are still some pretty good options left, and there are two positions and one player that could be there at #6 for the Jets to decide on.
Marcus Mariota
There is a 99.9999999% chance Jameis Winston goes #1 to the Bucs leaving Marcus Mariota as the only other QB worth a 1st round pick. Mariota is similar to Robert Griffin III, Cam Newton and Colin Kaepernick coming out in that he ran a system in college that didn’t really ask him to make NFL reads or throws. This makes him a have a bit of a learning curve which possibly means he won’t even be ready to start 1, or if he does will need an offense that uses a lot of the concepts he had at Oregon. The Jets have a new GM and new HC which means they might want their own guy. Geno Smith has shown flashes that he can be the guy but the new coach and front office have no attachment of him which means he might be gone. Mariota has all the tools of a great QB but the biggest question is if he can adapt to the NFL game and make NFL reads. That is a big question mark and one the Jets might want to avoid.
Pass Rusher
The good news is in this draft there are a few very good pass rushing prospects, and Vic Beasley. Dante Fowler is probably long gone which means Shane Ray and Bud Dupree are the two best options (they could always go Randy Gregory but he probably isn’t worth it anymore). Shane Ray is a ferocious pass rusher that can line up at DE or OLB. Bud Dupree is also a complete pass rusher but would be a slight reach at #6.
Player to avoid is Vic Beasley. Beasley’s only quality was his speed and he was able to move faster than the tackles, sometimes getting sacks. However, when a tackle has him blocked, he has no real pass rushing moves to get out. Beasley is a great definition of what a workout warrior is and if the Jets are smart, they would avoid him.
Wide Receiver
The Jets have a pretty solid duo in Brandon Marshall and Eric Decker and WR might not be the #1 need. However Marshall is one bad throw away from mutinying and Decker is a better fit as the #2 WR. Also this WR class is just as good as last year’s (if not better) and the top 2 guys in this class are very good prospects who could be top-5 WRs…in the NFL. Kevin White and Amari Cooper are both very solid players who would be a #1 guy from the get go. White is the bigger physical WR and reminds me a lot of Julio Jones. Amari Cooper is a very good route runner and this past year showed he can be dominating player after the catch. Both guys would make any QB better and considering what the Jets currently have at QB, they need all the help they can get.
Best Case: Trade Back
Jets are in the zone of danger in that they just miss the elite prospects but are also in a sweet spot of very solid players. The best case is to trade back to early teens, pick up some extra picks, and still be in a position to draft another really good WR (DeVante Parker), pass rusher (Bud Dupree), or even get a tackle or guard (Brandon Scherff, Andrus Peat) or even get Shaq who can do everything. With the Jets really needing talent, they could use some more picks, especially since the #2 QB isn’t leaps and bounds better than the #3 QB (Brett Hundley) who is available in the 2nd.
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