From Iowa’s Tristan Wirfs to USC’s Austin Jackson, the Jets will have plenty of offensive linemen to choose from with the 11th pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.
A top-heavy tackle class, New York should be in a position to land the third or fourth-best prospect at the position. In addition to Wirfs and Jackson, Louisville’s Mekhi Becton, Georgia’s Andrew Thomas and Alabama’s Jedrick Wills Jr. round out an impressive group of tackles.
The Jets are scheduled to have a private workout with Wirfs this week, according to ESPN’s Rich Cimini. While Wirfs is widely regarded as one of the top-four tackles in the draft, Cimini adds that the consensus around the league is that there is no particular pecking order for the top tackles.
Free agency should help paint a clearer picture, as Joe Douglas will attempt to scour every avenue possible to upgrade one of the weakest units in the NFL last season.
Whether it’s acquiring Trent Williams in a trade, signing Jason Peters as a one-year holdover or making Jack Conklin the highest-paid right tackle in the NFL, the window of possibilities remain wide open before April’s draft.
Making a splash in March would enable Douglas to have more freedom with the first pick he makes at the helm of the Jets’ war room. Taking care of the offensive line in free agency would allow the Jets to target a wide receiver for Sam Darnold, someone like Oklahoma’s Ceedee Lamb or Alabama’s Jerry Jeudy or Henry Ruggs III.
Still, if one of the five tackles mentioned is available, Douglas is going to make the pick in the best interest of the organization. Finding Darnold a No. 1 wideout is a priority this offseason, but it doesn’t matter if the third-year quarterback is not standing upright.
At the end of the day, Douglas, a former offensive lineman at the University of Richmond himself, knows the blueprint for success. As part of two of the most respected front offices’ in the NFL, Douglas has two rings to remind himself that it all starts in the trenches.