The big names in the draft community are starting to roll out their mock drafts as we really start getting into draft season with the Shrine Bowl and Senior Bowl next week. The latest to unveil their first guess at the first round is Mel Kiper of ESPN.
His mock is rather interesting for the Jets. Most mocks have the Jets landing an offensive lineman or maybe a safety or even a cornerback. Wide receiver hasn’t really been mentioned much as a first-round option for the Jets, especially with the Jets drafting at the position in the first round last year, but that’s exactly the direction Kiper goes for New York in his first mock.
In this mock, the Jets land Ohio State wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Last year, the Jets made Garrett Wilson the second receiver off the board at No. 10 overall, two picks after the Atlanta Falcons selected Drake London at No. 8. In Kiper’s mock, the Jets at No. 13 are the first team to take a wide receiver and would also mark two years in a row the Jets select a Buckeye wide receiver.
I thought about an offensive lineman here, but let’s instead reunite my top-ranked receiver in this class with my top-ranked receiver in the 2022 class. The Jets picked Garrett Wilson at No. 10 last April, and he had 83 catches for 1,103 yards as a rookie. But in 2021, his teammate Smith-Njigba was the Buckeyes’ top wideout, as he put up 1,606 yards, doing damage mostly out of the slot. After an injury-plagued 2022 in which he caught just five passes, however, there are big questions about his health — he had a nagging hamstring injury — headed into the draft.
For those thinking this was just because the consensus top three of Peter Skoronski, Paris Johnson Jr. and Broderick Jones were all off the board, two of them were taken — Skoronski to Las Vegas at No. 7 and Johnson to Tennessee at No. 11 — but Jones wouldn’t come off the board until No. 16 to the Commanders.
A wide receiver in the first round would be an interesting direction for the Jets, but a combination of Garrett Wilson (turns 23 in July) and Jaxon Smith-Njigba (turns 21 in February) would be a dynamic outside duo for years to come for whoever the quarterback of the Jets ends up being.
The Jets could have their pick of plenty of top options in the draft at any position other than quarterback if a scenario like the one in Kiper’s mock plays out, where four quarterbacks — C.J. Stroud to Houston, Bryce Young to Indianapolis, Will Levis to Seattle, Anthony Richardson to Carolina — are all taken in the top ten.
Or if the Jets trade for someone like Aaron Rodgers or Lamar Jackson (if the Ravens decide to do a tag-and-trade), they won’t even have that first-round pick. It’s certainly going to be a very interesting three months leading up to the draft in Kansas City.