The Jets are in serious need of wide receiver resurgence. They’ve lacked a true No. 1 option since Brandon Marshall in 2015 and have drafted incredibly poorly at the position over the past 20 years.
That all can change in 2020, though. With four picks in the first three rounds, a new general manager and a deep receiver class, the Jets are in prime position to land at least one impact pass-catcher.
Joe Douglas has an opportunity to right the wrongs of his predecessors when it comes to drafting this year, but it’s unclear if he’ll be able to live up to expectations at the wide receiver position. His track record with scouting and drafting receivers hasn’t been great at his previous stops and there’s no telling if the staff he built in New York can find the next star wideout.
During his 14 years as a scout for the Ravens, Douglas saw Baltimore draft 17 wide receivers since 2000. Only four of them eclipsed 1,000 career receiving yards – Travis Taylor (2000), Mark Clayton (2005), Demetrius Williams (2006) and Torrey Smith (2011). That’s almost as bad as the Jets’ track record drafting wideouts. It’s unclear how much influence Douglas had in selecting those Baltimore receivers, but the results didn’t get better when he moved up the front office ladder with the Bears and Eagles.
Douglas served as the director of college scouting for the Bears for the 2016 draft. Chicago took one receiver that year – Daniel Braveman – in the seventh round. He only played in three games. In the three drafts he ran as the Eagles’ vice president of player personnel from 2017-2019, Douglas only drafted three receivers – Mack Hollins, Shelton Gibson and J.J. Arcega-Whiteside. Hollins and Gibson were Douglas’ fourth- and fifth-round picks in 2017, and both aren’t on the team anymore after tallying only 29 receptions for 410 yards and one touchdown combined. Arcega-Whiteside didn’t impress in his rookie season after Douglas took him in the second round of the 2019 draft, but he has the opportunity to grow in a great offensive system.
This all doesn’t bode well for the Jets finding their receiver of the future in the 2020 draft. But, it does offer an interesting idea to increase their odds of finding a serviceable wideout.
Douglas needs to draft to his strengths early – which is obviously the offensive line. While the top three receiver prospects – Jerry Jeudy, CeeDee Lamb and Henry Ruggs III – are all great prospects, the Jets need to hit on their 11th overall pick with a player who is a bonafide stud that will perform independent of the rest of the offense. An offensive lineman should do that more than a receiver, and history shows that.
After going offensive line, though, the Jets would be wise to take as many receivers as they could throughout the rest of the draft.
This class is loaded with talent in multiple rounds, and the Jets can hedge their bets by grabbing at least two receivers after their first-round pick. Douglas isn’t known to take more than one player per position in a single draft, but the Jets need a quality receiver and can’t risk taking only one shot at finding one in the draft. There are players in the second, third, fourth and fifth rounds who could turn into quality contributors for the Jets, and that’s the sweet spot Douglas should target.