The Jets got a haul for Jamal Adams. The two first-round picks they received by trading the safety to Seattle marked only the eighth time since 2000 a team earned two first-rounders for a player. 

That’s a lot for one guy (the Jets also sent a fourth-round pick and acquired Bradley McDougald and a third-rounder), but those picks will likely be late in the first round because Seattle is a contender and Adams makes them much better. In reality, the Jets probably got two picks that will be between Nos. 20 and 32 considering the Seahawks have not drafted before the 27th pick in the previous five seasons thanks to their 67 percent winning percentage.

This severely lowers the value the Jets received in exchange for Adams. The ability to identify and draft top-tier talent that late in the first round is tough for any team or general manager and the Jets will need those picks to hit if they want to turn around their franchise.

Fortunately, if anyone can identify talent late in the first round, it’s Joe Douglas. The first team he worked for – the Ravens – drafted their first pick in at least the 20s in nine of the 15 seasons he was a scout. While Douglas can’t be credited with all of the Ravens’ late-round picks, he played a part in scouting some of the players they took in the first round and learned to scout from legendary GM Ozzie Newsome. Then, when Douglas ran the Eagles’ draft from 2016-2019, he drafted after the 20th pick twice. 

With some worry over just how valuable the picks the Jets just acquired will be, let’s take a look at some of the better late-first round selections made by Douglas’ previous two teams.  

QB Joe Flacco

The Jets’ current backup quarterback is also a former Douglas pick. The Ravens drafted Flacco 18th overall in 2008 despite his small-school pedigree from Delaware. Douglas is credited with finding, scouting and convincing the Ravens to draft Flacco, who went on to play 11 seasons in Baltimore and win a Super Bowl 2012.

The pick came in the middle of the first-round, but Flacco is one of only three players from that draft picked in the back-half of the round still active in the league. This pick is less about Douglas’ ability to find super-late in the round and more about his ability to find a player he likes and grab him as soon as possible.