Only eight tackles have been selected with the 11th overall pick since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger. The Jets, however, could make it nine depending on what Joe Douglas wants to do with his first pick as general manager. If he looks back in time, the last tackle taken at No. 11 proved to be a home run.
Other tackles taken 11th overall include D.J. Fluker, Anthony Davis and Tra Thomas, but it was 2014 first-round pick Taylor Lewan who is the best of the bunch. Lewan was actually the third offensive tackle taken in the 2014 draft after Greg Robinson went No. 2 and Jake Matthews went No. 6, but ended up becoming the most successful of the three and is a huge reason for the Titans’ offensive line success in recent years.
Not only is Lewan a three-time Pro Bowler, but he’s also earned at least a 73 Pro Football Focus grade every year since he was drafted. This past season he helped open holes for rushing champion Derrick Henry. Lewan’s 98.5 pass-blocking grade was also one of the best of any tackles in 2019. The Titans made Lewan the highest-paid lineman in NFL history in 2018 with a five-year, $80 million deal and he now has the fourth-highest annual salary of all tackles.
The 2014 draft was one the Jets would like to forget. New York took safety Calvin Pryor seven picks after Lewan in John Idzik’s final draft as general manager, and he only lasted three seasons in New York. The only player from the 12 picks the Jets made that season is wide receiver Quincy Enunwa, who the Jets took in the sixth round after receivers like Jalen Saunders and Shaq Evans.
The Jets cannot make the same mistake they did in 2014 during this upcoming draft, and it begins with the 11th pick.
Douglas admitted already he believes in acquiring as many offensive linemen as possible, especially after shelling out $40.7 million guaranteed to lineman in free agency, and he very well could use the first-round pick on a stacked tackle class. Jedrick Wills Jr., Tristan Wirfs, Andrew Thomas and Mekhi Becton are possibilities at 11 and there are plenty of quality tackles who could fall later in the first or even in the second and third rounds.
Other teams have successfully built their offensive lines through the draft and the Jets should do the same. If Lewan is an indication of the talent the Jets can find with that pick, they should jump all over the best tackle available.