There are a lot of holes the Jets need to fill in this year’s draft, and one expert believes Gang Green will look to shore up its offensive line with the eleventh overall pick.
In his first 2020 mock draft, ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. predicts the Jets will select Alabama offensive tackle Jedrick Wills Jr. with their first-round pick at No. 11. Wills would be the second consecutive Crimson Tide player taken by the Jets in the first round after New York drafted defensive tackle Quinnen Williams with the third overall pick in 2018.
The 6-foot-5, 320-pound Wills would be a great pick for the Jets if he lasts until the 11th pick. The Jets desperately need help along the offensive line and Wills is one of the best all-around players at his position in the draft. Wills is known as a great pass protector – he only allowed one sack and 14 pressures in 450 pass-blocking snaps, per Pro Football Focus. He also improved his run-blocking tremendously in 2019, rising from a 63.1 PFF grade to 91.4 this past season.
One of the biggest problems that plagued the Jets offensive line – apart from horrific play – was lack of durability and consistency. The Jets swapped linemen throughout the 2019 season due to various ailments and finished the season with only two starters from Week 1. Wills doesn’t have that issue. He started in all 28 games for the Crimson Tide over the past two seasons.
Luckily for the Jets, this draft is rife with offensive line talent. There could be up to four linemen taken in the first half of the first round, and we’re still three months away from the actual draft. Other players like Georgia’s Andrew Thomas, Iowa’s Tristan Wirfs and Louisville’s Mekhi Becton could call all go quickly in the 2020 draft.
Taking Wills would mark the first time the Jets drafted an offensive lineman in the first round since 2006 when they took tackle D’Brickashaw Ferguson at No. 4 and traded back into the first round to grab center Nick Mangold at No. 29.