Instant Analysis: WR Denzel Mims gives Jets a Day 1 starter on Day 2 of the draft

Sam Darnold got a new offensive weapon in Baylor wideout Denzel Mims.

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Joe Douglas gave Sam Darnold another toy to play with this season by taking Denzel Mims on Day 2 of the NFL draft.

Somehow, Mims fell all the way to the 59th pick after the Jets traded back from the 48th. Now he’ll join Breshad Perriman as the Jets’ second outside receiver with Jamison Crowder in the slot. Mims is a big-bodied receiver at 6-foot-3, 215 pounds who was incredibly productive in four seasons at Baylor. There he totaled 186 career receptions for 2,925 yards and 28 touchdowns.

This was the right pick at the right time to replace the production of Robby Anderson. Adam Gase got one speedy wideout in Perriman in free agency and now he gets another fast pass-catcher who has an enormous catch radius. Mims excelled at snatching passes away from defensive backs and tied for second in the country with 20 contested catches on 41 targets.

Mims doesn’t come without his flaws. Though he finished with 186 receptions in Baylor’s pass-heavy offense, he dropped 12.9 percent of his targets the past two seasons. He’s also a little more limited with his route tree – he’s great at slants, posts and go routes, but not much else. Mims’ production also dipped considerably between his sophomore and junior seasons, though he rebounded with a sensational senior season at Baylor.

Mims is a Day 1 starter for a Jets’ offense that’s been starved of a powerful receiver for some time. Darnold should have a lot of fun in 2020 with Mims joining a receiving corps that was in serious need of talent.

Grade: A-

Jets Wire’s 2020 NFL Mock Draft 5.0: Andrew Thomas to New York in final 7-round prediction

Jets Wire’s final mock draft of the year has New York landing Georgia offensive tackle Andrew Thomas at No. 11.

After months of anticipation, it’s finally draft day.

With the 2020 NFL Draft less than 24 hours away, we at the Jets Wire have one last mock ready to go. This projection focuses on the Jets and what they can do through all seven rounds, as well as a look at how the entire first round could play out.

The Jets find themselves in an interesting position with the 11th pick. At this point, they seem destined to take a tackle or a receiver. What they do in the first round may telegraph their plans for the rest of the draft.

In this mock draft, New York adds protection for Sam Darnold, two big-bodied weapons at wide receiver, a potential starting EDGE and cornerback, Le’Veon Bell’s backup and a late-round defensive line flier.

Let’s take a look at who we think the Jets could take in Douglas’ first draft as the team’s general manager in Jets Wire’s fifth and final mock.

First Round

1. Cincinnati Bengals — Joe Burrow | QB | LSU

2. Washington Redskins — Chase Young | DE | Ohio State

3. Detroit Lions — Jeff Okudah | CB | Ohio State

4. New York Giants — Mekhi Becton | OT | Louisville

5. Miami Dolphins — Justin Herbert | QB | Oregon

6. Los Angeles Chargers — Tua Tagovailoa | QB | Alabama

7. Carolina Panthers — Isaiah Simmons | OLB | Clemson

8. Arizona Cardinals — Tristan Wirfs | OL | Iowa

9. Jacksonville Jaguars — Derrick Brown | DL | Auburn

10. Cleveland Browns — Jedrick Wills Jr. | OT | Alabama

11. New York Jets — Andrew Thomas | OT | Georgia

With Becton, Wirfs and Wills Jr. off the board, Thomas becomes the logical selection for the Jets at No. 11. He might not come with the hype that the other three had throughout draft season, but Thomas is arguably the most-pro ready tackle of the bunch. He is a plug-and-play starter for New York and has the potential to become a leader in the locker room from day one.

12. Las Vegas Raiders — CeeDee Lamb | WR | Oklahoma

13. San Francisco 49ers (via IND) — Jerry Jeudy | WR | Alabama

14. Tampa Bay Buccaneers — Josh Jones | OT | Houston

15. Denver Broncos — Henry Ruggs II | WR | Alabama

16. Atlanta Falcons — CJ Henderson | CB | Florida

17. Dallas Cowboys — K’Lavon Chaisson | EDGE | LSU

18. Miami Dolphins (via PITT) — Javon Kinlaw | DL | South Carolina

19. Las Vegas Raiders (via CHI) — Patrick Queen | LB | LSU

20. Jacksonville Jaguars (via LAR) — Austin Jackson | OT | USC

21. Philadelphia Eagles — Justin Jefferson | WR | LSU

22. Minnesota Vikings (via BUF) — Jeff Gladney | CB | TCU

23. New England Patriots — Yetur Gross-Matos | DE | Penn State

24. New Orleans Saints — Jordan Love | QB | Utah State

25. Minnesota Vikings — A.J. Epenesa — EDGE | Iowa

26. Miami Dolphins (via HOU) — Isaiah Wilson | OT | Georgia

27. Seattle Seahawks — Xavier McKinney | S | Alabama

28. Baltimore Ravens — Kenneth Murray | LB | Oklahoma

29. Tennessee Titans — Zach Baun | EDGE | Wisconsin

30. Green Bay Packers — Denzel Mims | WR | Baylor

31. San Francisco 49ers — Jaylon Johnson | CB | Utah

32. Kansas City Chiefs — Trevon Diggs | CB | Alabama

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Free agent WR Marqise Lee a perfect fit for Jets

The Jets need all the help they can get at receiver and the former Jaguars pass-catcher would be the perfect fit for Adam Gase.

Former 2014 second-round pick Marqise Lee could be a simple solution to the Jets’ wide receiver woes and might make their draft decisions a little easier.

Wide receiver remains one of the biggest question marks on the Jets roster even with a depth chart that includes Jamison Crowder, Breshad Perriman and Quincy Enunwa as its starters. Lee, who the Jaguars released Monday, would be a perfect fit in Adam Gase’s offense given his experience, size and skillset, but it’s hard to buy into a player who’s only played 16 games in the past two seasons.

The Jets have their big-play threat, slot receiver and big-bodied targets in Perriman, Crowder, Enunwa and tight end Chris Herndon, but they’re lacking a receiver who excels in the middle of the field on short-to-intermediate passing yard situations. Lee is that missing piece on the offense and proved he can be that with Jaguars over the past six years. At 6-foot-1, 196 pounds, Lee could become for the Jets offense what Jarvis Landy and Danny Amendola were for Gase during his time with the Dolphins.

Lee was one of the better receivers on targets of nine yards or less from 2016-2017, the best two years of his career. On those plays, he tallied 9.7 yards per reception, 5.7 yards after the catch, forced a missed tackle rate of 18.6 percent and had an explosive play rate of 14.8 percent. He caught 119 receptions for 1,553 yards and six touchdowns in 30 games.

Lee isn’t known as a deep-ball pass catcher – he finished as one of the worst receivers on passes of at least 20 yards – but he excelled in the middle of the field, particularly on crossing routes. Almost a quarter of Lee’s targets and 31.5 percent of his yards between 2016-2017 came on crossing routes, where he caught 80 percent of those targets.

This bodes well for a Jets offense that thrives on short passes. Darnold threw short passes on 78.45 percent of his passing attempts in 2019, while 77.63 percent of Lee’s targets came on short passing attempts. Both Darnold and Lee favored the right side of the field for passes as well. If Lee joins the Jets, he’ll have a role that fits his skill set perfectly, as long as he can stay on the field.

The biggest worry with Lee is his health. He missed all of 2018 and most of 2019 with severe knee injuries and missed time at other points in his career due to shoulder, foot, ankle and hamstring ailments. The talent is there, it’s just a matter of durability that might keep Lee from seeing action.

That shouldn’t stop the Jets from taking a flier on Lee, though, and it shouldn’t change Douglas’ draft strategy with finding a receiver. If anything, signing Lee alleviates the pressure on the Jets to find a starting receiver with one of their early-round picks. The Jets would be able to focus on other positions of need like offensive tackle, cornerback or edge rusher earlier on rather than wideout if they sign or plan to sign Lee. Douglas should absolutely still look at taking a receiver as early as the second round, but the pressure to draft at that position with a premium pick is lessened when you have a roster littered with experienced pass-catchers.

Douglas already said the Jets will be buyers in free agency again once the draft is over and that could very well mean adding a starting-caliber wide receiver like Lee.

Joe Douglas has poor track record when it comes to drafting receivers

Jets GM Joe Douglas isn’t known as a receiver guru, which isn’t a good sign for a Jets team that needs a star wideout in this draft.

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.

Todd McShay: Sam Darnold more talented than other recent college QBs

ESPN NFL draft analyst Todd McShay said Sam Darnold was more talented than other elite college quarterbacks when he entered the NFL.

Jets quarterback Sam Darnold has not had much to work with in his two seasons in the NFL.

Throughout his rookie season, Darnold’s only consistent target was Robby Anderson. No. 2 receiver Quincy Enunwa missed five games due to injury. Jermaine Kearse regressed after a strong 2017 campaign. Free agent signing Terrell Pryor contributed next to nothing before being released. Chris Herndon performed relatively well, but still caught only 39 passes as he learned the ropes in his rookie year.

In 2019, the Jets made an effort to surround Darnold with some weapons by signing Le’Veon Bell and Jamison Crowder. Crowder developed chemistry with Darnold, but Bell failed to contribute much of anything due to pitiful offensive line play. Enunwa and Herndon appeared in one game each, forcing Darnold to work without one of his starting receivers and a budding tight end.

Darnold has caught plenty of heat for his turnover-prone play in his first two years with the Jets. Some have questioned his ability to read NFL defenses, while others have questioned his arm talent. Throughout all of this, the lack of talent the USC product has been surrounded with frequently flies under the radar.

On Monday, ESPN’s Todd McShay shined a light on the subject. Not only did McShay emphasize that Darnold needs help from his skill position players, but he went as far as saying he was better coming out of college than other recent signal callers that have either entered the NFL in recent years or are preparing to do so in the 2020 draft.

“Sam Darnold was more talented than Baker Mayfield, Kyler Murray and Joe Burrow coming out of college,” McShay said. “Darnold just needs people around him.”

Many will argue against McShay’s opinion, but his tenure as a veteran draft analyst gives his words some credence. The jury is still out on Burrow and Murray, but Mayfield had Odell Beckham Jr., Jarvis Landry and David Njoku to throw to last season, yet failed to lead the Browns to more wins than Darnold accumulated with the Jets while working with a motley crew of wideouts.

Regardless of McShay’s words, it looks like Darnold will be forced to make due with less yet again in 2020. Bell returns at running back, but it remains to be seen what he can bring to the table in his second year with the Jets. Anderson departed in free agency and his replacement, Breshad Perriman, still has to prove he can consistently produce for a whole season.

On the bright side, Darnold still has Crowder to work with in the slot and the Jets will feature a solid tight end duo in Ryan Griffin and Herndon. Enunwa could return, although it is unclear what kind of impact he can make after a second neck injury. It’s not the most electric group of skill position players in the league, but one that can get open and catch passes.

Could year three be the year Darnold breaks out and separates himself from the quarterbacks he has been compared to for years? Only time will tell. Until then, let the record show that any evaluation of Darnold’s play must take into account how little he has had to work with throughout his professional career.

Somehow, Sam Darnold could be entering a worse situation in 2020

The Jets haven’t done enough to upgrade their offense so far this offseason.

If the 2020 NFL season started today, Sam Darnold and the Jets would be in a worse offensive state than they were when the 2019 season ended.

That’s saying a lot considering the Jets ranked 31st in points and 32nd in yards last year, but it’s undeniable after they replaced Robby Anderson with Breshad Perriman on Tuesday. Anderson’s departure and Joe Douglas’ inability to bring in more talent on offense could also set Darnold up for failure in 2020.

Despite a respectable 7-9 season, New York finished 2019 among the worst in almost every offensive category. Darnold finished 25th in passing yards, completion percentage and passing touchdowns. It would be hard to get much worse than that, yet the soon-to-be third-year quarterback somehow has less talent to work with just a few weeks into free agency.

New York’s offensive line is theoretically better but isn’t proven, the receiving corps lacks a true No. 1 option without Anderson and Le’Veon Bell remains the only running back worth giving any touches. A lot can change between now and the beginning of the 2020 season, but so far it would take a miracle for Adam Gase and Darnold to salvage this offense.

General manager Joe Douglas went heavy on offensive linemen early in free agency by signing potential starters Connor McGovern, George Fant and Greg Van Roten and bringing back Alex Lewis. Outside of McGovern, none of those players have proven to be consistent performers and aren’t necessarily true upgrades over what the Jets fielded in 2019. Fant is wildly inconsistent and undeveloped, while Van Roten and Lewis are serviceable linemen.

The biggest blow to Darnold’s potential is the loss of Anderson, who signed a two-year, $20 million deal with the Panthers on Tuesday. Losing one player won’t break an offense, but Darnold targeted Anderson on 19.8 percent of his passing attempts over the past two seasons. Without Anderson, the Jets are now woefully thin at wide receiver. Perriman, Jamison Crowder and Quincy Enunwa – should he return fully healthy from his second season-ending neck injury – are now the Jets’ top receiver options and none inspire confidence.

Perriman is a solid replacement for Anderson with lots of speed and a big 6-foot-2, 215-pound frame, but a downgrade considering he only recently enjoyed a solid season. He failed to perform with the Ravens and Browns over his first three seasons in the NFL and only excelled with the Buccaneers after they lost Mike Evans for the season. Perriman’s 36 catches for 645 yards and six touchdowns on only 56 percent of Tampa Bay’s snaps is nice, but misleading. He caught 25 passes for 506 yards and five touchdowns in the final five games of the season when he averaged over 90 percent of the snaps.

Behind Perriman, it’s Crowder, who saw 20 percent of Darnold’s targets in 2019. Crowder’s 78 targets were 16 more than the combined totals of the rest of the Jets receivers, excluding Anderson. Enunwa, Vyncint Smith, Josh Doctson and Braxton Berrios aren’t going to cut it for a team looking to take over the AFC East and the duo of Perriman and Crowder isn’t great as Darnold’s top-two receiving options.

That leaves the tight ends and running backs. Chris Herndon and Ryan Griffin are good players but neither are worldbeating tight ends, and the Jets have not found a running back to backup Bell, who faded toward the end of the 2019 season after being fed touches throughout the year. It looks like Ty Montgomery and Bilal Powell won’t be returning, meaning the Jets must find a quality backup running back to spell Bell during the season. There are some quality rushers left on the market, but none are good enough to invigorate the Jets offense.

Now, this doom and gloom for the Jets offense could all change in the next month. The Jets have the Nos. 11, 48, 68 and 78 picks in the draft, which they could easily use to bolster the offensive line and add weapons for Darnold. The o-line and receiver are two of the deepest positions in the draft and it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Jets grab a player at either position with its first two picks. The Jets could also trade for a lineman such as Trent Williams or a wide receiver such as Alshon Jeffrey before the draft to infuse some veteran experience into the roster. Any of those moves would help Darnold and would be significant upgrades over the offense the Jets currently field.

A lot can change before the season begins, but as it stands now, the Jets look a lot worse than they did in 2019.

NFL comp picks 2020: Redskins get 4th-round draft selection

The Redskins have been given a fourth-round pick as compensation for losing Jamison Crowder in free agency last season.

The full list of compensatory picks in the 2020 NFL Draft: pic.twitter.com/QKADDS4yPu

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) March 10, 2020

The NFL announced on Tuesday that the Washington Redskins will receive a 4th-round compensatory draft pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, helping to bolster their relatively thin stock of selections this April’s draft.

The pick is coming to Washington by way of Jamison Crowder, who the Redskins lost in free agency to the New York Jets in 2019.

Unsure of how the compensatory draft picks work, and why they are awarded? Check out this explainer from Over The Cap:

Compensatory picks are awarded to teams that lose more or better compensatory free agents than they acquire. The number of picks a team can receive equals the net loss of compensatory free agents, up to a maximum of four. Compensatory free agents are determined by a secret formula based on salary, playing time and postseason honors. Not every free agent lost or signed is covered by the formula.

So, in the Redskins case, the NFL is rewarding them with a fourth-round draft pick in order to help alleviate the loss of Crowder last season. In comparison, the New York Giants were awarded a third-round pick for the loss of Landon Collins, who signed with the Redskins.

The value of an additional mid-round pick can not be understated, as the Redskins are without a second-round pick due to the trade for Montez Sweat in 2019. Look for Washington to fill a major need with the addition os this compensatory pick.

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Jets have no compensatory picks for 2020 NFL Draft

The Jets will be without any compensatory picks for the 2020 NFL Draft.

The NFL is about set to hand out compensatory picks for the 2020 NFL Draft, but the Jets will not be receiving any this year.

Compensatory picks are based on free agent additions and subtractions. The Jets have a few players that they signed during free agency last offseason who created compensatory picks for their previous team.

Those players include Le’Veon Bell, C.J. Mosley and Jamison Crowder. In Bell’s case, the Steelers will receive a third-round pick. The Ravens will get a fourth-round pick for Mosley, as will the Redskins for Crowder.

General manager Joe Douglas is big on compensatory picks. His former team, the Ravens, have had the most compensatory picks in the league since 1994 with 50. Meanwhile, the Jets are 30th in the league in compensatory picks with 14 since 1994.

However, Douglas has said that he’s not going to worry about obtaining compensatory picks. That could mean that he’s going to spend a lot of money in free agency not only on his own guys, but other free agents as well.

The Jets should have about $80 million in cap space this offseason once they cut a handful of players from the roster. It’ll be interesting who Douglas targets given the holes on the offensive line in addition to cornerback and edge rusher.

For at least this year though, Douglas will not be able to fix the Jets’ problems with any compensatory picks.

5 wide receivers Jets should target on the trade block

The Jets need better wide receivers. These five players could be good options on the trade block.

Every offense needs playmakers and the Jets are in prime position to add several in free agency and the draft.

With Le’Veon Bell entrenched at running back and a quartet of tight ends led by Chris Herndon, Joe Douglas needs to shore up the wide receiver group, especially if he lets Robby Anderson and Demaryius Thomas leave in free agency. There are several free agent wideouts the Jets can target this offseason, as well as a dearth of prospects in the upcoming draft, but Douglas would be wise to scour the trade block as well for some players that could immediately upgrade his receiving corps.

The Jets aren’t tied directly to any of the following players, but all options should be on the table for Douglas his offseason. With that, here are five wide receivers the Jets should look at for potential trades.

Eagles WR Alshon Jeffery

Adam Gase needs playmakers on offense for Sam Darnold to work and Jeffery would be a solid addition to the Jets given his veteran skillset and connection to both Gase and Joe Douglas.

Jeffery caught 54 receptions for 807 yards and four touchdowns in 2017 with the Bears when Gase was his coach and when Douglas was the director of pro scouting. Jeffery also played for the Eagles for two years during Douglas’ tenure in Philadelphia.

Jeffery would become the Jets’ best wide receiver option with his 6-foot-3, 218-pound frame, but there are obvious concerns when it comes to his production and durability. He’s coming off his least productive season since his rookie year in 2012, hasn’t turned in a 1,000-yard receiving season since 2014 and hasn’t played a full 16-game schedule since 2017.

Jeffery reportedly “would welcome the change of scenery,” according to The Athletic’s Connor Hughes, but there’s no telling what the Eagles would want in return for his services. Given his injury history – he just had Lisfranc surgery for his foot in December that comes with a nine-month recovery period – and the $9.910 million base salary the Jets would take in, it wouldn’t take much to acquire Jeffery, though it would be a huge risk.

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Jets sign former Redskins WR Josh Doctson

The Jets have signed former Redskins wideout Josh Doctson.

The New York Jets have added another weapon to their offense.

The team announced Saturday that it has signed former Redskins and Vikings wide receiver Josh Doctson.

Doctson was a first-round pick out of TCU by the Redskins in 2016. In three seasons with the Redskins, Doctson made 81 catches for 1,100 yards and eight touchdowns.

The 27-year-old was a surprise cut by the Redskins this past September. Doctson ended up being signed by the Vikings after being waived, but he only appeared in one game and recorded no stats.

The Jets have a lot of uncertainty at the wide receiver position. Their top receiver, Robby Anderson, is a free agent and could be on his way out of New York. Meanwhile, Quincy Enunwa has major health concerns and Demaryius Thomas is also a free agent. The one staple at wide receiver is Jamison Crowder in the slot. Vyncint Smith and Braxton Berrios are under contract as well.

There’s no risk in signing Doctson to a deal. Either he performs well in training camp and makes the roster or he gets cut with no harm.