We are coming up on the 2024 NFL draft that takes place from April 25 - 27; The New York Jets will go into the draft with the number ten overall pick. They also have a third-round pick, two fourth-round picks, two sixth-round picks, and a seventh-round pick.
It will be a busy weekend for the Jets, who look to fill out their roster to be ready to compete for a championship this upcoming season. There are a lot of possibilities for the Jets, especially when it comes to the tenth pick.
Especially since they did a good job filling out their needs at offensive line and wide receiver in free agency, signing Tyron Smith and Mike Williams. Leaving the Jets with flexibility come draft night.
New York is in a good position where they can see how the picks fall early to decide if they should trade up, trade down, or stay put. How will that be decided? Well, the key is what happens in those first four picks, specifically with the Cardinals at pick four.
Trade Up
If Arizona trades the pick to a Quarterback needing team like Minnesota that could mean top wide receiver prospect Marvin Harrison Jr. has fallen to pick five. NFL insider Daniel Jeremiah mocked the Jets to trade up to pick five to land Harrison Jr. If the Chargers are willing to deal, pick five with Harrison Jr. on the board. The Jets should be aggressive and look to get the pick.
Marvin Harrison Jr. is a game changer, arguably the top prospect in the class, sitting at 6’4 coming out of Ohio State University. He would make an immediate impact for the Jets, and he teamed up with Garrett Wilson in college.
With Mike Williams coming off an ACL injury, Robert Salah has said the Jets will use him in the same way they used Breece Hall when he was coming off his injury. Which means he will slowly be infiltrated into the offense, he won’t be an every down player. So, the Jets could use another weapon for Aaron Rodgers.
Harrison Jr. would be an explosive and a huge addition to a team that is going all in to win now. He has the potential to be a top-tier receiver on day one. If Harrison Jr. does fall to pick five, and the Chargers are looking to trade down, the Jets should be all in on this.
Harrison Jr. isn’t the only one the Jets could trade up for, even if he is gone, the Jets could still trade up for the other two top receivers in Malik Nabers, or Romeo Odunze. Who also could have a major impact on the Jets in year one. The Point is, though, the Jets should be looking to get an immediate year-one impact player.
Stay at Ten
Which is why the Jets should not be looking to get an offensive lineman in the first round. Even if you stay at pick ten, if Brock Bowers, the tight end out of Georgia, is there, you take him. Brock Bowers is basically a wide receiver. He can play the slot for you, and he can go out wide. He is another weapon the Jets can obtain, and they could stay at ten to get him if he falls to them.
The reason the Jets should not go offensive line is because you are drafting those linemen to be your future starting linemen. The Jets already have their two starting tackles for this season in Smith, and Morgan Moses. You would be drafting a lineman in the possibility of someone getting injured. I know injuries for the Jets line has been an issue, but you don’t draft off potential injuries.
New York is in win now mode, the message has been that they are going all in. Going all in is not drafting a future franchise lineman, it is drafting a player that will make an impact for you right away in your goal to win now. As good as drafting a lineman would be for the Jets' future, your quarterback is 40 years old. He doesn’t have much longer in his career, so you need to make this top-ten pick with the goal that this rookie will help now.
Brock Bowers at pick ten would do just that in the event you don’t trade up for a wide receiver. You can draft linemen in the later rounds in the hope they develop into future starting linemen. With pick ten, though, you need a player who will make an impact this season.
As good as some of these potential first-round linemen are that the Jets can take, they do not help year one unless injuries occur, but you do not draft off the possibility of injury.
Trade Down
With all that being said, what if Bowers and all the wide receivers you would take in the top ten are gone? In that event, the Jets then would probably take an offensive lineman, or they could trade down and gain more picks, like the possibility of a second-rounder, because they don’t have one right now.
If the Jets traded down, it would depend on how far they drop, but if they do, I still expect them to take an offensive lineman like Taliese Fuaga, Troy Fautanu, Amarius Mims, and JC Latham. In this event, they could use that hypothetical second-round pick and draft a receiver. Or they could use that first-round pick and draft wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. out of LSU.
The Jets drafting an offensive lineman isn’t bad by any means, but it just should not be the pick over an offensive weapon that can make an impact for New York in their first season. If Harrison Jr., Nabers, Odunze, and Bowers are all gone by pick ten, then the Jets trading down to gain more draft capital would be a smart decision.
To sum it up, if Harrison Jr. falls to pick five and the Chargers are open to trading, the Jets should be all in on that. If not, the Jets should stick to pick ten and draft Bowers. If all the weapons are gone by pick ten, the Jets should trade back, gain a second-round pick, and draft a lineman-receiver combo in either order.
As far as day two and day three of the draft, The Jets will probably go to their bread and butter stacking up on offensive and defensive linemen. Other positions they could look to pick in the later rounds are safety, running back, a development quarterback, and receivers if they don’t take one in round one.
Mock Draft
RD1- Brock Bowers – The Gang Green will select Brock Bowers at pick ten, giving Rodgers another massive weapon alongside Wilson and Williams. The Jets need more production from their offense, and Bowers does exactly that.
RD3- Ruke Orhorhor – A defensive lineman out of Clemson, Gang Green is always going to look to continue to build depth in the trenches. Orhoror brings good size and athleticism to a strong defensive unit for New York.
RD4- Blake Fisher – An offensive tackle out of Notre Dame, Fisher will be a depth piece for the Jets at offensive line and someone they would hope they can develop into a starting right tackle.
RD4- Brandon Coleman – offensive guard out of TCU. With the Jets going Bowers round one, they continue to stack the offensive line here, bringing more depth.
RD6- Evan Williams – safety out Oregon, safety has been one of the weaker spots on the Jets defense with Willams they add another depth piece to the position. Williams plays hard nose football and isn’t afraid to be aggressive, something they will like.
RD6- Dylan McMahon – offensive guard out of North Carolina State; it doesn’t hurt to go offensive line again just to be safe. He can play both guard and center.
RD7- Sam Hartman – quarterback out of Notre Dame, with the Mr. Irrelevant pick New York gets a quarterback of their own. It is a splashy pick to end the draft in the hopes he can be the next Brock Purdy. Hartman can get the ball out quickly and had a good college career.
Be sure to check out JerseySportingNews.com during the NFL Draft for more Jets Coverage.
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