Two Offensive Positions Dominate National Mock Drafts For The New York Jets
It isn’t exactly chaos among the mock drafts, but there certainly isn’t consensus when it comes to the New York Jets.
There is a little movement among the prominent mock drafts over the past week as it pertains to the New York Jets, who pick No. 11 in the first round of April’s NFL Draft. The Jets have needs along the offensive line, at wide receiver as well as at defensive end and cornerback. But the most pressing needs exist on the offensive side of the ball.
That is reflected by nearly every national mock draft, as most if not all have the Jets going wide receiver or offensive line with their first pick.
As he was a week ago, Jerry Jeudy remains the most popular pick for the Jets. The Alabama wide receiver would be a natural fit for the team as a playmaker and a replacement for Robby Anderson, should the Jets second leading receiver last year leave via free agency.
Last week, Jeudy was the pick in 25% of all mock drafts, nationally. This week, he inches down to 24.7%.
Offensive line is inching up in popularity, led by Iowa’s Tristan Wirfs. Over the course of a week, Wirfs went from 14.3% to 14.4%.
The Big Ten’s best offensive lineman projects as either a right tackle or at either guard position in the NFL.
The third most mocked player to the Jets is Oklahoma wide receiver CeeDee Lamb. His popularity has gone down with regards to landing with the Jets. Last week, Lamb was the pick in 12.5% of all mock drafts and now he is down to 11.6%.
The most popular pick to the Jets, however, remains ‘Other.’ The catch-all category, which reflects 49.3% of all mock draft picks, is indicative of how the Jets have varied options sitting at No. 11.
On Thursday, SportsIllustrated.com’s Kevin Hanson released his latest mock draft. At No. 11, Hanson has the Jets taking Louisville tackle Mekhi Becton.
“Becton has incredible agility and movement skills for a man his size (6’ 7”, 369 pounds), which led his former coach Bobby Petrino to once compare Bhim to Jonathan Ogden,” Hanson writes.
Last year, the Jets took defensive tackle Quinnen Williams out of Alabama with their first round pick.