NFL Insider: Why Jets Won't Draft a Wide Receiver in First Round

This NFL insider explained in a mailbag this week why he doesn't expect the Jets to use one of their two first-round picks on a receiver this spring.

The Jets haven't picked a wide receiver in the first round of the NFL draft since 2001 when they selected Santana Moss out of the University of Miami.

Could New York pick a wideout this April in the 2022 NFL draft with one of their two first-rounders?

One NFL insider says don't count it.

In his latest mailbag at Sports Illustrated, Albert Breer revealed that after looking at the Jets' roster and the state of their draft class, they probably won't target a receiver in the first round.

Here's Breer with more:

They have the fourth and 10th picks. The defense still needs a lot of help in the secondary and with edge rushers, and this draft class (which isn’t great at the top) will afford New York some options there. Assuming Aidan Hutchinson and Kayvon Thibodeaux are gone by No. 4, there’d be defensive back options there in LSU corner Derek Stingley Jr. and Notre Dame safety Kyle Hamilton. And then maybe you have Purdue rusher George Karlaftis at 10 (though some scouts aren’t as high on Karlaftis as the general public).

The receiver group this year does have really good options, and depth, but lacks a real top-10 guy, particularly after Jameson Williams tore his ACL in the title game. Which means, if you’re GM Joe Douglas, the value might be better to take care of your defense in the top 10 and double back to receiver in the thirties with your second-rounder.

As Breer alluded to, Alabama's Jameson Williams is a name that's already been linked to the Jets this offseason. If New York doesn't have another wideout on their draft board that they value as a top-10 selection, they can always wait and use one of their other seven picks over the following four rounds to address their receiver room.

After all, that's what the Jets did last year, snagging Elijah Moore early in the second round 34th overall. New York currently holds both the No. 35 and No. 38 picks in the second round (the second of which courtesy of the Sam Darnold trade with the Carolina Panthers).

Some other receivers that the Jets might have on their radar from this year's draft class include Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson from Ohio State, USC's Drake London and Arkansas' Treylon Burks.

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