The New York Jets had a top-ranked draft class in 2021 by most accounts and with one full season in the books, it appears they still do.
ESPN’s NFL Nation of expert beat reporters participated in a joint re-draft of last year’s class of rookies and the results acknowledged some truths for the Jets organization and their fans.
Being that general manager Joe Douglas drafted his first quarterback with New York, this group will always start and end with Zach Wilson. So that’s where we’ll begin.
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Jets Stick With Wilson
This may surprise a contingent of Jets supporters but the BYU product’s rookie campaign would change nothing if they could do it all over again — at least according to ESPN’s NYJ reporter Rich Cimini. He wrote:
The organization still believes in Wilson’s upside even though his season was underwhelming. Others might disagree, but they’d still take him over Mac Jones and the other QBs in the draft. They believe he will flourish with experience and a better supporting cast. The stats suggest otherwise, but the Jets are trusting their eyes and their guts.
Cimini made it clear in a tweet that “the assignment was to pick based on [what reporters] thought the TEAM would do” and I would have to agree with his decision.
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The Jets organization was never as high on Justin Fields as some fans were and the Chicago Bears signal-caller didn’t do much to separate himself from Wilson in year one. If anything, the two had very similar campaigns mixed with highs and lows.
Obviously, the standout of the QB class has been Mac Jones so far but the ESPN experts seem to agree that the New England Patriots made him successful — not the other way around. In fact, only two quarterbacks changed teams in this re-draft.
Trevor Lawrence, Wilson and Trey Lance still went one through three in that order. Later, a no-trading rule made it so the Bears could not move up to select Fields. That left him on the table for the Minnesota Vikings, and Vikes reporter Courtney Cronin swept in and snagged the Ohio State product.
“The Vikings tried to work out a trade with Carolina that would’ve moved them from No. 14 to No. 8 last April because they had their eye on Fields. With Fields available to them in the re-draft, this was a no-brainer,” she explained. “Fields would give Minnesota a true succession plan and belief in their future at quarterback without having to start all over at the position if they move on from Cousins this offseason.”
Then, despite all the hype of his rookie season, Jones still fell to New England at No. 15. The only other quarterback swap in the first two rounds was Davis Mills, who the New Orleans Saints jumped up to grab toward the end of round two.
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Jets Lose 3 Draft Steals on Offense
Aside from the Wilson truth bomb by Cimini and the experts, this re-draft also proved just how good Douglas’ selections were early on.
After Wilson, the Jets GM traded up to get Alijah Vera-Tucker at No. 14, then went Elijah Moore at No. 34 and Michael Carter in the fourth round. In this two-round do-over, all three of those prospects were selected before Gang Green could get them.
‘AVT’ was the only prospect that took a slight drop in the draft order but that was mainly based on team need. With no trades allowed, the Vikings and Patriots went QB, as we mentioned earlier. Then the Arizona Cardinals expert went with a surprise selection of running back Najee Harris, who he called the “best player available” at No. 16.
The All-Rookie guard didn’t last much longer than that, as the Las Vegas Raiders pivoted to Vera-Tucker instead of OT/G Alex Leatherwood. Before the Jets were on the clock again at No. 23 — their original spot in the order — Moore was taken by the Tennessee Titans at No. 22.
5 TDs since Week 9. The most in the NFL. (via @PFF)
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Cimini decided to draft Miami Dolphins edge rusher Jaelan Phillips instead, who fell from No. 18 despite a really productive rookie year. “Two actual Jets picks, Alijah Vera-Tucker and Elijah Moore, are off the board, which shows that others value them as much as the Jets do. The team finished 27th in sacks, so Phillips (8.5 sacks) makes sense from a need standpoint. He’d join Carl Lawson (returning from Achilles surgery) and John Franklin-Myers to give New York a formidable trio on the edge,” the beat reporter voiced.
With Moore’s original slot in the second, Cimini then replaced AVT with Kansas City Chiefs guard Trey Smith — an every-down starter in 2021.
Running back Michael Carter was the final rookie lost in this re-draft scenario, and he’s turned out to be the biggest steal of 2021 for New York so far.
Man, we’re sure glad we drafted 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 guy.
📼 @8kMike
The Green & White were able to get the North Carolina product in round four. This time around, ‘MC1’ went in the second, after the division-rival Dolphins took him at pick No. 50 with their initial choice already off the board.
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ESPN 2021 ‘Re-Draft’ Acknowledges 3 Jets Sleepers & Zach Wilson Truth