Getty New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh making some key decisions during an NFL game.
With months between the end of the regular season and the 2022 NFL draft, there is plenty of time to kill.
During that large span of time, we normally have seen every single different scenario that could play out on draft day. However less than two weeks before the draft a new nugget emerged that could change everything for the New York Jets.
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Stunning Insight
NFL draft analyst Russell Brown from Woodward Sports and Cover-1 shared a massive bombshell during his weekly appearance on The Manchild Show with Boy Green on The Score 1260:
“There have been some things that have been discussed over the last couple of days at that fourth pick. Obviously, they can go a lot of different ways but basically, I think that pick comes down to two players for the Jets. I think the first one is Sauce Gardner because Robert Saleh loves himself a boundary corner. I think you look at Richard Sherman in San Francisco, I think Sauce makes a lot of sense there. Although if the Jets pass on Sauce, I think the reason why is because they go with speed at No. 4 and I think it might be Jameson Williams from Alabama.”
A source told him that the Jets “love him at 4” and it would provide them a “superior vertical option” for quarterback Zach Wilson.
In theory, it would complete the triplets at wide receiver with Corey Davis (physicality), Elijah Moore (playmaker), and Williams (deep threat and No. 1 alpha).
If this were to come to fruition, Williams would become the highest-drafted wideout by the Jets since Keyshawn Johnson was the No. 1 overall pick in 1996 out of USC.
Seems Hard to Believe
A wide receiver going to the Jets at No. 4 isn’t a completely foreign subject in mock drafts. As a matter of fact, ESPN NFL draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr has commonly put a receiver there.
However, the shock value comes with both the decision and the player.
Williams is coming off of a torn ACL he suffered during the College Football Playoffs. That injury likely will take him out of commission through a portion of the 2022 regular season.
However, his camp has maintained that he could be ready by training camp, which would be an aggressive and optimistic rehab plan.
Former Alabama WR Jameson Williams, two months removed from surgery on his torn ACL, is not participating in Alabama’s Pro Day today. But here here he is last week, continuing to progress, with the expectation being that he’ll be running by the draft, per @Alliance_Sports.
With so many needs for the Jets at a variety of positions like EDGE rusher, offensive line, cornerback, linebacker, safety, and interior defensive line it would be bold for the Jets to bypass all of those positions to take a wide receiver coming off of an injury.
That seems like a luxury pick for a team that doesn’t appear to be in a position to take that kind of calculated risk.
Part of the rationale behind this bombshell is the Jets fear that when they get back on the clock with the No. 10 overall pick, Williams won’t be there. In other words, if they love him as much as it seems they do, then they’ll have to pull the trigger at the No. 4 overall pick to ensure they land him.
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