New York Jets general manager Joe Douglas has a lot of tough decisions to make over the coming months.
What he chooses to do, one way or another will be heavily scrutinized by media members, fans, and even his players.
Everyone has an opinion on what the green and white should do this offseason, even one of the young bright stars on the team.
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Making Their Voice Heard
Former Jets first-rounder Alijah Vera-Tucker took to social media to share who he believes the team should consider picking in the upcoming 2022 NFL draft:
Of course, there may be a slight bias here based on AVT’s collegiate allegiance to the USC Trojans, but even still it is worth noting.
It isn’t uncommon for current players on the team to root for their alma maters and try to see if they can influence the big wigs involved.
This one wouldn’t be a very hard sell as the Jets have a clear and obvious need at wide receiver and USC’s Drake London is firmly in the conversation with the No. 10 overall pick in the first round.
A Difficult Decision to Make
There doesn’t seem to be a consensus No. 1 wide receiver in this draft class, unless you ask Todd McShay or Mel Kiper of ESPN.
On separate episodes of the First Draft podcast, both experts threw rose petals at the USC wide receiver’s feet.
McShay called him the “No. 1 wide receiver in this class” even with the fractured ankle he suffered last season.
Some of the buzz words he used to describe him were: “unbelievable with oily hips that can create and break ankles. You can see that basketball background on tape in the red-zone.”
Kiper doubled down on that saying he is the “clear cut” No. 1 wide receiver in this class:
.@MelKiperESPN mocked @USC_FB WR Drake London (@DrakeLondon_) to the #Jets in his Mock Draft 1.0. He called him the ‘clear cut’ No. 1 WR in this draft class + has that ‘Mike Evans-Plaxico Burress’ frame + ‘freakish talent’: 🎥 First Draft w/ @FieldYates #TakeFlight #NFLDraft
Although when I spoke to Jacob Infante who is a lead NFL Draft analyst for The Draft Wire he called it a “flavor draft.” In other words, depending on what your respective team is looking for will answer which wide receiver is the best fit for you in round one.
Well, what flavor the Jets need is quite simple, a bonafide true No. 1 wide receiver. That can come in a lot of different ways but it is hard not to fall in love with London who brings fantastic size at 6-foot-5, 210 pounds.
If you squint you can see a poor man’s Brandon Marshall with his ability to win in contested catch scenarios and the talent to out-muscle people for the football.
Marshall of course delivered the greatest single season in franchise history back in 2015 and the Jets haven’t seen anything close to it since then.
London would bring size to a Jets receiving corps that doesn’t have any. This is the kind of weapon that Zach Wilson can just throw it up to and know that the talented USC product will find a way to come down with it.
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Jets Youngster Pleads With Team to Add ‘No. 1 WR in NFL Draft’