The New York Jets have plenty of options in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft, including a potential trade back for Taliese Fuaga.
ESPN insider Field Yates shared his final mock draft on the morning of this year’s draft. With all three of the top receiver prospects off the board before their pick, Yates had the Jets trading back with the Indianapolis Colts before taking Fuaga at 15.
Here are the full trade details.
Jets receive: 15th, 82nd overall picks
Colts receive: 10th overall pick
“I believe GM Joe Douglas will choose to add another big blocker after the Jets used 12 different offensive line combinations in 2023,” Yates wrote. “Fuaga is a mauler who profiles as a long-term starter at tackle with the added ability to play guard. Landing him and picking up an extra pick would be a win for the Jets.”
Taliese Fuaga Scouting Report
If the Jets want another versatile offensive lineman, there aren’t many better options in this year’s draft than Fuaga.
Despite being a 3-star recruit out of Tacoma, Fuaga drew plenty of interest out of high school. His offers included USC and Oregon, but he decided to head to Corvallis to play for Oregon State.
Fuaga was a bit of a late bloomer for the Beavers. After seeing limited action his first two seasons, he earned a starting role in 2022. He was named a second-team All-Pac-12 selection that year before becoming a household name in 2023. He left Oregon State as a first-team Pac-12 and All-American selection as an anchor for the Beavers program.
As one of the top offensive lineman prospects, Fuaga is drawing rave reviews. NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein compared him to longtime Detroit Lions starter Taylor Decker.
“A team could slide him to guard to improve its interior protection, but he’s best-suited at right tackle, where he should become a good starter,” Zierlein wrote.
The Jets could slot Fuaga in somewhere inside and kick him out to tackle in 2025 if one of Morgan Moses or Tyron Smith don’t return.
Could the Jets Trade Up?
A trade down could make sense for the Jets if the top three receivers are off the board. However, there’s also a chance that general manager Joe Douglas could trade up for a top weapon.
According to ESPN’s Rich Cimini, the Jets have been doing their homework on a potential trade up.
“It would be an even louder statement if they trade up for a playmaker,” Cimini said. “The Jets are exploring those options, league sources said. It would be the ultimate win-now move, giving up current (and perhaps future) draft capital to move up for a pass-catcher. Douglas is an aggressive GM, having traded up in the first round in two of his four drafts. In those cases, though, he had multiple first-round picks.”
Marvin Harrison Jr. will likely be off the board in the first five picks. However, there’s still the possibility the Jets could be ultra-aggressive to go for Harrison. If not him, then the other two options for the Jets to go after are Malik Nabers and Rome Odunze.
Brock Bowers remains an option at tight end if the Jets stay put. However, if the Jets want to take a big swing on another option for Aaron Rodgers, Odunze or Nabers could make a lot of sense.
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Jets Trade Proposal Helps New York Land Top Offensive Lineman