You hear it all the time from people who cover the NFL Draft, “it’s an educated crapshoot.”
Normally those people are referencing the actual event that’ll take place starting Thursday night in Cleveland. Imagine how much more of a crapshoot it is for people that do mock drafts for a living?
While to the common fan it may seem like random guessing, some people take it more seriously than that. Benjamin Allbright is an NFL information broker that breaks news on a consistent basis on social media. Which makes him a must-follow.
Although the reason YOU should be following him isn’t because of his breaking news or insider nuggets, those are all great. He’s the second most accurate mock drafter on planet Earth.
Don’t believe me?
The Mock Draft Database ranks the accuracy of the top respected minds in and around the game of football. Allbright ranked second in the world for this past year’s draft.
That’s better than some known analysts that also made the cut in the top-10 like Daniel Jeremiah of the NFL Network, Jordan Reid of The Draft Network, or Jason La Canfora of CBS, to name a few.
With that as the backdrop, here are Benjamin Allbright’s mock draft selections for the New York Jets in the first round…
- Zach Wilson, quarterback, BYU (second overall)
At this point, Jets fans are just ready for the pick to become official. It seems like for weeks we’ve known (or thought we’ve known) that Wilson is going to be the guy. With Allbright’s stamp of approval, it seems to be as close to a lock as you can get outside of something unforeseen happening on draft day.
- Teven Jenkins, offensive tackle, Oklahoma State (23rd overall)
Now here’s where we get interesting. Jenkins is a superbly talented player with amazing size (6-foot-6, 317 pounds). Clearly, the offensive line, specifically the interior, is a major need for the Jets heading into the 2021 NFL Draft.
One of Jenkins’ best traits is his versatility. During his career at Oklahoma State, he logged time at right tackle (26 starts), left tackle (seven starts), and even right guard (two starts).
The Jets seem set at tackle. Mekhi Becton is a franchise cornerstone on the left side. While George Fant was solid last year and projects to be better in the new scheme.
In theory, Jenkins could slide inside for a year at one of the guard spots, then when/if the Jets decided to move on from Fant they could kick Jenkins out to his natural position of offensive tackle.
ESPN NFL Draft host Mike Greenberg shared on his podcast #Greeny a story he heard on Jenkins:
“Teven Jenkins plays as if everyone on the football field insulted his family.”
When you talk shop with football analysts around the country they say one thing when you bring up Teven Jenkins: violence.
It oozes off the tape. The mentality he brings to the football field every game and quite frankly every snap is inspiring.
If this is how things played out on night one, you’d have to imagine most Jets fans would be going to sleep with a big smile on their face Thursday night heading into Friday morning.
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Expert Predicts Jets to Draft Fan-Favorite OT in Round 1