After a disappointing, injury-riddled season, the Jets are in a great position to grab an impact player for the 2024 season with the No. 10 overall pick.
General manager Joe Douglas could look to improve the protection around 40-year-old quarterback Aaron Rodgers, or could decide to draft a playmaker to give the QB another weapon on offense.
Here’s who the experts believe the Jets will select in their latest mock drafts…
OT Taliese Fuaga (Oregon State)
This was a combine performance that caught me by surprise. I never thought Fuaga was a statue, but he tested better than I anticipated. I guess he’s just so physically imposing that when you watch him maul people, you don’t notice the athleticism as much. When you’re watching two grizzlies fight, you usually don’t check out their footwork, you know?
WR Rome Odunze (Washington)
This is assuming Aaron Rodgers comes back from his Achilles injury and remains the quarterback of the Jets. New York already has a pretty reliable wideout in Garret Wilson, so adding Washington’s Rome Odunze will help keep defenses on their toes. Odunze had his career-best 1,640 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns his junior year as the Huskies marched to the national championship. The team played with grit and resilience and that’s what the Jets need a dose of.
TE Brock Bowers (Georgia)
Vote distribution: Bowers 2, Nabers 1, Odunze 1, Fashanu 1, Latham 1
None of the execs thought selecting a tight end in this slot would be a sound move.
“When you are picking in the top 10 and you need offensive line help and you take a tight end, that is malpractice,” the exec sending Fashanu to the Jets said. “You can’t do that. That is just ridiculous.”
Another exec said the Jets needed to select a tackle in this slot, or trade back and select one. But he didn’t necessarily think the Jets would do that.
“It is hard in the top 10 to not take a building-block position, but the Jets are in a unique spot because they have to win this year or they don’t have jobs,” this exec said. “You are getting weapons for Aaron Rodgers and he is going to scheme it for you. They have swung and missed on so many offensive linemen. I would think they go offensive line in free agency.”
OT Taliese Fuaga (Oregon State)
The Jets take another swing at the OT position. Fuaga has the skills to start from Day 1.
Walter Cherepinsky, Walter Football
OT Amarius Mims (Georgia)
The Jets desperately wanted a tackle in the 2023 NFL Draft, but all the players at the position went off the board before they picked.
Amarius Mims has gotten lots of positive feedback from the scouting community. He has a tremendous skill set and lots of upside.
OT Olu Fashanu (Penn State)
An elite pass-blocker since the moment he took the field at Penn State, Fashanu allowed just 17 total pressures — including just one hit and no sacks — on 733 pass-blocking snaps in college.
He wasn’t as dominant as a run-blocker, but he had his best season in that regard this past season, so it’s not difficult to see the projection in the NFL.
