Draft Possibilities for Jets on Night One

April 29, 2021

The long awaited start of the 2021 NFL season begins tonight with the NFL Draft taking place in Cleveland. Many say the draft begins at number two, with all indications pointing to the Jacksonville Jaguars taking the highly talented Trevor Lawrence with the number one overall pick. With that being the thought, the New York Jets are on the clock.

The Jets are in an important part of their rebuild. They have five picks in the first three rounds, and could find some difference makers in this year's draft to help first year head coach Robert Saleh get the team on the right path, and set up New York for success in the upcoming years. This all gets started with the number two pick tonight.

With Sam Darnold being traded to the Carolina Panthers, it is safe to say that the Jets will be taking a quarterback with the second overall pick. The question still remains, Justin Fields or Zach Wilson?

The Jets need to bring some excitement to an offense that has been anything but that these past years. Along with this excitement needs to come an effective leader and player. With all this being said, Zach Wilson fits the mold for what the NFL is shifting to.

Wilson is a mobile quarterback who can sling the ball around. In his career at BYU, he accumulated over 8000 yards of total offense and was responsible for over 60 touchdowns. Wilson has that “it factor” and has been skyrocketing up draft boards ever since his pro day.

Why not take Justin Fields?

Justin Fields has about the same talent as Wilson and definitely looks more pro ready, but there are some question marks. Ohio State has a reputation of quarterbacks not transferring their college skills over to the NFL. Fields could be on this list as well, that includes the likes of, JT Barret, Cardale Jones, Terelle Pryor, and the most recent Dwayne Haskins. While his stats may be a tad better than Wilson’s, Fields still has some decision making questions, along with the real question of can he lead a team and be able to elevate them in the future?

The upside is more promising with Wilson, especially with Mike LaFleur as the Jets offensive coordinator.

What do Jets do with pick No. 23?

New York will be picking twice tonight at number two and twenty-three, barring any trades. With the 23rd pick, the Jets have a variety of paths they could go down. Do they help whatever quarterback they select at two, by getting a play maker or protecting him by getting an offensive linemen?

If they decide to go play maker, they could potentially select running back Travis Etienne or receiver Rashod Bateman. On the offensive line, the Jets could have Alijah Vera-Tucker out of USC available for them.

Of course, defense could be a direction the team decides to improve, and select a corner like Asante Samuel Jr. out of Florida State, who has first round talent, but realistically has the chance of falling to a day two selection.

If the Jets can land several players who have a positive impact, they can look like a very different team, maybe as early as this fall under Saleh. If they miss, the longest playoff drought in the NFL will get longer.