This past weekend, the NFL held its first ever draft without fans, which seemed very out of the ordinary. Especially as of late, nothing we can say has been ordinary with the Pandemic we currently are experiencing. However, this draft gave people a glimpse of excitement while living through these very negative times. This year's draft was the most viewed draft ever, with over 55 million viewers altogether. (source westhawaiitoday.com) For many Jets fans alike, this draft coming into it had lots of upside, with already a strong and well executed offseason so far by GM Joe Douglas and the Jets' front office. This was a chance for Douglas to finish what he had started with making moves, and he did just that.
The Jets had tons of offensive line problems last year between inconsistent play, and not being able to block for RB Le'veon Bell and protect QB Sam Darnold. Not only has Douglas addressed this by going out and signing multiple offensive linemen this offseason, but with having the 11th pick in the first round, he decided to draft Mekhi Becton, an OT from Louisville. This guy not only will be the Jets starting RT next season, but also has some amazing strength and blocking ability. the 6'7" 364 lb Tackle is one of the hardest workers by far, and will stop at nothing to simply outwork DE's and DT's in the league to protect his QB and RB. If you don't believe me about his strength, check out the link here and see for yourself.
In the Second Round, the Jets had the 59th pick which they received from the Seahawks in a draft day trade, and decided to go with WR Denzel Mims out of Baylor. Now with WR Robby Anderson departing for Carolina to play with the Panthers, the Jets truly didn't have that impact wideout that could make the big plays in big situations. Not to say that Jamison Crowder, Vyncent Smith, or Braxton Berrios aren't good, but they're not big impact receiver type of wideouts, and they make their contributions elsewhere for the Jets. With the signing of WR Breshad Perriman and drafting Denzel Mims, the Jets now have 2 impact receivers on each side of the field for QB Sam Darnold to throw to.
Mims has insane jumping ability and awesome hands and size (6'3" and 206 lbs) and can be that guy to be a CB's biggest nightmare on the field. A lot of his TD's at Baylor were from Jump Balls thrown to him in the endzone. In a way, he gives me a major Julio Jones or Mike Evans vibe, and has a similar play style to both of those WR's. Every NFL fan knows how dangerous those two guys are.
After Douglas and the Jets staff went with two offensive players, they decided to switch things up and go with two defensive players. In the Third Round, the Jets had two picks, the 68th pick (the one from the Leonard Williams trade with the Giants last year) and the 79th pick. With those picks, the Jets drafted S Ashtyn Davis from California Berkley with the 68th pick, and LB/DE Jabari Zuniga out of Florida with the 79th pick.
First starting with Ashtyn Davis, although he probably won't be a starter on the Jets defense, he can very easily come in in the Nickelback position for the Jets. His coverage ability is top of the line and he also loves to blitz at any given time (similar to Jamal Adams). Jets DC Gregg Williams is going to be moving this guy around quite a bit next season and he will be a diverse secondary option for the Jets defense.
Now onto Jabari Zuniga, who once again will be a diverse option for Gregg Williams' defense next season. The Jets Defensive Line is already pretty solid, since they only gave up the 2nd most rushing yards all of last season (Bucs were 1st). Zuniga being added to the mix gives yet another viable pass rusher for the Jets to use, and although he had an injury-plagued 2019 college season, he looks to come into training camp 100% healthy and ready to work hard.
Going into the 4th round, the Jets originally only had the 120th pick, but eventually traded with the Patriots for the 125th and 129th pick as well, making three picks in the 4th round. With the 120th pick, they drafted RB La'Mical Perine who like Jabari Zuniga is also from Florida. With the 125th pick, they drafted QB James Morgan from FIU, and drafted OT Cameron Clark from the University of Charlotte with the 129th pick.
La'Mical Perine looks to serve as Le'veon Bell's backup in the RB slot. According to NFL.com's scouting report, he "does enough of what's asked of him" when it comes to playing. He is your standard NFL RB and presented very average Combine numbers. He will shine with hard work as the report also said he's the hardest worker on and off the field. His presence will be key with the mentality of the Jets moving forward, and if HC Adam Gase sees the light in him, he could find himself being a playmaker on Football Sundays.
Now onto QB James Morgan, which came as quite a surprise that he was drafted by the Jets to most fans. He is going to be Sam Darnold's backup for the time ahead, and probably won't be playing all that much this season, but will definitely have his opportunity to shine in Preseason play (if it even happens). He also is just coming off a knee injury he played through all of last season while at FIU, and Nfl.com's scouting report on him says he is a "tough" QB. They also mention how inconsistent he is, which although not a great quality is something he can resolve while being under Sam Darnold's reign in New York.
The last pick for the Jets in the 4th round was OT Cameron Clark out of Charlotte. According to NFL.com, he not only served as the Captain of Charlotte's football team for two years, but he also won his team's offensive MVP as an offensive lineman. That doesn't come too often unless you're "that good." Again same as James Morgan, consistency is an issue with this guy as he's shown flashes of brilliance, but also times of struggles. He also is penalty prone at times, which can definitely lead to issues as well. Ultimately, he could see himself playing a big role in the Jets improving Offensive Line in 2020, and there is plenty of upside with this 6'4", 308 lb beast.
The Jets had two more picks, the 158th pick in the 5th round, and the 191st pick in the 6th round, and no 7th round picks. They drafted CB Bryce Hall from Virginia with the 158th pick and drafted Punter Braden Mann from Texas A&M with their 191st and final pick. Both guys look to be making early impacts during their times with the Jets.
CB Bryce Hall has a ton of promise, and could most definitely be one of the biggest steals of the draft for the Jets in my opinion. According to NFL.com's report, he isn't particularly strong with downfield coverage of WR's, but is a top notch man to man cover corner, and reads shorter routes particularly well. With the Jets secondary very young and new, Hall looks to add himself right into the mix with many others this upcoming season.
As for Punter Braden Mann, there really isn't much to say about him other than that he's a great punter. According to NFL.com's report, He received the Ray Guy Award as the best punter in college football last season and will be the Jets' starting punter this year replacing Lachlan Edwards, who was released. He's got quite a leg, averaging close to 50 yards per punt (47.1 yards) and can definitely help on kickoffs and even FG's if needed.
Ultimately, this draft had to have been one of the more exciting ones for me as a Jets fan. There is a lot of upside coming into the 2020 season, and with GM Joe Douglas and his drafting team, there's plenty of reason to believe the tides have turned from the Mike Maccagnan days in NY. Maybe a new decade finally can start a decade of winning for the Jets, as they only made the playoffs once last decade back in 2010 during the Mark Sanchez era. In my eyes, this is 10 years in the making, and a team ready for the future is in the works. Young and great prospects are among us. Get excited Jets fans!! The playoffs might be right around the corner.
-Miles Chamberlain
The Jets had tons of offensive line problems last year between inconsistent play, and not being able to block for RB Le'veon Bell and protect QB Sam Darnold. Not only has Douglas addressed this by going out and signing multiple offensive linemen this offseason, but with having the 11th pick in the first round, he decided to draft Mekhi Becton, an OT from Louisville. This guy not only will be the Jets starting RT next season, but also has some amazing strength and blocking ability. the 6'7" 364 lb Tackle is one of the hardest workers by far, and will stop at nothing to simply outwork DE's and DT's in the league to protect his QB and RB. If you don't believe me about his strength, check out the link here and see for yourself.
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| Players from top to bottom: Mekhi Becton, Denzel Mims, and Ashtyn Davis |
Mims has insane jumping ability and awesome hands and size (6'3" and 206 lbs) and can be that guy to be a CB's biggest nightmare on the field. A lot of his TD's at Baylor were from Jump Balls thrown to him in the endzone. In a way, he gives me a major Julio Jones or Mike Evans vibe, and has a similar play style to both of those WR's. Every NFL fan knows how dangerous those two guys are.
After Douglas and the Jets staff went with two offensive players, they decided to switch things up and go with two defensive players. In the Third Round, the Jets had two picks, the 68th pick (the one from the Leonard Williams trade with the Giants last year) and the 79th pick. With those picks, the Jets drafted S Ashtyn Davis from California Berkley with the 68th pick, and LB/DE Jabari Zuniga out of Florida with the 79th pick.
First starting with Ashtyn Davis, although he probably won't be a starter on the Jets defense, he can very easily come in in the Nickelback position for the Jets. His coverage ability is top of the line and he also loves to blitz at any given time (similar to Jamal Adams). Jets DC Gregg Williams is going to be moving this guy around quite a bit next season and he will be a diverse secondary option for the Jets defense.
Now onto Jabari Zuniga, who once again will be a diverse option for Gregg Williams' defense next season. The Jets Defensive Line is already pretty solid, since they only gave up the 2nd most rushing yards all of last season (Bucs were 1st). Zuniga being added to the mix gives yet another viable pass rusher for the Jets to use, and although he had an injury-plagued 2019 college season, he looks to come into training camp 100% healthy and ready to work hard.
Going into the 4th round, the Jets originally only had the 120th pick, but eventually traded with the Patriots for the 125th and 129th pick as well, making three picks in the 4th round. With the 120th pick, they drafted RB La'Mical Perine who like Jabari Zuniga is also from Florida. With the 125th pick, they drafted QB James Morgan from FIU, and drafted OT Cameron Clark from the University of Charlotte with the 129th pick.
La'Mical Perine looks to serve as Le'veon Bell's backup in the RB slot. According to NFL.com's scouting report, he "does enough of what's asked of him" when it comes to playing. He is your standard NFL RB and presented very average Combine numbers. He will shine with hard work as the report also said he's the hardest worker on and off the field. His presence will be key with the mentality of the Jets moving forward, and if HC Adam Gase sees the light in him, he could find himself being a playmaker on Football Sundays.
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| Jets GM Joe Douglas continues to make great moves and set the Jets up for the future |
The last pick for the Jets in the 4th round was OT Cameron Clark out of Charlotte. According to NFL.com, he not only served as the Captain of Charlotte's football team for two years, but he also won his team's offensive MVP as an offensive lineman. That doesn't come too often unless you're "that good." Again same as James Morgan, consistency is an issue with this guy as he's shown flashes of brilliance, but also times of struggles. He also is penalty prone at times, which can definitely lead to issues as well. Ultimately, he could see himself playing a big role in the Jets improving Offensive Line in 2020, and there is plenty of upside with this 6'4", 308 lb beast.
The Jets had two more picks, the 158th pick in the 5th round, and the 191st pick in the 6th round, and no 7th round picks. They drafted CB Bryce Hall from Virginia with the 158th pick and drafted Punter Braden Mann from Texas A&M with their 191st and final pick. Both guys look to be making early impacts during their times with the Jets.
CB Bryce Hall has a ton of promise, and could most definitely be one of the biggest steals of the draft for the Jets in my opinion. According to NFL.com's report, he isn't particularly strong with downfield coverage of WR's, but is a top notch man to man cover corner, and reads shorter routes particularly well. With the Jets secondary very young and new, Hall looks to add himself right into the mix with many others this upcoming season.
As for Punter Braden Mann, there really isn't much to say about him other than that he's a great punter. According to NFL.com's report, He received the Ray Guy Award as the best punter in college football last season and will be the Jets' starting punter this year replacing Lachlan Edwards, who was released. He's got quite a leg, averaging close to 50 yards per punt (47.1 yards) and can definitely help on kickoffs and even FG's if needed.
Ultimately, this draft had to have been one of the more exciting ones for me as a Jets fan. There is a lot of upside coming into the 2020 season, and with GM Joe Douglas and his drafting team, there's plenty of reason to believe the tides have turned from the Mike Maccagnan days in NY. Maybe a new decade finally can start a decade of winning for the Jets, as they only made the playoffs once last decade back in 2010 during the Mark Sanchez era. In my eyes, this is 10 years in the making, and a team ready for the future is in the works. Young and great prospects are among us. Get excited Jets fans!! The playoffs might be right around the corner.
-Miles Chamberlain
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