Jets basic supervisor Joe Douglas didn’t reveal his draft plans in Friday’s pre-draft press convention, however he did say a couple of issues that you could select to learn into or not.
The massive query of whether or not the Jets would take Georgia tight finish Brock Bowers might be answered subsequent week if Bowers remains to be on the board when the Jets choose at No. 10.
On Friday, Douglas sounded keen to draft a decent finish if he thought he may have a big effect.
“If that tight finish can develop into somebody that turns into what Kansas Metropolis, San Francisco, what [Sam] LaPorta did final 12 months in Detroit,” Douglas mentioned, “these are dynamic weapons in your offense and guys that put loads of stress in your protection as a result of they will create mismatches. It’s onerous to place a linebacker on these guys. You set a DB on a type of guys and it creates a measurement mismatch. You set a security on these guys, he higher be capable of run, he higher be capable of play man protection. The suitable kind of tight finish could be a actual weapon.”
In one other reply, Douglas was lauding the attributes of offensive gamers on the high of this draft.
He didn’t confer with Bowers by identify however clearly was referring to him in his reply, calling him, “a decent finish that’s a Swiss Military knife and may transfer throughout the formation and may actually stress the protection.”
The Jets face an fascinating determination with their first-round choose.
Do they draft a playmaker for Aaron Rodgers or somebody to maintain Rodgers upright?
The Jets added tackles Tyron Smith and Morgan Moses this offseason, however each are 33 years previous and have current harm historical past.
There’s a case to be made that the Jets ought to draft a sort out to supply insurance coverage if Smith or Moses get injured.
“That’s clearly one thing we now have to be aware of,” Douglas mentioned. “We had 16 or 17 completely different offensive linemen play for us final 12 months. I feel the silver lining in all that’s we now have loads of battle-tested depth on our roster. Each considered one of our backups began video games final 12 months due to what occurred. It’s one thing we now have to be aware of, not simply offensive line however different positions the place guys are coming off accidents. We now have to be aware of that as we’re constructing the staff.”
If the Jets draft an offensive lineman, he wouldn’t stroll within the door as a starter.
Douglas mentioned he believes anybody the Jets draft must compete for a beginning job.
He made it some extent to say the tight ends, too, maybe in reference to a Bowers choice.
“I feel it’s a optimistic factor when you’ve got sufficient depth in your staff so {that a} draft choose doesn’t have to return in and play instantly,” Douglas mentioned. “I’d say that almost anybody we draft, it’s going to be a canine struggle to interrupt into the beginning lineup. I feel there’s loads of good gamers. Warriors like [Tyler Conklin] and [Jeremy Ruckert], they’re not going to go quietly into the night time if we took a decent finish. It’s going to be robust for anybody we draft to return in and simply stake their declare for a beginning spot.”
