The Jets currently have one pick on Day 2, No. 72 overall (Round 3), of the 2024 NFL Draft. Below are four positions that general manager Joe Douglas could select whether he stays put, trades up or trades back.
Wide Receiver
A lot of mock drafts leading up to Round 1 of the NFL Draft had the Jets either selecting a wide receiver or tackle. After Joe Douglas selected Penn State T Olu Fashanu with the No. 11 pick, it wouldn't be a surprise if he took a receiver in one of the deepest classes in recent history.
With one pick in the third round, the Green & White could be looking at receivers such as Washington's Ja'Lynn Polk, Virginia's Malik Washington, North Carolina's Devontez Walker and USC's Brenden Rice. The Athletic's Dane Brugler has either a third- or third-/fourth-round grade on all those players.
Polk and Rice are considered possession receivers while Walker (4.36 40-yard dash) and Washington (4.47) offer speed.
If the Jets were to use some of their draft capital to move up into Round 2, wideouts available could include Georgia's Ladd McConkey, Florida State's Keon Coleman, Western Kentucky's Malachai Corley, Michigan's Roman Wilson and Oregon's Troy Franklin.
Coleman's reputation is a 50/50 ball winner with highlight-reel catches, Corley is known for breaking tackles (55 over the last two seasons) while Wilson has sure hands (one drop on 67 targets this past season) and speed (37.5% of his catches resulted in a 20-plus yard play). Franklin stretches the field vertically as he had eight catches of at least 40 yards in '23.
The Jets have star receiver in Garrett Wilson, but depth figures to be added to a room that includes Mike Williams, who is rehabbing from an ACL injury, Allen Lazard, Jason Brownlee and Xavier Gipson.
Quarterback
Joe Douglas said in his pre-draft press conference he would like to be a "quarterback factory" like the Packers in the 1990s when they drafted Mark Brunell in the fifth round in 1993, Matt Hasselbeck in the sixth round in 1998 and Aaron Brooks in the fourth round in 1999.
After trading QB Zach Wilson to the Broncos, the only signal-callers on the roster are Aaron Rodgers and Tyrod Taylor.
Six quarterbacks were selected in Round 1. The top remaining options include South Carolina's Spencer Rattler (3,186 passing yards, 18 touchdowns and 8 interceptions this past season), Tulane's Michael Pratt (2,406-22-5) and Kentucky's Devin Leary (2,746-25-12). With limited draft capital on Day 2, perhaps Douglas will wait until Day 3 to potentially draft a QB.
Defensive Tackle
Robert Saleh can never have enough defensive linemen. The draft is about building for the future and while the Jets have been active adding interior D-linemen this offseason with Javon Kinlaw, Leki Fotu and Solomon Thomas, they all signed one-year contracts.
If the Green & White want to add a more long-term solution on a rookie contract tonight, they could opt for Florida State's Braden Fiske, who became the first player in Senior Bowl history to practice with a different team than he played for (he played the game under Jets DC Jeff Ulbrich), LSU's Maason Smith or Texas' run stuffer (366 pounds) T'Vondre Sweat.
Safety
Similar to DT, the Jets don't have a lot of players under contract after this season at safety despite re-signing both Chuck Clark and Ashtyn Davis this offseason.
Day 2 options could include Minnesota's Tyler Nubin, Utah's Cole Bishop, Wake Forest's Malik Mustapha and Auburn's Jaylin Simpson.
