NFL Draft Needs: Jets

by Evan Silva





Updated on March 21, 2019, 9:45 am ET




Evan Silva (@evansilva) is Rotoworld's Senior NFL Editor, and Josh Norris (@joshnorris) is Rotoworld's lead Draft Analyst. Together, they're breaking down every team's biggest needs and offering potential solutions in April’s draft.



For a breakdown on every team, check out the team-by-team draft preview schedule.



Notable Pre-Draft Additions: ILB C.J. Mosley, RB Le’Veon Bell, LG Kelechi Osemele, WR Jamison Crowder, CB Brian Poole, WR/ST Josh Bellamy, K Chandler Catanzaro.



Starting Offense



QB: Sam Darnold

RB: Le’Veon Bell

WR1: Robby Anderson

WR2: Quincy Enunwa

SLWR: Jamison Crowder

TE: Chris Herndon

LT: Kelvin Beachum

LG: Kelechi Osemele

C: Jonotthan Harrison

RG: Brian Winters

RT: Brandon Shell



Starting Defense



LE: Leonard Williams

RE: Henry Anderson

NT: Steve McLendon

OLB: Jordan Jenkins

OLB: Frankie Luvu

ILB: C.J. Mosley

ILB: Avery Williamson

LCB: Darryl Roberts

RCB: Trumaine Johnson

SCB: Brian Poole

FS: Marcus Maye

SS: Jamal Adams













Team Needs



Silva's Analysis



Offensive Line: The Jets’ No. 1 priority must be seeing to it that Darnold succeeds, and the offensive line did him no favors during Darnold’s rookie year. Osemele’s addition certainly helps, but RT Shell went down with a season-ending injury in December, and RG Winters is coming off a disappointing year. The Jets’ starting center is not on their roster after they passed on Matt Paradis in free agency. Football Outsiders rated the 2018 Jets dead last in their Adjusted Line Yards run-blocking metric and 18th in pass protection.



Edge Rusher: The Jets have lacked a fearsome outside rush for over a decade, resorting to heavy blitzing to manufacture pressure under Todd Bowles and Rex Ryan. New DC Gregg Williams also leans heavily on the blitz, but he’ll require improved personnel for the blitzes to get home. The Jets were spurned by Anthony Barr after Barr agreed to a monster deal, then experienced a next-morning change of heart. In-house options Frankie Luvu and Tarell Basham aren’t going to cut it opposite edge-setter Jenkins.



Cornerback: Last year’s Jets coughed up the NFL’s eighth-most completions of 20-plus yards (58), and their lone notable free agent secondary addition was slot CB Poole. With high-priced Trumaine Johnson coming off an ugly season, the Jets should consider drafting multiple cornerbacks. GM Mike Maccagnan has no second-round pick after last year’s trade up for Darnold and moved out of the fifth round in the Osemele trade. Maccagnan must listen to all offers to trade down from the No. 3 overall slot.







Jets 2019 Draft Picks



Norris' Options



1 (3). EDGE Josh Allen, Kentucky - Scroll back up. Look at the Jets’ starting edge rushers. It has been a need for basically 15 years. They attempted to solve that in free agency with Anthony Barr, and if anyone fills a similar role in this draft it is Allen. He is an athletic pass rusher (81st percentile) moving forward, and is uncommonly comfortable out in space in coverage. Now, you’re drafting a player to rush the passer at No. 3, but if Barr is their … bar, Allen makes a ton of sense.



3 (68). T Yodny Cajuste, West Virginia - Earlier in the process many suggested Cajuste could be a much earlier selection. I didn’t see that. Then we didn’t see him at the Senior Bowl. Still, he could be viewed as an NFL starter, has plenty of experience at left tackle and might make a transition to the right side in the NFL.



3 (93). Acquired from Saints for Teddy Bridgewater - C Lamont Gaillard, Georgia - As Evan mentioned, the Jets might not have their starting center on the roster. Luckily for them, there’s a handful of anchor prospects in this class who can help immediately. Gaillard is tough, nasty and wins when balanced and out of position.



4 (105). CB Sean Bunting, Central Michigan - One of my favorites outside of the second-round corners in this class. Bunting has nearly 32-inch arms and posted an athletic profile in the 92nd percentile. He sometimes relies on that athleticism to catch up and get back and phase, but there’s a lot to work with here as an outside corner.



6 (196). EDGE/LB Jamal Davis, Akron - Gregg Williams drafted personal favorite Genard Avery on the third day last year, a player who can rush the passer but also work as an off-ball linebacker. That is similar to Jamal Davis.



7 (217). WR DaMarkus Lodge, Ole Miss - All three Ole Miss receivers will likely be drafted. From what I saw, Lodge was glued to the right side of the field but is worth a seventh-round shot and ultimately a practice squad spot.








Evan Silva is a senior football editor for Rotoworld.com. He can be found on Twitter