Jets’ First-Round Process Right For 2024…And Beyond

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There had been so much chatter in advance of the 2024 NFL Draft that the Jets would select a pass catcher with the No. 10 overall pick in the first round. After all, with quarterback Aaron Rodgers on his last legs and ownership demanding more of an all-in approach this offseason to the team’s historically inept offense, the theory was that General Manager Joe Douglas would feel the pressure to lean in that direction, even if he was to risk error with a reach.

A slew of pundits mocked Georgia tight end Brock Bowers to Gang Green despite the depressed positional value and the fact that nearly half (27 of 56) of his 2023 receptions were behind the line of scrimmage, per Jets X Factor. Worse, some speculated that Douglas would trade up for a third time in his five first-rounds to “get his man”, one of the three wide receivers taken off the board by the ninth pick, as if the Jets’ roster would remain healthy for 17 games and they wouldn’t need the depth from later picks.

Instead, Douglas played the Draft game intelligently. He squeezed an extra Day 3 pick from Minnesota by moving down one slot to No. 11, where he tabbed Penn State tackle Olu Fashanu. After getting a 4^th rounder (No. 129) and swapping out the 6^th rounder they got in the Zach Wilson trade to Denver for a 5th rounder (No. 157), Douglas still has six more picks at his disposal in this Draft, though none until No. 72 overall in Round 3.

Look, it’s not like I can guarantee that Fashanu, who didn’t allow a sack in 733 pass block snaps, per The Athletic, will be a Douglas hit, any more than I thought Wilson was the right option with the 2021 No. 2 overall pick. Fashanu’s run blocking isn’t as highly-regarded by scouts as his pass protection.

But that’s fine. Fashanu is one of the younger (21) prospects in his Draft class. At 6-foot 6 and 312 pounds, he will fill out with weight training. If you told me that the Jets, who blew four Draft slots by beating New England in the meaningless 2023 season finale, would still be able get their future left tackle (remember, after Notre Dame’s Joe Alt, who went to the Chargers at No. 5, Fashanu was the only one among the other top-rated tackles who had left tackle experience in college), I’d say, “Yes, please.”  

And, as I mentioned above and in prior posts, it strains rationality to believe the Jets tackle room will stay upright all season when free agent acquisition Tyron Smith missed 37 of Dallas’ last 67 games with various injuries and Morgan Moses, whom the Jets obtained in a trade with Baltimore, is coming off surgery for a torn pec.

So yeah, Fashanu in all probability will see some 2024 reps in practices and games. And when that happens, the Jets should feel more comfortable with a player who registered a measly 1.1% pressure rate allowed and suffered a blown block at the 3rd-lowest rate in the FBS since 2021 (min. 1,000 snaps), per ESPN, than another season of Max Mitchell and Carter Warren in reserve. Keeping Rodgers from weekly—or should I say any, given his fragility--batterings is the priority.

That Douglas got Fashanu within his consensus rankings was also sound process. There wasn’t any “I know better than everyone” hubris thinking with this pick like with edge rusher Will McDonald IV last year. Many experts had Fashanu rated higher than Alabama’s J.C. Latham, who went No. 7 overall to Tennessee.

Obviously, Draft pedigree means zilch when the players line up for NFL action come September. Jets fans have seen more than their fair share of Draft busts in their lifetimes. There’s just too many variables to predict with absolute certainty whether any of these picks pan out.  

In other words, it’s all a crapshoot. Which makes it all the more imperative that a team’s process in making these selections doesn’t stray too far off course. Understanding positional value is a big part of that process, one of the major reasons why I prayed that Douglas didn’t fall into the Bowers trap.

That Douglas didn’t—and still landed a potential starter at a premium position for this season and beyond—nearly floored me.