New York Jets have opportunity at 2 franchise players in 2020 NFL Draft

The New York Jets will have an opportunity at 2 franchise talents in the 2020 NFL Draft. Here are the highlights from the Stick to Football podcast!

The New York Jets are 1-5 and after a flirtatious week of dreaming of the playoffs, they’re back in the 2020 NFL Draft reality.

In Week 6 Sam Darnold lit the Dallas Cowboys defense on fire and provided hope that maybe 2019 wasn’t over. Then the New England Patriots came to down and murdered this green and white ballclub 33-0.

But don’t fret New York Jets fans, there is a light at the end of the tunnel and that’s the 2020 NFL Draft!

Every week the Stick to Football podcast talks all things NFL Draft all year long to prepare you for April! This week they revealed their top-10 mock draft and they projected two franchise-changing players with the projected fifth overall pick.

2020 NFL Draft: top-10 mock draft via The Stick to Football podcast:

Matt Miller, Bleacher Report

No. 5 overall pick: Chase Young, DE, Ohio State

“This happens to the New York Jets every damn year. The team picks in the middle of the top-10 and a player falls to them. I have Chase Young out of Ohio State falling to them. He’s my No. 1 player on my board. Chase is better than the Bosas and he is on par with Myles Garrett as a prospect. I love Chase Young, but weird things happen in the NFL Draft especially with three quarterbacks going in the top-four. Should he fall? No. Could he fall? Yes. Crazier things have happened. If he falls the Jets have to be the happiest people in the entire world because this would fill their biggest need with the best player in the draft.”

Connor Rogers, Bleacher Report

No. 5 overall pick: Jerry Jeudy, WR, Alabama

“I’m going to go on the offensive side of the ball and I feel the same way, how is Jerry Jeudy still on the board? This would be Sam Darnold’s new best friend. This would be Julio Jones’ version for the green and white. He’d be with the team for the next decade. No. 1 wide receiver. The offense would funnel through him. If you go into the 2020 season with Le’Veon Bell in the backfield, you have Robby Anderson as a deep threat, Jamison Crowder in the slot, and Jerry Jeudy as your No. 1 wide receiver with Chris Herndon at tight end? I think that may even be good enough to keep Adam Gase around for a little bit. That’s how exciting that offense would be.”

If the New York Jets came away with either of those prospects they’d have to be leaving the 2020 NFL Draft with some excitement for the future.

The last time the Jets drafted a wide receiver in the first round was 2001 when they selected Santana Moss out of Miami with the 16th overall pick.

In the team’s history they’ve only drafted a wide receiver in the first round 4 times previously:

• 1996: Keyshawn Johnson, 1996, 1st overall (USC)
• 1985: Al Toon, 1985, 10th overall (Wisconsin)
• 1980: Lam Jones, 2nd overall (Texas)

A superstar wide receiver to insert and immediately be a focal point of the offense would be hard to pass up if you’re the New York Jets on draft day.

Although Matt Miller also presents an intriguing option with the “No. 1 player on his board.”

The New York Jets haven’t had a dominant edge player since John Abraham (2000, a first-round pick, 13th overall from South Carolina). They’ve tried a few times with guys like Vernon Gholston, Quinton Coples, Sheldon Richardson, Bryan Thomas, and Muhammad Wilkerson, but it just hasn’t worked out.

Chase Young being better than both Bosa’s (Nick Bosa, Joey Bosa) is a bold statement. Both brothers were top-3 picks in their own respective NFL Drafts and were/are dominant edge players in the pros.

A really good pass rush leads to easier jobs for the cornerbacks. The New York Jets haven’t had a pass rusher opponents had to fear in a very long time, Chase Young would be a seamless fit.

Per ESPN, the New York Jets are currently pegged to pick sixth overall. Their average draft position is 6.9. How do they come up with that figure?

“Each week during the season, the FPI projects the draft order by simulating the remainder of the season 10,000 times. Game probabilities are based largely on the model’s ratings for individual teams in addition to game locations. The order is based on each team’s average draft position, which is determined by the record the model believes the teams will have after 16 games,” per ESPN.

The team has a 2.4 percent chance at the No. 1 pick. While they have much better odds of landing in the top five (42.4 percent chance).