New York Jets: Top 4 areas of need ahead of the 2020 NFL Draft

The New York Jets have a lot of holes to fill on the roster. Here are the team’s top four areas of need ahead of the 2020 NFL Draft.

After a 1-7 start in eight weeks, New York Jets fans thought the season was lost. A sudden three-game win streak and consecutive games against the Cincinnati Bengals and the Miami Dolphins provided newfound hope to get back in the playoff discussion.

In the most New York Jets fashion possible, the team got smacked by Cincinnati 22-6, which almost definitely concludes this season’s relevance for fans.

Although it’s not all bad, one major benefit of being as bad as the Jets are is the guarantee of a high draft pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.

If they would have beaten Miami and Cincinnati consecutively, then the draft opportunities for the elite players would not be there and their hopes for the playoffs still would’ve been slim.

Now any player is in reachable distance for the Jets.

Wide receiver.

The addition of a true No. 1 wide receiver with Jerry Jeudy or CeeDee Lamb to the offense would bring a much-needed spark to a mediocre at best wide receiver core. Robby Anderson is a decent receiver that showed promise, but he will want a fat contract extension that he doesn’t deserve.

Defensive end/outside linebacker possibilities.

When evaluating the defensive possibilities, there seems to be a clear divide; it’s Chase Young and then everyone else.

Realistically the Jets won’t be able to get Young as they won’t have a top-two pick, but they can trade up or settle for Yetur Gross-Matos an elite defensive end from Penn State. Gang Green tends to gravitate towards top defensive players with high draft picks, and Gross- Matos would elevate any NFL team.

Cornerback.

The Jets need all the help they can get at the cornerback position with the huge Trumaine Johnson failure looming over the organization. Johnson will inevitably be removed this offseason which leaves a gaping hole at corner.

Jeff Okudah from Ohio State is the consensus best corner in college and can take the Jets defense to another level with his abilities as a shutdown corner. If Jamal Adams has lockdown corners playing with him, then the Jets can blitz him and provide pressure while having a sense of security that things will be locked down on the backend.

Gregg Williams’ system involves tons of pressure, but if the corners cannot cover, then it requires him to have to compensate on the backend with zone coverage.

Offensive line. 

The last and most crucial area of need for the Jets is the offensive line.

It is well known that the Jets have a historically lousy offensive line this year, which has hindered Sam Darnold’s success. With a potential top-10 pick drafting an elite offensive lineman would change the whole outlook for this dreadful franchise.

A clear frontrunner for the top offensive lineman in the 2020 NFL Draft is Andrew Thomas.

The Georgia Bulldog is a punishing offensive tackle that completely dominates his opponent in a similar way to another former top draft pick, Quenton Nelson.

The potential alone with this selection is worth the risk. With the team’s latest loss, the chances of drafting some help upfront become more and more evident.

No team wants to lose, but the Jets have a long way to go to become a playoff team, and a top-10 position in this year’s draft can help speed up the rebuilding process.