New York Jets: Full offensive line 2020 NFL Draft evaluation, top prospects

The New York Jets need offensive line help. Here’s a full 2020 NFL Draft evaluation featuring the top prospects available.

It’s no secret that the New York Jets desperately need help upfront. Expect them to use every available avenue to improve the offensive line through free agency, trade, and of course the 2020 NFL Draft.

Speaking of the 2020 NFL Draft, Matt Miller of Bleacher Report recently revealed his latest three-round mock draft and a lot of offensive linemen were selected in this imaginary exercise.

We decided to break down that list and evaluate all of the top offensive linemen available in the 2020 NFL Draft.

First-round

• Three offensive linemen heard their names called in Matt Miller’s simulation.

• 6-foot-5, 320 pounds
• DOB: 1/22/1999

Andrew Thomas is the Frankenstein of offensive lineman. A perfect looking prospect that likely was built in a football laboratory. A technically sound plug and play kind of guy that should be the first offensive lineman off the board.

• 6-foot-5, 322 pounds
• DOB: 1/24/1999

Tristan Wirfs has played right tackle at Iowa but there’s a strong belief he can make the shift over to the blindside at the next level. The Jets desperately need a long term solution to protect Sam Darnold’s blindside.

• 6-foot-5, 316 pounds
• DOB: 5/17/1999

Jedrick is another guy who played right tackle in college, which technically was still the blindside protector for the left-handed Tua Tagovailoa. There’s a strong belief he can dominate regardless of which side he lines up on (left or right). A very girthy guy who is stout and won’t get pushed around.

Next: 2nd round OL prospects

Second round

• Nine offensive linemen heard their names called in Matt Miller’s simulation.

• 6-foot-6, 310 pounds

Austin has such a unique story and put his football career on hold prior to the season, per Cover 1:

“Jackson found out that he was a one-hundred-percent match for his little sister’s bone marrow transplant. Going through the procedure on his lower back, Jackson was out of commission for about a month.”

On the football field, Jackson is USC’s left tackle and has some intriguing traits that are worth investing in.

• 6-foot-6, 310 pounds
• DOB: 1/5/1999

An athletic tackle that actually played on the left side for the Crimson Tide. There have been questions about his technical refinement that would need to be coached out of him at the next level.

• 6-foot-3, 321 pounds

After a slew of offensive tackles, we now start the interior offensive linemen run. The New York Jets will likely be replacing both of their interior guards from 2019 to 2020. Kelechi Osemele is already off the team and the Jets could release Brian Winters to save $7 million with zero dead cap.

Wisconsin is known for their running game and their offensive linemen, Tyler Biadasz will continue that rich tradition in the NFL. Tyler has ideal instincts for what the opposing defensive player is going to try and do to him (whether bull rush or some type of spin move).

• 6-foot-5, 325 pounds
• 2/20/1998

The New York Jets need to add someone with a killer instinct up front and that’s what Ben Bredeson brings in spades. He’s a nasty player with a mean streak. An experienced guard who has experience at tackle from his high school days.

• 6-foot-5, 316 pounds

Creed Humphrey has blocked for a couple of Heisman Trophy winners and has a unique background that always helps offensive line prospects: wrestling background. That helps them in the hand battles that happen on the inside. The Jets have high hopes for Jonotthan Harrison but he simply doesn’t have the same tools that Creed Humphrey possesses.

• 6-foot-4, 330 pounds

John brings something to the table you can’t simply teach: he’s a winner. Obviously he’s got a lot of traits that’ll intrigue every team in the NFL. Simpson is set to be a day two pick come the 2020 NFL Draft (second or third-round pick).

• 6-foot-6, 316 pounds
• 5/12/1997

Oregon entered the 2019 season with what many experts labeled the best offensive line in all of college football. Shane Lemieux is considered one of the best interior offensive linemen in the 2020 class and he’ll likely increase his stock at the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama this Spring.

• 6-foot-6, 305 pounds

With Matt Peart coming from UConn, not enough people know his name but that’ll certainly change through the buildup to the 2020 NFL Draft. Jonah Tuls of The Draft Network expects Matt to be “one of the biggest risers from the Senior Bowl” during the offseason.

• 6-foot-7, 310 pounds

NFL teams will be drooling over the 6-foot-7 size and length heading into the draft. The problem is he’s not a plug and play guy at the next level. There’s a lot of sloppiness to his game that’ll have to be coached out of him. If teams are looking for a talented piece of clay to take in and coach up, he can be an elite player for a long time, but patience is a virtue here.

Next: 3rd round OL prospects

Third round

• Four offensive linemen heard their names called in Matt Miller’s simulation.

• 6-foot-7, 304 pounds
• 3/31/1997

There’s nothing ‘little’ about Stanford’s Walker Little. He has played tackle in college, but the majority of draft experts we spoke to aren’t confident he can survive in the NFL on the outside. The consensus seems to be an inevitable move to guard.

• 6-foot-6, 320 pounds
• 7/14/1998

Despite being so young, Alaric Jackson has a ton of starting experience at Iowa. The draft term that always comes up with his name is “country strength” as Kyle Crabbs at The Draft Network describes it. In other words, he won’t test as well as his tape may suggest.

• 6-foot-7, 304 pounds

Prince Tega Wanogho is going to be one of the best 2020 NFL Draft stories. Here’s just a little taste, Wanogho is the seventh of nine children from Nigeria. Originally he was planning on chasing a basketball future, but a coach from Alabama noticed some traits and reached out to him.

Fast forward a few years and he’s projected to be a 2020 draft pick. If you’d like to read his full journey definitely check out this ESPN full-length feature by Alex Scarborough here.

• 6-foot-7, 328 pounds

Unfortunately, Lucas Balthazar Niang had season-ending hip surgery back in September. Throughout the season he had been battling injuries, but when healthy he’s been an elite prospect. Niang didn’t allow a sack in the seven games he played this season nor did he give up a sack during the entire 2018 campaign.

Niang would be a wonderful plug and play option at right tackle for the Jets who will have to make a decision on the future of Brandon Shell who is a pending free agent. Realistically the team could replace between 80 to 100 percent of the starting offensive line from Week 1 of the 2019 season to Week 1 of the 2020 season.