NY Jets guaranteed a top-2 pick in the 2021 NFL Draft

The NY Jets are officially guaranteed a top-two pick in the 2021 NFL Draft.

The NY Jets may very well have squandered their opportunity at the No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft with their Week 15 victory over the Los Angeles Rams.

Barring an unlikely Jacksonville victory, the Jets will miss out on their chance at Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence — one of the greatest quarterback prospects the NFL has ever seen.

But even though they may not land the top pick, Jets fans don’t have to worry about the team falling any further than second.

Following the Cincinnati Bengals’ upset victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday Night Football, the Jets have officially clinched a top-two pick in next April’s draft.

The Bengals improved to a 3-10-1 record meaning that the worst they could finish is 3-12-1 with two games remaining. Even if the Jets win their final two games, the worst they can finish is 3-13.

As a result, no matter what happens, the Jets will be slotted to pick either first or second in the upcoming draft.

The Jaguars have already clinched the strength of schedule tiebreaker over the Jets which means that if both teams finish with the same record, the Jaguars will be given the first overall pick.

With games remaining against the Chicago Bears and Indianapolis Colts, the Jaguars control their destiny. The Jets, on the other hand, must hold out hope of losing out against both the Cleveland Browns and New England Patriots while also hoping for a Jaguars win.

If not, the No. 2 pick is where they will land.

The NY Jets might have a difficult decision to make this offseason

If the Jets manage to secure the top pick, the decision won’t be a difficult one. However, if Trevor Lawrence is off the board, general manager Joe Douglas will suddenly have plenty of options at his disposal.

Do you draft a new quarterback such as Ohio State’s Justin Fields or BYU’s Zach Wilson? Do you draft a player like Oregon offensive tackle Penei Sewell and stick with Sam Darnold? Do you trade down to recoup even more draft assets?

There’s an argument to be made for all three and rest assured Douglas will have a difficult decision to make this offseason.

Fortunately, however, Douglas and the Jets won’t have to worry about the possibility of falling even further in the draft order. They will be selecting either first or second which should make his job at least marginally easier.

One thing is for sure. We’re in for a very eventful and contentious offseason.