Jets fix their devastating Zach Wilson mistake in recent 2021 re-draft

The New York Jets have made plenty of draft mistakes over the years, but few were as disastrous as the decision to select Zach Wilson with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft.

Once touted as the future face of the franchise, Wilson’s tenure in New York quickly unraveled, ultimately setting the organization back years at the sport’s most important position.

But what if that didn't happen? Well, in a recent article from Bleacher Report's Matt Holder, the Jets went in a different direction. Instead of taking another swing at quarterback, Holder had the Jets selecting Oregon's Penei Sewell, a two-time first-team All-Pro offensive tackle who’s emerged as one of the best in the league.

Sewell would’ve given the Jets a cornerstone on the offensive line and spared them the fallout of building around one of the biggest draft busts in recent memory.

Jets pass on Zach Wilson for Penei Sewell in 2021 redraft

The Jets moved on from Wilson last offseason, trading the former No. 2 overall pick to the Denver Broncos in a deal that offered a chance at a fresh start. Wilson spent the entire 2024 season buried on the depth chart in Denver, serving as the team’s third-string quarterback and never appearing in a game.

This spring, he signed a one-year, fully guaranteed $6 million contract with the Miami Dolphins, who brought him in to serve as the primary backup to the injury-prone Tua Tagovailoa. But if Wilson was hoping for a clean slate, it hasn’t gone well so far.

Reports out of Miami suggest he’s struggled mightily in offseason workouts, which has understandably raised some questions about whether he’ll even hold onto the QB2 job heading into training camp.

That’s where the sting of the original pick really hits. The Jets didn’t just miss on a quarterback. No, the Jets committed fully to Wilson, built around him, and ultimately set themselves back multiple years because of it.

Wilson’s failure created a ripple effect that impacted everything from coaching decisions to personnel moves to how long it took the franchise to become stable again (if they've even reached that point yet).

Now imagine if they’d taken Penei Sewell instead. In this re-draft, the Jets pass on the quarterbacks entirely, which shows just how underwhelming the entire 2021 class turned out to be. Trey Lance, Justin Fields, and Mac Jones all flamed out with their original teams.

Fields is now in New York anyway, but as Bleacher Report points out, the version of him that showed up in Chicago likely wouldn’t have lasted long with the Jets either.

Sewell, meanwhile, has become a foundational piece for the Lions and one of the best offensive linemen in the NFL. He’s already earned two first-team All-Pro honors before turning 25 and has excelled at right tackle, which would’ve given the Jets immediate flexibility.

They could’ve kept Mekhi Becton at left tackle or flipped him to the right side while Sewell took over the blind side. Either way, it would’ve accelerated their offensive line rebuild, even if Becton’s career still played out the same.

In that alternate reality, it’s unlikely the Jets would’ve ended up drafting both Olu Fashanu and Armand Membou in back-to-back years. The line might’ve already been set.

And while they still would’ve needed to find a quarterback, they wouldn’t have been boxed into building around Wilson for three years simply because they spent the No. 2 pick on him.

Drafting Sewell wouldn’t have solved everything. But it would’ve spared the Jets from tying their future to one of the biggest busts of the last decade, and maybe set them up to find their real answer at quarterback a lot sooner.

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