3 surprise prospects connected to the NY Jets in recent mock drafts

3. NY Jets draft target: Nakobe Dean, LB, Georgia

With the seventh overall pick in a recent 2022 mock draft from Ryan Wilson of CBS Sports, the Jets selected Georgia linebacker Nakobe Dean.

Wilson had the Jets selecting Alabama offensive tackle Evan Neal with the third overall pick as the team further shored up their offensive line. But picking Dean as high as seventh overall is not something most outlets would agree with.

This isn't to say that the Jets don't need linebacker help because they most certainly do. But Dean isn't even the consensus LB1 in this draft class with Utah's Devin Lloyd and even South Carolina's Kinsley Enagbare making cases for themselves.

Picking him as high as No. 7 in the entire draft certainly feels like a reach at this stage. Then again, it's only November so what do we know?

Dean is an undersized but uber-athletic linebacker who projects as a potential three-down starter at the next level. Wilson explained the pick with the following logic.

"With two of the top offensive tackles already off the board, New York looks to the other side of the ball. Dean plays with the type of urgency and physicality that has been lacking at times in the middle of the Jets' defense. And while Dean is playing on the best defense in the country, don't be fooled -- he's not riding on the coattails of a dominant defensive line -- he's been a huge reason for its success."

Ryan Wilson, on Nakobe Dean

The Jets don't have any true long-term answers at the linebacker position so it's certainly reasonable that they address the position early. But it's safe to say that most mocks won't have the Jets drafting Nakobe Dean in the top-10.