4 biggest losers following the NY Jets 2023 NFL Draft

The NY Jets made a handful of notable additions in this year's 2023 NFL Draft. While this year's class likely won't reach the same year-one heights that last year's class did, the Jets did make quite a few potentially impactful selections.

Players like Will McDonald ad Joe Tippmann should compete for playing time early in their careers. Guys like Carter Warren and Zack Kuntz project more as developmental pieces, who the Jets believe could be future starters.

An influx of talent is always a good thing for the organization, but it could spell trouble for some players on the roster. After all, there are only so many spots to go around.

The following four players could see their playing time decreased if not completely eliminated as a result of the Jets' draft-day moves. Let's take a look at four of the biggest losers following the Jets' 2023 NFL Draft.

4. Ashtyn Davis, S, NY Jets

The Jets didn't add a safety early in the draft, but the addition of LSU defensive back Jarrick Bernard-Converse in the sixth round further complicates a crowded safety room.

Jordan Whitehead and Chuck Clark are penciled in as starters, but the likes of Bernard-Converse, Tony Adams, Ashtyn Davis, and Will Parks are all competing for backup spots behind them. There's a chance that only two of those players make the final roster.

Davis seems like the most obvious odd man out. The former third-round pick was relegated almost exclusively to special teams last year and is entering the final year of his rookie deal. The Jets could release him at any time and save nearly $3 million.

Bernard-Converse and Adams could easily serve as the Jets' two backup safeties, while Parks could be destined for the practice squad like last year. As for Davis, his days with the Jets might be numbered.

3. Connor McGovern, C, NY Jets

It came as somewhat of a surprise when the Jets re-signed center Connor McGovern just days before the 2023 NFL Draft. What was even more surprising was his ridiculously inexpensive contract.

The Jets re-signed McGovern to a meager one-year, $1.92 million contract. McGovern has been, at worst, a league-average starting center over the last two seasons. That contract, however, is less than what the Jets are paying Wes Schweitzer.

That should have been the first indicator that the Jets weren't done adding to the center position. Sure enough, the team went on to draft Wisconsin's Joe Tippmann in the second round of this year's draft.

Tippmann won't be handed a starting job, but he'll be given every opportunity to earn it in an open competition with McGovern this summer.

McGovern is a quality player who would start at center on a number of teams around the league. You have to figure he was aware that his starting job wasn't a lock when he re-signed. Still, it also wasn't a lock that the Jets would draft his direct competition just days later.

McGovern has now gone from a league-average starter to a potential depth piece just like that. His versatility to play either center or guard could come in handy for the Jets, but that doesn't make him more likely to earn the starting job.

The Jets' offensive line is loaded with depth and flexibility, which is good news for the team, but bad news for McGovern's chances of being a Week 1 starter.

2. Michael Carter, RB, NY Jets

Michael Carter's stock has fallen quite a bit over the course of the last year. The 2021 fourth-round pick put together an impressive rookie season and seemed primed to go into 2022 as the Jets' top running back.

That was until the team selected Iowa State standout Breece Hall in the second round of last year's draft. Hall emerged as one of the Jets' best offensive players before a knee injury cut his rookie season short.

Carter hoped to take advantage of the opportunity, but the North Carolina product fell well short of expectations. In 16 games, Carter rushed for just 402 yards on a woeful 3.5 yards per carry. He struggled so much that he lost playing time to undrafted rookie Zonovan Knight late in the year.

Still, the hope has been that Carter could rebound in 2023. He isn't going to be handed any opportunities, however. Not after the Jets drafted Pittsburgh's Israel Abanikanda in the fifth round.

Carter is still the de facto RB2 behind Hall entering 2023, but Knight and Abanikanda both have the ability to push him for playing time. It also doesn't bode well for Carter's stock that the Jets were eyeing Alabama running back Jahmyr Gibbs in the first round.

The Jets are well aware of Carter's struggles last season, and they also realize Hall is returning from a serious knee injury. Adding Abanikanda provides the team with an additional insurance policy.

Don't be surprised if Abanikanda passes Carter on the depth chart at some point this season. His stock is falling fast.

1. Bryce Huff, DE, NY Jets

There is no bigger loser from draft weekend on the Jets' roster than Bryce Huff. Huff was legitimately one of the most efficient pass rushers in the NFL last season.

The former undrafted free agent finished first among all edge defenders in the NFL with a 28 percent pass-rush win rate, while his 20.8 percent pressure rate also ranked first in the league.

Yes, that's ahead of the likes of Myles Garrett, Nick Bosa, Micah Parsons, T.J. Watt, etc. On a per-snap basis, Huff was more efficient at getting to the quarterback than any of those players last season.

The Jets seemed to value Huff as well when they placed a second-round restricted free agent tender on Huff to keep him in New York. That's a sizable investment into player who only 20 percent of the team's defensive snaps last season.

Unfortunately for Huff, it seems unlikely that his playing time increases. If anything it might decrease.

The Jets drafted Iowa State's Will McDonald in the first round of this year's draft, adding to an already stacked defensive end group. The safe bet is on the undersized McDonald essentially taking Huff's role in the rotation.

The Jets are highly unlikely to dress six defensive ends on game days. That means, assuming full health, Huff is probably the odd man out. Carl Lawson, John Franklin-Myers, Jermaine Johnson, and McDonald are likely safe. Micheal Clemons offers more versatility and can play on early downs.

McDonald and Huff basically occupy the same role as rotational pass rushers who almost exclusively play on passing downs.

Despite Huff's brilliance last season, it doesn't appear as though the Jets are prepared to reward him with more playing time. As it stands right now, I'd expect him to be a healthy scratch (as he was early last year) with a fully healthy roster.