4 positions of need the NY Jets should avoid early in the 2023 NFL Draft

2. The NY Jets should not draft a linebacker in Round 1

The Jets can absolutely still use another linebacker. C.J. Mosley is set to return as the starting MIKE, while the team re-signed Quincy Williams to a new three-year contract in the offseason.

However, the Jets don't have a starting-caliber third linebacker right now, and the duo of Mosley and Williams had their share of struggles in 2022, regardless. Linebacker is a position of need.

The problem is, there just aren't any linebackers worth targeting in the first round this year, at least not at pick No. 13. Clemson's Trenton Simpson, Arkansas' Drew Sanders, and Iowa's Jack Campbell each have some intriguing traits.

There's also Alabama's Henry To'oTo'o and Washington State's Daiyan Henley, who could be appealing Day 2 targets. But none of those players project as top-15 picks, and it's quite possible we don't see a single linebacker drafted on Day 1.

The recent track record of drafting off-ball linebackers in the first round isn't exactly strong, either. Quay Walker, Devin Lloyd, Zaven Collins, Jamin Davis, Isaiah Simmons, Kenneth Murray, Jordyn Brooks, and Patrick Queen are the linebackers drafted in the first round over the last three years.

That's not a particularly inspiring group of players. The hit rate has been strikingly low.

The Jets would be better off re-signing Kwon Alexander or adding another linebacker later in the draft. They could even roll with the guys already on the roster — players like Jamien Sherwood and Hamsah Nasirildeen.

The Jets need linebacker help, but they aren't going to find it in the first round of this year's draft.