4 safest prospects the NY Jets could target in the 2022 NFL Draft

The NY Jets are set to have more draft capital than any other NFL team this offseason. With two top-10 picks and four selections inside the top-40, the Jets have the resources to do some serious damage in the 2022 NFL Draft.

With so much draft capital, the Jets could probably afford to swing for the fences at least once or twice. After all, not even the best teams bat 1.000 or even .500 when it comes to draft picks.

That's just the nature of the entire process — teams are much more likely to miss than they are to hit. Not every prospect is created equal, however.

Some prospects have much higher bust rates than others. Be it because of their unpolished skill set, lack of experience, or whatever the reason, some draft prospects are hit with the boom-or-bust label.

On the other end of the spectrum are those players who are declared "NFL-ready." These are the prospects who many expect to play a key role early in their careers due to their high floors.

In some cases, these prospects don't necessarily have super high ceilings, but their high floors make them safe picks nonetheless. Those are the players we're going to discuss today.

Let's take a look at four of the safest prospects the Jets can target in the 2022 NFL Draft.

4. NY Jets target: Jaquan Brisker, S, Penn State

In a normal draft class, Penn State's Jaquan Brisker would be a safe bet to be the top safety prospect available. Of course, the presence of Notre Dame's Kyle Hamilton makes that impossible.

But don't let Hamilton's greatness overshadow just how good of a prospect Brisker is. The 22-year-old Pittsburgh native is a versatile, do-it-all safety who can play pretty much any role asked of him.

Penn State deployed him as a single-high safety, box safety, Cover 2 safety, in the slot, and essentially anywhere they could find a use for him. That versatility should go a long way at the NFL level.

There just isn't a noticeable hole in Brisker's game. He's a phenomenal athlete who has plenty of size at 6-foot-1, 200 pounds. It's not as if he's lacking from an IQ perspective either given how many responsibilities the Penn State coaching staff trusted him with.

Perhaps the one hole in his game is that he could grow to become a more consistent tackler. While his length and toughness make him an impactful tackler, he sometimes has a tendency not to wrap up, at least based on the film I've watched.

Still, I'm nit-picking at this point. Brisker is a well-rounded instant starter who will likely play eight or more years at a pretty high level in the NFL.

Is he Ed Reed or Ronnie Lott? Not exactly. But he's still a darn good safety prospect with a high floor.

3. NY Jets target: Ahmad Gardner, CB, Cincinnati

In a deep and talented cornerback class, Cincinnati's Ahmad Gardner might just be the best of them all. Gardner's combination of a high floor and a super high ceiling make him a possible top-10 prospect in this class and someone the Jets could target very early.

At 6-foot-2, 188 pounds, Gardner is a long, physical cornerback who has all the physical tools necessary to become an All-Pro at the next level.

Nicknamed "Sauce," Gardner is a long strider who has no issues turning and running with opposing receivers despite his size. That length allows him to maximize his ball skills and increase his margin for error in coverage.

He isn't just all physical traits, however. Gardner is an intelligent defender who is at his best in zone coverage when he could read the quarterback's eyes and jump into throwing lanes.

His size allows him to excel in press-man coverage too making him a scheme-versatile prospect. Much like Brisker, one of his biggest (and only) concerns comes with his tackling.

Gardner is a willing and aggressive tackler, but his consistency is also an issue. On top of that, he had a tendency to get a little grabby in coverage in 2020, although his penalty numbers dropped significantly in 2021.

Gardner is a fantastic cornerback prospect who should be a day-one starter in the NFL. His high floor/high ceiling combo makes him a very intriguing target for the Jets.

2. NY Jets target: Kyle Hamilton, S, Notre Dame

What is there to say about Kyle Hamilton that hasn't already been said? He's the best safety prospect I've personally ever seen and one of the safest, least flawed prospects the NFL has seen at any position in years.

If you were to build a safety from scratch, that player would have the build, athleticism, and mind of Kyle Hamilton. At 6-foot-4, 220 pounds, Hamilton has elite size for the position which he pairs with otherworldly athleticism.

Simply put, guys as big as Hamilton shouldn't be able to move as well as he does. Even at that size, Hamilton has more range than any safety in this draft class.

His sideline-to-sideline speed is something special, and when paired with his football IQ and overall instincts, you get a safety prospect who can transform an entire defense.

Unlike the previous two entries, he has no issues as a tackler. Hamilton's size and speed allow him to shoot through gaps like a bullet. The Draft Network's Kyle Crabbs referred to him as "literally a cheat code in the run game."

This is your top prospect in this draft class. Discussions about position value will likely prevent him from being the No. 1 overall pick, but it wouldn't be a surprise at all to see him land in the top-five.

Kyle Hamilton is that good. Whether the Jets make him a target or not remains to be seen — but he's as safe of a bet to be a superstar at the next level as anyone.

1. NY Jets target: Tyler Linderbaum, C, Iowa

There are, in my opinion, two elite prospects in this class. These are the prospects who are essentially guaranteed to be studs in the NFL — prospects with few flaws and an All-Pro ceiling.

Kyle Hamilton is one of them. Tyler Linderbaum is the other.

At 6-foot-3, 290 pounds, Linderbaum is an uber-athletic center prospect who blends an NFL-ready skill set with the physical traits to be one of the best centers in football before long.

It would not surprise me in the slightest to see Linderbaum have a Creed Humphrey-like impact early in his career. I'm talking Pro Bowl in year one and All-Pro by year two.

Linderbaum has earned Jason Kelce comparisons given his athleticism, build, and fundamentally advanced set of skills. He's cerebral at the point of attack, and while he may not overwhelm defenders with power, he's as technically sound as they come.

Perhaps the one knock against Linderbaum is that he's probably a center-exclusive prospect at the next level. He doesn't have the ideal length or build to shift over to guard, but that shouldn't be an issue.

Linderbaum doesn't play a flashy position which will likely cause him to fall in the draft. But any team that scoops him up will likely be getting a steal. That team could be the Jets.