5 biggest needs the NY Jets must address in the 2022 NFL Draft

4. The NY Jets must address safety

Before we get too far into this one, Jets fans — you can breathe. Joe Douglas won’t be using a top-six pick on a safety, but if he can find someone to pair with free-agent acquisition Jordan Whitehead in the early second or third round, he won’t hesitate to pull the trigger and add depth to an injury-riddled position for the Jets.

Kyle Hamilton is unlikely to be the pick unless he falls dramatically from what analysts and front offices expect, but this draft is deep with talent, with Jaquan Brisker and Jalen Pitre two names that have been linked to Gang Green early in the second round.

With Whitehead, Ashtyn Davis, and Lamarcus Joyner all on the current roster, a young prospect would help drive this secondary room, and with the unpredictability of injuries, this would be a very smart selection for Douglas.

5. The NY Jets must address cornerback

The Jets have a very talented cornerback room, led by free-agent signing D.J. Reed and homegrown young talents like Bryce Hall, Michael Carter II, and Brandin Echols, but given the recent history in the secondary, this is always a position you can stockpile talent at.

Some suggestions have the Jets taking Sauce Gardner in the first round, but given the lack of a role cornerbacks play in Robert Saleh’s defense, it’s highly likely that a second-round pick is the play here.

As we have noted, the Jets have five selections in the top 100, and if the board falls the right way, it wouldn’t be a shock if Joe Douglas found a role player with pick No. 38 or No. 69.

Douglas found Bryce Hall in the fifth round in 2020, then the combo of Echols and Carter in the fifth and sixth last year, so this is a very unpredictable play. But adding to the cornerback room will definitely help this team going into the future.