5 NY Jets mistakes that doomed the team in 2023

4. Drafting a position with depth for the first round pick

Let me preface this point with this: I believe Will McDonald will be the Jets' future standout edge rusher. But for the 2023 season, he was the wrong draft pick.

The Jets were sitting at the 15th overall pick, sliding back from 13 in the trade with the Green Bay Packers for Aaron Rodgers. Broderick Jones was still available, and it looked like the Jets' wishes would come true, and they would gain an offensive lineman starter on Day 1 of the draft.

Unfortunately, the New England Patriots decided to trade back with the Pittsburgh Steelers, who took Broderick Jones one spot ahead of the Jets.

The Jets then drafted McDonald when wide receivers Quentin Johnston (Los Angeles Chargers), Zay Flowers (Baltimore Ravens), and Jordan Addison (Minnesota Vikings) were still available.

In hindsight, the Jets really needed another wide receiver to pair with Garrett Wilson in 2023, and any one of those receivers would have helped take some attention off Wilson.

Instead, the Jets front office decided to double down on defense and selected an edge rusher — a position that already had depth with the likes of Jermaine Johnson, Bryce Huff, John Franklin-Myers, and Carl Lawson.

Taking a defensive end over those wide receivers in 2023 was the wrong move. But there is still time, and McDonald can prove he was the right pick with a big second year, mimicking Jermaine Johnson’s leap in production this past year.

Hopefully at the end of the 2024 season, Jets fans can rest assured they have two starting edge rushers in Johnson and McDonald for years to come.