Grades and analysis for the NY Jets star-studded 2022 NFL Draft class

The 2022 NFL Draft is in the books and the consensus seems to be that the NY Jets hit a figurative draft-day home run. Of course, we won't know the true fate of this draft class until years down the line.

There have been times when teams look to have crushed the draft only for the eventual outcome to be less than stellar. Conversely, some teams have been universally panned only for their drafts to produce fruitful results.

Point is, instant draft grades are silly. But they sure are fun, aren't they?

General manager Joe Douglas has now gone through three drafts with the Jets organization and the results have been mixed, to say the least. While his 2020 draft class is a bit of a mess, his 2021 class looks significantly more favorable.

Again, it's still too early to fairly analyze either of those draft classes, let alone one that was completed less than a week ago. But we can do our best to accurately predict the future impact of this class.

A class that, on paper, has the potential to legitimately be one of the most successful in franchise history. That's not an overstatement either — this Jets class could be legendary. Key word: could.

Now that the dust has settled a little, let's take a look at our full grades and analysis for the Jets' entire 2022 NFL Draft class.

Round 1, 4th overall, NY Jets: Sauce Gardner, CB, Cincinnati

The Jets kicked off their 2022 NFL draft by drafting a player who could become one of their best defensive players in franchise history. Cincinnati cornerback Sauce Gardner is that good.

Gardner was a three-year starter at Cincinnati and it became immediately apparent that he was one of the best players on the field. He earned All-American and first-team All-AAC honors as a freshman, and the accolades wouldn't stop there.

The Detroit native was named first-team All-AAC in all three years at Cincinnati, first-team All-American as a sophomore, and a Consensus All-American as well as the AAC Defensive Player of the Year as a junior.

Simply put, few cornerbacks to come out of the draft in recent memory have tape that comes close to matching Gardner's. His production at Cincinnati was off the charts and he enters the league with an NFL-ready skill set.

He isn't just production, though — his traits are just as impressive. Gardner stands at nearly 6-foot-3, 190 pounds with 33-inch arms and 4.41-speed. There has literally never been a cornerback with that size/length/speed combination in NFL history.

Sauce Gardner is the complete package. He's someone who should step in as an immediate impact starter with the ceiling to become one of the best cornerbacks in the league.

The Jets were deciding between Gardner and NC State offensive tackle Ikem Ekwonu at this spot. They made the right choice.

Grade: A

Round 1, 10th overall, NY Jets: Garrett Wilson, WR, Ohio State

The Jets had a few options with their second pick in the draft, but given the way the board fell, they were able to land a player who was the top overall wide receiver on their board in Ohio State's Garrett Wilson.

Wilson was a two-year standout at Ohio State earning first-team All-Big Ten honors in 2020 before emerging as one of the best wide receivers in the country following a first-team All-American selection in 2021.

At 5-foot-11, 183 pounds, Wilson is one of the smoothest wide receivers we've seen come out of college in a while. He's a fluid athlete with superb body control who plays a lot larger than his 183-pound frame.

He's drawn comparisons to the likes of T.Y. Hilton and CeeDee Lamb for those very reasons. Much like Gardner, Wilson should step in and contribute immediately on offense alongside Elijah Moore, Corey Davis, and Braxton Berrios.

The Jets had been active in the wide receiver market all offseason in search of a true No. 1 receiver. Is Wilson going to be that guy? That remains to be seen. But he certainly has that potential to go along with a high floor.

Garrett Wilson can be a special player in the NFL. This is another excellent pick for the Jets.

Grade: A-

Round 1, 26th overall, NY Jets: Jermaine Johnson, DE, Florida State

The Jets' draft would have already been successful with just Sauce Gardner and Garrett Wilson. Fans were already celebrating two impact players on either side of the ball — as were the Jets.

But then a player who many had pegged to the Jets with the 10th or even the fourth overall pick started to slide. Pick after pick went by, and Jermaine Johnson was still on the board.

The Jets began the process of trying to trade up for Johnson starting with the 15th overall pick. Joe Douglas called every team that was on the clock, but he wasn't able to strike a deal until the 26th pick.

Douglas agreed to trade up nine spots from pick 35 in exchange for the team's last pick in the draft (163) and a drop down from 69 to 101 in the third round. The trade was fair value, the pick itself was incredible value.

Johnson was a top-eight player on the Jets board and widely seen as a top-10 player in the class. He slid in the draft partially because other teams may not have valued him as high, but also because the need just wasn't there either. No team drafted an edge rusher between Kayvon Thibodeaux at five and Johnson at 26.

In Johnson, the Jets are landing one of the best edge rushers in this class and someone they have high hopes for. The 2021 ACC Defensive Player of the Year finished with 12 sacks and 18 tackles for loss in his lone season at Florida State.

He's explosive and polished with excellent size and length. Considering the Jets nearly drafted Johnson 16 picks earlier, the fact that they were able to trade back into the first to land him at 26 has to be considered one of the biggest steals of the draft.

I have a feeling the Jets' aggressive approach is going to pay off as it pertains to Jermaine Johnson.

Grade: A+

Round 2, 36th overall, NY Jets: Breece Hall, RB, Iowa State

The Jets had quite a few options when it came to their first pick in the second round. They could have targeted another defensive upgrade in the form of a safety or linebacker. They could have addressed their offensive tackle depth as they almost did in the first round.

Instead, they made the somewhat surprising decision to trade up two spots and select Iowa State running back Breece Hall. Surprising doesn't mean bad, however.

In fact, many were pleading with the Jets to draft Hall. Most just didn't believe Joe Douglas would do it. In the 20+ years that Douglas has been in the NFL, his team has only drafted a running back in the top-40 once — that came way back in Douglas' first season in the NFL in 2000 (Jamal Lewis, Baltimore Ravens).

Douglas proved that he's willing to break his innate draft philosophy in order to build around his young quarterback. That's the idea behind the Hall pick.

Hall was another player with a first-round grade on the Jets' board, and he's someone who many believed to be the consensus RB1 in his class. Even with the presence of Michael Carter, Hall adds a new element to the Jets' offense.

At 5-foot-11, 217 pounds, Hall blends an impressive build with outstanding vision, elusiveness, and 4.39 speed. He's still a work in progress as a pass catcher and blocker, but he has all the makings of a true three-down back at the next level.

The Jets prioritized building around their young quarterback with the best available talent. It's hard to be upset about that approach.

Grade: B+

Round 3, 101st overall, NY Jets: Jeremy Ruckert, TE, Ohio State

This is yet another situation where the Jets prioritized talent and building around their young quarterback over need. Generally speaking, that's typically a better draft strategy.

The Jets didn't need to draft a tight end in the third round. After signing C.J. Uzomah and Tyler Conklin in free agency, the Jets already boasted two starting-caliber tight ends on their roster.

But once again, the Jets weren't thinking about that. They were looking at value, future need, and providing their young QB with as talented of a supporting cast as possible. That's why Jeremy Ruckert was the pick at 101.

A Long Island native, Ruckert's production won't wow anyone. He never managed more than 350 yards in a season at Ohio State and finished his career with just 54 catches in 47 games.

He's a classic example of a player who got lost in the shuffle in a loaded Ohio State offense, much like the likes of Michael Thomas and Terry McLaurin had in the past. Ruckert is hoping to maximize his potential in the NFL much as those two have.

At 6-foot-5, 252 pounds, Ruckert has an NFL-ready frame with good athleticism, more-than-serviceable in-line blocking skills, and an outstanding catch radius.

He's still a work in progress, but he's also someone who's just beginning to scratch the surface of his potential. Ruckert was my second favorite tight end in this class behind Trey McBride, so landing him at this spot is a steal for the Jets in my mind.

Neither Uzomah nor Conklin is a long-term solution, and given the former's lengthy injury history, adding more depth at a crucial position in Mike LaFleur's offense is never a bad thing.

Jeremy Ruckert could develop into one of the best players from this Jets draft class.

Grade: B+

Round 4, 111st overall, NY Jets: Max Mitchell, OT, Louisiana

The Jets were strongly considering drafting an offensive tackle as early as the fourth overall pick. Evidently, they aren't sold on the health and future of Mekhi Becton, and they took one look at their offensive tackle depth before realizing they needed some help.

But instead of drafting a tackle on Day 1 or even Day 2, the Jets waited until the beginning of Day 3 to address the position. They did so by drafting Louisiana-Lafayette's Max Mitchell.

Mitchell isn't going to be competing for a starting spot as a rookie. He's someone the Jets will look to mold into a serviceable starter while providing increased depth for the time being. With that in mind, he fits the bill.

At 6-foot-6, 307 pounds, Mitchell has good size, length, and foot speed for the position. He's a nimble athlete who enters the NFL with a relatively pro-ready pass-blocking skillset. That alone gives him a high enough floor to justify the pick.

Mitchell still has some work to do before he can start at the NFL level — namely as it pertains to his play strength and overall technique — but that's par for the course with fourth-round offensive tackles.

Given his experience playing both tackle spots, Mitchell is an ideal developmental swing tackle who can provide depth at a position where the Jets needed it. It's a pick for need with enough upside to make it worth it.

Grade: B-

Round 4, 117th overall, NY Jets: Micheal Clemons, DE, Texas A&M

This is the one Jets draft pick that left me scratching my head. This isn't to say that the fourth-round choice of Micheal Clemons can't work out or that it's destined to fail, and generally, I do like to be favorable with my draft grades.

But this just feels like such an anti-Joe Douglas pick.

Clemons will turn 25-years-old before the season begins, has an extensive injury history, and was arrested numerous times last year (for non-violent charges, for what it's worth). Everything about that screams a player that Douglas wouldn't target.

There are reasons to be optimistic about the pick, though. Clemons is coming off an excellent senior season at Texas A&M that saw him rack up seven sacks in 10 games. He was legitimately one of the best players on an SEC defense. That has to count for something.

The Jets are taking a chance on Clemons' raw talent and hoping that he can develop into at least a rotational piece in their defense. In the fourth round, that's okay.

However, his list of red flags is longer than almost any other prospect in this class. He has missed games due to suspension or injury in each of the last four seasons including an ankle injury that sidelined him for all of 2018.

His off-field decision-making has to be taken into consideration as well, even if none of the charges are that serious. And his age means that he's likely pretty close to reaching his peak as a player — 25-year-olds just don't have as much development left in them, in general of course.

This is a fourth-round dart throw, albeit one with significantly less upside than you would like given the sheer quantity of red flags. The one true confusing pick in an otherwise near-universally praised draft class.

Grade: D