The NY Jets are less than two weeks away from the start of the 2022 NFL Draft. Rumors have been running rampant about the direction the team will go in, and countless mock drafts have attempted to predict exactly what might happen come draft day.
We've done our fair share of mock drafts that fall under that same category as well. This mock, however, is more fantasy than reality. This is a "what would happen if..." scenario.
The Jets have been active in the wide receiver trade market exploring trades for players like Tyreek Hill, Calvin Ridley, and Amari Cooper. Despite the persistent rumors, it does seem rather unlikely that the Jets will be able to land a star receiver in a trade this offseason.
But that doesn't mean we can't still discuss that scenario. What if the Jets were to trade for San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel? What would the trade package look like? What would the rest of their draft look like?
With help from The Draft Network's Mock Machine, those are the questions we set out to answer.
NY Jets trade package for Deebo Samuel
Just for the sake of this mock draft, we decided to go with the trade package the Jets reportedly offered for Tyreek Hill — a deal that the Kansas City Chiefs accepted.
Would this be enough for San Francisco to part ways with Samuel? Right now, that seems very unlikely. But it also seems likely that the Jets are willing to surrender one of their first-round picks, especially when they didn't have to for Hill.
So, simply for the sake of consistency and simplicity, this is the trade package we're going to go with. The Jets send both second-round picks (35 and 38) as well as their third-round pick (69) to the 49ers in exchange for their new WR1, Deebo Samuel.
How does that affect the rest of the mock draft? With three fewer picks and one major position of need addressed, what picks do we have the Jets making? Let's take a look.