NY Jets fix their defense in 7-round 2022 NFL Mock Draft

The NY Jets roster rebuild will continue this offseason as the team once again turns to the draft in an effort to add more young talent to the organization.

General manager Joe Douglas' second draft class with the Jets already looks incredibly promising with players like Alijah Vera-Tucker, Elijah Moore, Michael Carter, and even Michael Carter II looking like long-term building blocks.

Douglas and the Jets will hope to find similar success in the 2022 NFL Draft — a draft they are currently slated to have a total of nine picks in, with potentially as many as four in the top-40.

With the help of The Draft Network's Mock Machine, we ran through one possible scenario for the Jets in next year's draft. Here are our results.

Round 1, 4th Overall, NY Jets: Derek Stingley Jr., CB, LSU

The Jets currently have the luxury of having two top-five picks using the current draft order. With the potential to add two premier prospects, we first targeted a position the Jets somewhat ignored last offseason — cornerback.

In a supremely talented cornerback class, LSU's Derek Stingley Jr. can make a strong case to be the very best. At 6-foot-1, 195 pounds, Stingley combines great size with rare athleticism and instincts to give him All-Pro potential in the NFL.

A foot injury has kept him sidelined for much of the 2021 season, but that hasn't done much to drop his stock. Bryce Hall has proven to be a long-term starter for Gang Green, but pairing him up with Stingley could give the Jets one of the best young cornerback duos in the league.

With Aidan Hutchinson, Kayvon Thibodeaux, and Kyle Hamilton all off the board in this mock, Stingley was the next-best logical choice.

Round 1, 5th Overall, NY Jets: George Karlaftis, EDGE, Purdue

While Hutchinson and Thibodeaux are receiving a lot of the hype, there's another incredibly talented edge rusher who has a chance to be taken in the top-five that's getting a little overlooked — Purdue's George Karlaftis.

Karlaftis is everything Robert Saleh looks for in a pass rusher. He has an absolutely relentless motor, incredible raw power, and an explosive first step that make him probably the best all-around power rusher in this year's class.

At 6-foot-4, 275 pounds, he even has the size to shift inside if you want with comparisons being drawn to players like J.J. Watt and Justin Smith. On top of that, he's also a technically refined rusher with a more varied pass-rush arsenal than probably any player in his draft class.

Don't sleep on George Karlaftis. He could be one of the best players in this class when all is said and done. The Jets add another talented superstar to a defense that desperately needs it.

Round 2, 36th Overall, NY Jets: Nakobe Dean, LB, Georgia

Three picks. Three defensive players. This time the Jets are able to snag a player who many have as a first-round prospect in linebacker Nakobe Dean. Dean was named the Butkus Award winner last week being declared the nation's top linebacker.

And the promise he showed at Georgia could very well transfer over into the NFL. At 6-foot, 220 pounds, Dean is a bit undersized but has the look and feel of a modern-day NFL linebacker.

The 20-year-old might be the fastest linebacker in the country with eye-popping athleticism that allows him to be a highly-effective blitzer up the middle.

Dean has the football instincts to make him a very proficient run defender and the athletic upside to project him as a three-down linebacker at the next level. The Jets need linebacker help and Dean fits the mold of what Saleh looks for at the position.

Round 2, 40th Overall, NY Jets: Drake London, WR, USC

Don't rule out the Jets drafting a wide receiver early, even after adding Corey Davis and Elijah Moore last offseason. In fact, they could even address the position earlier than this.

Fortunately, we were able to land a perfect prospect for the Jets' offense in Drake London at pick No. 40. London is a massive target standing at 6-foot-5, 210 pounds. The Jets could really use a contested-catch specialist like him.

A former USC basketball player, London has absurd body control and a ridiculous catch radius. While not the fastest receiver out there, he's a good athlete with consistent hands.

London adds a missing element to the Jets' offense and gives them a starting trio of Davis, Moore, and London heading into the 2022 season.

MORE: NY Jets make major OL additions in 7-round 2022 NFL Mock Draft

Round 3, 68th Overall, NY Jets: Bernhard Raimann, OT, Central Michigan

The Jets might very well address the offensive line further in free agency and it's hard to predict how early to target the position group in the draft without knowing the futures of players like George Fant, Morgan Moses, and Laurent Duvernay-Tardif.

But either way, none of those players are long-term options. That's why we swung for the fences with the Austrian-born Bernhard Raimann here at the top of Round 3.

Raimann stands at 6-foot-7, 305 pounds having only played offensive tackle for two years after originally playing, believe it or not, wide receiver and tight end.

He has the athletic profile to become the next Jordan Mailata-type player, although much like Mailata, he will likely need time to develop. Raimann makes sense if the Jets roll with either Fant or Moses at right tackle for another year.

Round 4, 111th Overall, NY Jets: Jahleel Billingsley, TE, Alabama

After going defense with the first three picks, the Jets make it three straight offensive picks finally addressing tight end here in the fourth round. Again, this is another instance where free agency matters.

If the Jets don't add a starting tight end in free agency, the position becomes a much greater need in the draft. Operating under the assumption they might, we added Alabama's Jahleel Billingsley here on Day 3.

At 6-foot-4, 230 pounds, Billingsley is more of an oversized wide receiver than he is a true in-line tight end. He's cut from the same cloth as a player like Evan Engram with excellent athleticism and receiving upside.

The Jets need to add more targets for Zach Wilson and Billingsley could give them the high-upside pass-catching tight end they've been searching for for over a decade.

Round 4, 115th Overall, NY Jets: Jalen Pitre, S, Baylor

Few players have done more to improve their stock over the course of this season than Baylor's Jalen Pitre. Pitre wasn't on most scouts' radars heading into the season, but after a standout campaign that saw him named Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year and a Thorpe Award finalist, he's made a name for himself.

At 6-foot, 197 pounds, Pitre is a versatile defensive back who can play anywhere from single-high safety to box safety to slot defender. He's an instinctive defender who sniffs out screens and is sticky in man coverage.

The Jets will likely be looking for safety help with Marcus Maye set to depart in free agency and Pitre gives the team someone who can compete for a starting job from day one.

Round 5, 145th Overall, NY Jets: Charlie Kolar, TE, Iowa State

After drafting Jahleel Billingsley just one round earlier, we decided to double-up at the tight end position adding one of the three finalists for the Mackey Award (nation's top tight end) this season in Iowa State's Charlie Kolar.

It would be silly and irresponsible to throw around George Kittle comparisons. But if you're looking for someone who can fill that Kittle-lite role in Mike LaFleur's offense, it might just be Kolar.

The All-American is not quite the blocker that Kittle is, but it does remain one of the strengths of his game. And at 6-foot-6, 255 pounds, he has enough juice to be a mismatch for opposing defenses, especially when working the seem.

Billingsley and Kolar complement each other well giving the Jets two young tight ends to pair with whatever addition they made in free agency.

Round 5, 156th Overall, NY Jets: Ali Gaye, EDGE, LSU

The Jets have learned this season that you can never have too many edge rushers. And that ideology has followed Robert Saleh throughout his entire coaching career.

Even after adding George Karlaftis to a unit that already looks deep heading into 2022, the Jets double-up at pass rusher adding LSU's Ali Gaye. Gaye is a player who hasn't come close to reaching his ceiling yet.

Standing at 6-foot-6, 250 pounds, Gaye has excellent length and burst that gives him the pass-rushing upside of someone who should be taken much higher than the fifth round.

His inconsistencies and overall rawness will cause him to drop, but if you're betting on upside, you can do a lot worse than Ali Gaye here in the middle of Day 3.