After a very successful night one of the 2022 NFL draft, it is time for the New York Jets to turn the page to day two.
It all gets underway at 7 pm ET on Friday, April 29, and will feature the second and third rounds respectively.
Gang Green is scheduled to have two selections, one in each round:
- No. 38 overall (second-rounder)
- No. 101 overall (third rounder) via Tennessee Titans through the Philadelphia Eagles
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An Absolute Steal
Steve Muench of Scouts Inc provided an updated second-round mock draft of how he predicts things will play out via ESPN Plus.
In his column he had the Jets landing Georgia linebacker Nakobe Dean with the No. 38 overall pick that they originally acquired via the Sam Darnold trade.
“Dean is too good for the Jets to pass up here. He is an instinctive pass-rusher who locates and exploits gaps in pass protection. He should push Quincy Williams for the starting role opposite C.J. Mosley.”
Dean is ESPN’s No. 1 best player still available on day two of the 2022 NFL draft. There are two things working against him that caused this slide:
- Positional value
- Size
NFL teams just don’t value linebackers the same as they used to, so right off the bat, he was fighting a losing battle. On top of that, he stands in at 5-foot-11, 229 pounds, and teams have concerns about that.
Although if you look past those issues, Dean would check off a ton of boxes for the Jets. They have a clear position of need with Mosley getting older, Williams is in the last year of his deal, and there is an open spot in this 4-3 scheme.
Speaking to a few NFL people here are some of the things that stood out about him from those conversations:
- Explosive
- Team captain
- Comes from a winning program
Quite frankly this feels like a classic case of NFL teams overthinking and overanalyzing what is a simple evaluation. Dean is a really good player that is going to be in the pros for the next decade.
Best of the Rest
Every year when the first round comes to a close we all overreact to the level of talent that is still somehow on the board and this year is no different.
There is a variety of players that could tickle the Jets’ interest and interestingly when general manager Joe Douglas spoke with the media after the first round, he smiled when asked if there is an Elijah Moore level talent available this year in the second round?
Breece Hall, running back, Iowa State
Breece Hall and the entire collection plate of running backs are still available on day two of this draft. I feel like they’ll wait until the top of day three, as they did with Michael Carter last year, but they could be intrigued by the talent.
Arnold Ebiketie, EDGE, Penn State
Despite adding Jermaine Johnson out of Florida State in the first round, you can never have enough pass rushers. Ebiketie has some unbelievable traits that the Jets could invest in.
David Ojabo, EDGE, Michigan
We saw in the first round the Jets weren’t willing to take a player with injury issues (Jameson Williams), would they be in round two? It is a very interesting question because the talent with Ojabo is undeniable but he likely will require a redshirt year after rupturing his Achilles at his Pro Day.
Jalen Pitre, DB, Baylor
The Jets have completely remade their secondary in a single offseason with Jordan Whitehead, Ahmad ‘Sauce’ Gardner, and DJ Reed Jr. However they could use another starter at safety and they know Pitre intimately from the Senior Bowl.
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