The 2018 Senior Bowl was certainly eye-opening. The game allowed for many NFL prospects to raise their draft stock and showcase their hidden talents. Now, with the game in the rear-view, we take a look at the Jets and how they may attack the 2018 NFL Draft:
New York Jets – Five Round Mock Draft 2018 – Via James Cunningham
Round 1, Pick 6: Josh Rosen (QB, UCLA)
The Jets land possibly the second best quarterback in this draft class at 6th overall, hoping to finally end the disastrous quarterback carousel. The new offensive scheme will be built around Josh Rosen, who will have plenty of weapons around him. Rosen threw for career highs of 3,756 yards and 26 touchdowns with only 10 interceptions. He had an impressive 62.6 completion percentage and an incredible 147.0 quarterback rating.
Josh Rosen 2017 regular season 20+yd Td passes pic.twitter.com/QDPmO3sf6P
— Patrick Claybon (@PatrickClaybon) January 27, 2018
Round 2, Pick 38: Will Hernandez (OG, UTEP):
Will Hernandez stood out during the Senior Bowl and his stock went up dramatically. He was shutting down his opponents throughout the whole week, and received praise from several scouts in attendance. The Jets were 19th in rushing offense and let up 47 sacks, 8th most in the league. The Jets need offensive line help and they get it here with this pick.
Round 2, Pick 49 (via Seahawks): Jaire Alexander (CB, Louisville):
The Jets secondary is still pretty weak and their top corner Morris Claiborne is a pending free agent. This leaves the projected 2018 cornerbacks as Buster Skrine, Juston Burris, Darryl Roberts, Jeremy Clark and Derrick Jones. Yikes. The Jets fill a much needed position by adding another young talent in the secondary, accompanied by Jamal Adams and Marcus Maye.
Jaire Alexander had 7 interceptions, 15 passes defended and 77 tackles in his 3 year career at Louisville.
Round 3, Pick 72: Kerryon Johnson (RB, Auburn):
The Jets running back room is getting old, and Elijah McGuire is more of a feature back than a go-to guy. Kerryon Johnson had an excellent season at Auburn and nearly led them to a College Football Playoff appearance after beating the top two teams in the country, Georgia and Alabama. In those two games he combined for 358 total yards and 2 touchdowns. On the season he reached 1,391 rushing yards and 18 rushing touchdowns while averaging 4.9 yards per carry. The Jets need a spark in their backfield and they get one with this pick.
No SEC running back graded higher than Auburn's Kerryon Johnson this past season pic.twitter.com/NAbWB2gxMk
— PFF College (@PFF_College) January 23, 2018
Round 4, Pick 109: Mason Cole (C, Michigan):
Wesley Johnson had a very underwhelming 2017 season and the Jets have an unstable center position for the first time since before Nick Mangold. Although Mason Cole is no Mangold, the Jets pick a low-risk, high reward player and continue to fill the holes on the offensive line.
Round 5, Pick 148: Shaquem Griffin (OLB, UCF):
The Jets have needed a pass rusher for years, and Shaquem Griffin is exactly that. Despite being born with just one hand, Shaquem had a very accomplished college career. Most NFL teams are shaky about Griffin due to his missing hand and small size, but the Jets go with another low-risk, high reward pick with the hard worker. Griffin had 18.5 sacks, 166 tackles and 33.5 tackles for loss in his final two years with UCF.
Keep in mind this mock draft does not include free agency signings or trades, so things can easily change very quickly. The Jets could possibly trade up in the draft to secure their odds at a quarterback, and there are other teams looking to move up in the draft to find their next quarterback as well. But as of now, these draft picks fill the Jets’ team needs.
– James Cunningham is a staff writer for Full Press Coverage Jets and covers the New York Jets. Like and follow on Follow @nyjfansnationFollow @FPC_Jets
