Mel Kiper’s First 2019 NFL Mock Draft Has Quinnen Williams Going to the Jets

ESPN’s Mel Kiper has come out with his first mock draft of the year. With the third overall pick, he has the Jets going defense.

3. New York Jets Quinnen Williams, DT, Alabama

The Jets will have the most 2019 cap space of any team, so expect them to be active in free agency. For now, I’ll go with the best player on the board in Williams, who finished eighth in the voting for the Heisman Trophy this season. If new defensive coordinator Gregg Williams switches to a 4-3, Williams is a perfect fit as a 3-technique penetrator. Remember that the Jets don’t have a second-round pick -- they dealt it in the Sam Darnold trade up last year -- so it’s extra important that they hit here. New York does have an extra third-round pick from the Teddy Bridgewater trade.

Kiper’s mock has Nick Bosa going to Arizona with the top pick, and Josh Allen going number two to the 49ers.

Given the lack of targets Sam Darnold has, I don’t think this pick would be very popular. I also think it might be difficult to sell a fifth first round pick invested in an interior lineman in the last nine years. Whether it is the right pick, however, will depend on the rest of the scouting process and what holes the Jets will fill prior to the Draft.