Dane Brugler Mocks Derek Stingley & Garrett Wilson to the Jets

We are well and truly in mock draft season, and the regular season still isn’t over for many teams. We’ve recently had Mel Kiper release his mock, and yesterday we saw Dane Brugler of the Athletic release his latest mock draft, a two-round mock draft at that.

I’m going to touch on each pick as we go:

4. New York Jets — Derek Stingley Jr., CB, LSU

The Jets could go in a number of different directions here. Alabama’s Evan Neal could start at right guard as a rookie and be the long-term answer at right tackle (and provide Mekhi Becton insurance at left tackle). But Stingley would give the Jets a cover man with the talent to be a legitimate No. 1 cornerback, something the franchise has missed since Darrelle Revis.

Stingley set the bar high after his All-American freshman season as part of LSU’s national championship team. And although the last two seasons haven’t gone according to plan, the talent is still there. Stingley’s draft stock is extremely volatile right now, and his interviews and medicals will ultimately determine whether he is drafted this high or falls out of the top 10.

I hate this selection and it makes absolutely no sense. The Jets system doesn’t prioritise taking corners early, Saleh’s defense that went to the Super Bowl was made up of mid-round selections at the position, Joe Douglas has never been part of organizations that take corners early, I believe Jimmy Smith is the only 1st round corner taken during his career in the front-office or scouting department, and he was taken in the late 20’s.

That’s before we get to the fact that Derek Stingley has only played 10 games in the last two years and his 2020 tape wasn’t half as impressive as his 2019 tape. He has the potential to be great, but he’s far from a sure thing. I think it would be a huge error for the Jets to take Stingley.

10. New York Jets (from Seattle) — Garrett Wilson, WR, Ohio State

With all due respect to Jamison Crowder and Braxton Berrios, when they are your most productive pass-catchers, you officially have a wide receiver problem. Quarterback Zach Wilson must show improvements in year two, but he also needs the front office to find him more help.

I have six wide receivers ranked as top-25 prospects in this class, with Wilson as the clear No. 1 guy. He has only average size (6-0, 186), but he is a three-level threat due to his athleticism and ball skills. What separates him the most is his ability to create space before and after the catch.

This makes a lot more sense, even if the reasoning is a little skewed. The Jets receiving core was decimated by injuries in 2021, and I think it’s pretty clear that Elijah Moore is the #1 receiver for the Jets heading into 2022, and Corey Davis will be looking for a bounce back.

Crowder and Berrios are both free-agents, although I do expect the Jets to make a push to bring Berrios back, Crowder I believe walks. Wilson is a fantastic receiver, he can play inside and out like Moore, and his separation skills are pretty special, he can get better as a route-runner, I’d say Olave is the better route-runner but Wilson would be a great weapon for this offense.

Giving Zach more weapons is never a bad idea. The Jets were ridiculed for not surrounding Sam Darnold with talent, they won’t make the same mistake with Zach, we’ve already seen that with the signing of Corey Davis and the drafting of Elijah Moore, AVT and Michael Carter.

35. New York Jets — Bernhard Raimann, OT/G, Central Michigan

38. New York Jets (from Carolina) — Trey McBride, TE, Colorado State

I touched on all the offensive lineman in my newsletter yesterday, and Bernhard Raimann is going to be coached by the Jets at the Senior Bowl, the very top of the second is a touch rich for my liking but if the Jets fall for him in Mobile, I could see it happening:

The second Central Michigan player on this list, Raimann played at left tackle for the Chippewas and combined with Goedeke to form a formidable tackle tandem. Raimann stands at 6’6 and 305lbs and his frame is slighter than you’d expect for a tackle, but that helps with his balance and body control. He will be a 25 year old rookie and he came to football late being from Vienna Austria, but he has a lot of talent and a good competitive nature.

McBride is a bit of a fan favourite and it’s easy to see why. If the Jets managed to get him at #38 I’d be pretty excited because I could see him going at the back end of the first round.

McBride caught 90 passes for 1121 yards last season for Colorado State and he flashed as an in-line blocker as well, you can flex him out or play him as a class Y.

The Big knock on McBride is that he only caught one touchdown last season. I spoke to someone inside the Colorado State program and they were adamant that the blame should be firmly placed on the heads of the coaches. The person I spoke to said the coaching staff were reluctant to throw the ball in the red-zone. Steve Addazio the Colorado State coach was let go following the 2021 season. Raimann is a decent player but Brugler has the Jets taking him over the likes of Zion Johnson, who would make much more sense for the Jets.

Overall I like two of the selections and the one defensive pick I hate with a passion. We have the #32 ranked defense and Dane has us taking one of the riskiest picks in the draft, one that doesn’t really fit our system.