Daniel Jeremiah Mock 2.0 - Jets Take OT

The pending Quarterback decision continues to dominate our thoughts as Jets fans, which is preventing us from becoming obsessive over the draft.

I had a look through some mock drafts today to see who the experts have the Jets selecting come April. Obviously, the evaluation process isn’t even close to being concluded, but it’s always fun to see the options and opinions throughout, and how they change once we hit certain milestones like the combine, pro days, and facility visits.

Daniel Jeremiah is one of my favorite analysts out there and he released his latest mock draft a couple of days ago. In that mock, he has the Jets taking a National Champion:

In this scenario, Broderick Jones is the 3rd offensive tackle off the board. Northwestern Tackle Peter Skoronski went off the board at #9 to the Carolina Panthers, and Ohio State’s Paris Johnson Jr went #11 to the Tennessee Titans.

Broderick Jones is an incredible talent with an outstanding college resume. Over 470 pass-blocking snaps last year, he allowed 0 sacks and just 2 QB hits.

The general consensus around Jones is that had he returned to Georgia for another year and worked on his technique and hand placement, he could have been a top-5 draft pick, but as it stands, he’s still a top-15 pick because of his natural talent.

He plays with an edge and enough power and athleticism to be scheme versatile. He has enough power to move defenders off the ball and his thick lower half offers an anchor in pass protection.

But what truly makes him special is his athleticism, a player north of 300 lbs shouldn’t move in space as well as Jones does, and part of that can be attributed to him being a standout basketball player in high school.

That combination of athleticism and power makes him ideal for the Jets system which moves between different zone and gap concepts.

We have to remember that 2022 was his first year as a full-time tackle at college, he played sparingly as a freshman in 2020 and filled the backup tackle role in 2021 where he played 438 snaps. The lack of experience directly correlates with some of the inconsistencies in terms of technique that show up on tape, but any good coach will iron those out.

He has All-Pro potential, and if the Jets were to land Broderick, he’d instantly become a fan favorite because of the dominant style of his play. He’s nasty on defenders and he doesn’t take any snaps off. He’s also a two-time national champion, and winning is infectious.