Lichtenstein: Reading the Jets' Meter After Joe Douglas' First Draft

In the 2017 NFL Draft, Jets general manager Mike Maccagnan traded down four times to obtain extra picks. Just two years later, none of those incremental players (Dylan Donahue, Eli McGuire, Jeremy Clark, and Derrick Jones) were still with Gang Green. Neither is Maccagnan.

Generally, I’m not a fan of the “quantity over quality” approach, even with a team as full of holes as New York’s. Too often, the pick in front of you is better than those you get down the road, both individually and collectively.

However, new GM Joe Douglas, in his first draft, seemed to know this past weekend’s board much better than his predecessor ever did.

When Douglas opted to trade down out of the 48th overall pick in the second round, much of Jets Nation was in despair. Wide receivers were a huge need, and they were flying off the board. 

Fortunately, Denzel Mims (Baylor), one of the top targets available at 48, dropped into Douglas’ lap at pick 59.

While I’m not as high on the Jets’ overall output as others, Douglas deserves credit for his execution. He practiced exactly what he preached. For the most part, the Jets took big, fast, and high-character players. His last five selections were team captains.   

I can’t fairly grade Douglas’ class now.  What matters is how well he filled the empty tanks for this season. Hence, the meter reads: 

With a pick acquired from New England for swapping out a late third-round slot into round four, the Jets chose Charlotte tackle Cameron Clark, who some scouts believe will eventually find a home at guard. I preferred Auburn’s Jack Driscoll, but he’s undersized and Douglas values versatility.

Overall, this was as good of a haul you could expect when you also consider Douglas’ free agent acquisitions. 

Jets tank:  Full

Wide receiver

Would Houston tackle Josh Jones and Douglas’ top receiver have trumped Becton and Mims? We’ll see. Jets fans are painfully aware of the organization’s miserable history with second-round receivers. The hope is that Mims’ dropsies (18 in his last two seasons, including seven in 2019, per ProFootballFocus.com) can be corrected since he also has a hefty reel full of highlight catches to his credit. 

Senior Bowl scouts were concerned that he couldn’t run anything other than basic go and slant routes but then reported that no one could cover him on every variety of play all week. His size (six-foot-three, 207 pounds) and speed (4.38 40-yard dash time at the NFL Combine) are exactly what quarterback Sam Darnold needs on the outside. Only wished that Douglas could have found more like Mims in such a deep class.

Jets tank: Half-full     

Edge rusher

Rarely does PFF dump on an NFL prospect the way they did to the Jets’ third-round selection Jabari Zuniga (Florida). Per PFF:

“Call it a sixth sense. Call it instincts. Call it feel for the position. Call it coordination. However you want to describe players who just have 'it' along the defensive line, Zuniga has shown the opposite. With exceptional athletic tools, Zuniga's tape regularly leaves us wondering what exactly he's trying to do as a pass rusher. With mistimed moves and a herky-jerky attacking style, Zuniga hasn't been able to beat up on any tackles besides the bottom of the barrel over the course of his career. He does dominate bad tackles though.”

If Zuniga shows up for his first team meeting on time, he will have eclipsed last year’s edge rushing bust, fellow Gator Jachai Polite. Still, the wait for an elite pass rusher since John Abraham departed after 2005 continues.

Jets tank: Empty

Douglas also took a flier on another Colts castoff by dealing his final selection in the sixth round for Quincy Wilson, who played his way off the field last season. After Wilson, Nate Hairston and Pierre Desir, maybe Douglas should consider that reports from assistant GM Rex Hogan, a former Indianapolis executive, have an undue Colts’ bias.

The Jets’ depth chart here is so shallow that undrafted free agent Javelin Guidry, a Kyle Wilson-type burner who doesn’t make plays on passes, could make this team.  

Jets tank: Half-full  

Backup quarterback

Jets fans weren’t expecting to be Googling “James Marshall” (Florida International) in the middle of the fourth round. It turns out that the big-armed Marshall is older than Darnold. Unfortunately, there isn’t much reporting to suggest that he’s any better than current backup David Fales. Marshall told the media that Douglas was the only NFL GM to contact him pre-draft.  Why the reach?

Jets tank: Empty

Backup running back

With overpaid starter Le’Veon Bell presumed to be in his last season in green, Douglas began his search to replace him by committee. Fourth-round pick La’Mical Perine (Florida) is the proverbial jack-of-all-trades, master of none. Unfortunately, he isn’t likely to get you explosive plays or break tackles on inside runs. Douglas shouldn’t delete free agent Bilal Powell’s contact info just yet.

Jets tank: Half-full     

Jets tank: Three-quarters full

For a FAN’s perspective of the Nets, Devils and Jets, follow Steve on Twitter @SteveLichtenst1.