Everyone loves Baldy’s Breakdowns on Twitter, and Jets fans will love this one: in an appearance with Zach Gelb Sunday night on WFAN, Brian Baldinger gave high praise to Gang Green GM Joe Douglas for his 2021 NFL Draft.
“I thought it was fantastic what he did. This is a guy who knows what he’s doing, and he proved that this weekend,” Baldinger said of Douglas. “The move from 23 to 14 was all about protecting the QB; Alijah Vera-Tucker was the best interior lineman on his board, and he wanted to put him right next to Mekhi Becton to have a dominant left side, which was a prudent move.”
So, too, were the Jets’ picks in rounds two and four.
“They had a choice to make coming back Day 2 with the second pick, between Elijah Moore and Javonte Williams, who went with the next pick to Denver,” Baldy said. “Joe went with the slot receiver, which I don’t know what that says about Jamison Crowder, but in the eight games (Moore) played for Ole Miss, he was leading the SEC with 86 catches and 8 touchdowns. Then, to go and get Michael Carter in the fourth…there wasn’t a North Carolina game you could watch in his four years and not think of Ray Rice or Brian Westbrook. He’s going to fit in real well.”
Of course, the crown jewel of that offensive class was Zach Wilson, who is the fundamental building block of the foundation – and likely a better one than Sam Darnold would have been.
“It’s not even close (with Wilson vs Darnold). Joe knows how to build a team – you get the quarterback and start building around him, and never stop,” Baldinger said. “To add Corey Davis to a guy in Denzel Mims who flashed last year when he got healthy, add in what Mekhi Becton looks like he can be, and I think this thing has a chance to take off really quickly in what will be a tough division.”
That said…does Baldinger think the Jets should have made a different choice?
“I like Justin Fields a lot, and that was over two years against better competition,” Baldinger said. “I can’t say that Zach Wilson beat him out in my study, but I also recognize the arm talent Zach has, and it’s rare. It’s rare to be able to throw from any platform with touch and accuracy, and the ways he can deliver a football. I understand what they see, but I think Fields was a sturdier-built athlete and much faster, and that counts for something.”
Fields wasn’t even the third QB off the board though, as Trey Lance went third to San Francisco, and the Bears traded up to No. 11 to get the Ohio State star – a move Baldy saw as shades of another current star quarterback in the news.
“People made mistakes on Aaron Rodgers, and on Dan Marino; it happens,” Baldinger said. “I thought he outplayed Trevor Lawrence in the national semifinal, and when you throw six touchdowns in a game of that magnitude, on as big a stage as you can get, I thought that would have punctuated his positon. We’ll see what happens, but whatever you might have heard or people might’ve seen, I didn’t see it.”
Check out Baldy’s entire breakdown of the Jets, Giants, and overall NFL Draft with Zach Gelb below!
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