Open Rants by kkunert327

2022 Draft Grades: New York Jets 

1 (4) - Ahmad Gardner CB Cincinnati -  B+

• I’m not the biggest fan of his, but I get after seeing Derek Stingley getting taken right ahead of them that they felt the need to take him here. Plus, had he slipped by the Jets I think the Giants would’ve taken him with one of their two picks. My only issue is that he feels more like a product of his situation more than anything. He looked amazing and more athletically gifted than anyone he faced in the AAC for the most part and he did what he was supposed to. I just wonder if he can hold up every week against the best of the best where his athletic gifts won’t allow him to keep up with every receiver even if he stumbles a bit. Guys with his athletic upside traits getting taken this high always has me weary. 

1 (10) - Garret Wilson WR Ohio St -  A

• I thought if the Jets took Wilson at 4 it would make a lot of sense since he did seem to be a guy that they really liked. It was also slightly surprising to me that he fell a bit, but we saw what happened right after he was taken so I doubt he would’ve been on the board much longer. He gives off CeeDee Lamb type of receiver vibes with his long strides and body control to make catches. What makes him really special is his long speed and ability to make people miss. The Jets were in the market for this type of receiver having tried to get Tyreek Hill and A.J. Brown this offseason. Wilson should step right in and give the Jets a nice one-two punch with Elijah Moore for a full season. 

1 (26) - Jermaine Johnson DE Florida St -  B- 

• I only slightly like this pick due to the value since he could have gone higher. However, I was never totally high on the late bloomer that took a bit to find his stride. If you ask me it shows how most of the league felt as he fell surprisingly low after being projected as a top 10 pick. For the Jets he makes sense up front giving them a dynamic pass rusher for maybe Robert Saleh to get the most out of him. I’m just not sure a team like the Jets who are still pretty lacking in talent should be in the market to give up assets to move up to get anyone. Especially for a guy who I can see being a nice player, but to be honest I don’t see much special from him. It would be great if he can at least give them Marcus Davenport type of production. 

2 (4) - Breece Hall RB Iowa St -  C+ 

• I understand he was the best running back in this class and everyone likes to laud that about this pick. However, this is not like a great running back class and many were even saying that the depth of the class is what the strength was. None of the higher end backs like Hall, Spiller, Walker, or what have you really screamed like the type of back that I just had to have. What makes this pick worse to me is that they moved up to get him. Not that they gave up a ton, but again a Jets roster that looks like this doesn’t need to lose picks. Nor for a back after just having taken a solid back in Michael Carter last year. All in all I’m not as in love with this class so far as the media seems to be. 

3 (37) -  Jeremy Ruckert TE Ohio St -  C

• Another pick I’m so not as in love with as the media has been. Sure it’s a cute story of a Long Island kid coming ….sort of back home to play in New Jersey. However, it definitely doesn’t fill a big need in my opinion. They still have question marks all over the line; except for Alijah Vera-Tucker’s spot, they still could use another corner, and they still have needs in their defensive front seven. Instead, they decided to take a tight end after overpaying for veterans like C.J. Uzomah and Tyler Conklin. Unless they are just going to be constantly running for tight end sets for their new running back to run behind, this whole draft doesn’t make a ton of sense to me. 

4 (6) - Max Mitchell OT Louisiana -  B

• Finally some more help for their offensive line that looks to be having a lot of question marks to answer this offseason. Will they move on from Mekhi Becton after just two seasons in favor of a tackle from the 4th round? I’m not sure if the fans in New York will take a move like that lightly. Especially, if Zach Wilson doesn’t show improvement. I like Joe Douglas a lot and what he has done in previous drafts, but so far he has nothing to show for it. If two of his former first round picks don’t pan out he might be out of a job sooner than I expected. I do like Mitchell a lot, but I’m curious to see if he can move to the right tackle spot where he hasn’t really played a ton in his career. He also has shorter arms and might not even be able to stick it out at tackle spot. Nor do I think he has the best strength to hold up in the run game.

4 (12) - Michael Clemons DE Texas A&M -  B+

• This I guess like the Mitchell pick are two good value type picks here in the 4th round. I like Clemons as a possible rotational interior pass rusher who can help push guys like Quinnen Williams and company who seem to be stalling in their growth. He does offer a nice high floor and it would not be surprising if he turns into another John Franlin-Meyers type talent for this defensive front. 

Overall: C+ 

I’m sorry I just don’t see what others do with this draft class. Sure they got good “value” on guys like Jermaine Johnson, Breece Hall, and Jeremy Ruckert. I’m just confused on why they had to trade up and lose valuable draft capital for two of them. While I’m still confused on the Ruckert pick after just spending a lot of money on the duo of Tyler Conklin and C.J. Uzomah. After also just drafting Garrett Wilson. It’s like they have all of these new toys with the tight ends, Wilson, Elijah Moore, Michael Carter, Corey Davis, and Breece Hall, but I doubt they will be able to find a way to get any of them in equally enough to get into a rhythm. Nor do I trust them with Zach Wilson to figure out how to use them all. Meanwhile I’m hesitant to say Johnson is a slam dunk after being a late bloomer and I’m also not totally high on Max Mitchell to become an eventual starting blocker. 

All in all the success of this draft to me is way too overblown. I do like Garrett Wilson a ton as a possible deep threat weapon type option, but one of the bigger issues for the Jets last year was keeping Zach Wilson upright in the pocket. Outside of their guards Alijah Vera-Tucker and Laken Tomlinson the rest of the o-line is a big question mark. Which could only get worse if they do decide to move on from Becton who seems to be in Robert Saleh’s dog house. It’s just to me they’re trying to justify the Zach Wilson pick by just throwing a ton of weapons around him hoping it will work. It just feels too haphazard to me like “oh let’s just grab weapons that’ll work” to me it needs to have cohesion and chemistry to do so. With so many guys shuffling in and out I’m worried they will never get there with Wilson. I also feel like they’re putting a ton of pressure on Wilson to succeed right now. Even if he does take a step up, but not enough to make the playoffs I feel like they might decide to move on from him. Sorry if I’m not one of these analysts who just see picks and values, but overlook the fit aspect of it all in my draft grades.