The NFL Draft has ended. Now can finally stop predicting who the New York Jets might draft.
Instead, we can start predicting what the players they did draft will do in 2024. Jets general manager Joe Douglas added seven players over seven rounds, and traded another player (defensive end John Franklin-Myers) away in the process, too.
Douglas’ draft class includes an intriguing mix of players clearly drafted more for the future and a few who should be expected to make an immediate impact.
Here’s an early projection of roles for each Jets rookie in 2024, and one notable undrafted free agent confirmed by his school to be signing with the Jets.
Jets’ draft picks
RoundPickNamePos.School
1
11 (via MIN)
This is Fashanu
OT
Penn State
3
65
Malachi Corley
WR
Western Kentucky
4
134 (via BAL)
Braelon Allen
RB
Wisconsin
5
171 (via PHI)
Jordan Travis
QB
Florida State
5
173 (via SF)
Isaiah Davis
RB
South Dakota St.
5
176 (via SF)
Qwan’tez Stiggers
CB
CFL
7
257 (comp)
Jaylen Key
DB
Alabama
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Jets NFL Draft picks 2024: Grades, fits and scouting reports
OT Olu Fashanu: Tyron Smith fill-in
If everything goes perfectly for the offensive line in 2024, Fashanu won’t even need to see the field. Of course, this is the Jets offensive line.
Nothing will go perfectly.
Injuries have decimated the offensive line the last two years in a manner that is difficult to comprehend. The Jets started 12 different offensive linemen last year and 11 in 2022. Clearly, banking on aging Duane Brown and a disappointing Mekhi Becton to hold down the fort at tackle last year was a bad decision. The Jets upgraded both tackle spots this year with Smith at left tackle and Morgan Moses at right tackle, but there is risk attached to both. They are both 33 with different injury concerns. Smith has missed 37 games the last four years and hasn’t played a full season since 2015. Moses had pectoral surgery this offseason.
At some point, Fashanu will almost certainly have to play. The question is whether the Jets will be willing to play him anywhere other than left tackle, which is the only position he played in college and high school. He practiced at right tackle at Penn State on occasion and trained at the position this offseason. Fashanu said he’s “super comfortable” playing any position.
“At the end of the day, I want to win, so I’m going to do everything in my power to help this team win,” Fashanu said. “It’s not up to me where I play, but I know wherever they put me, I’m going to make the most out of it.”
More than anything, though, expect Fashanu to be Smith insurance. There’s an added bonus of sorts for that, too: Smith rarely participated in practice fully last year so the Cowboys could manage his health and get him to the end of the season. That means Fashanu should get plenty of reps throughout the season with the first-team offense — valuable experience if/when he has to fill in for Smith. It can’t hurt that he gets to learn from Smith, a future Hall of Famer.
“The young man is only 21 years old, he hasn’t even scratched the surface and he is walking into a situation where he is going to learn exactly what it takes to last in this league,” Jets coach Robert Saleh said.
Introducing the New York Jets 2024 #NFLDraft class ✈️ pic.twitter.com/LjqJAfj2O1
— New York Jets (@nyjets) April 28, 2024
WR Malachi Corley: Slot receiver/gadget weapon
The Jets knew they wanted to get Corley after they missed out on drafting wide receiver Rome Odunze in the first round. Douglas tried trading up into the second round for Corley, wasn’t able to, and then swung a deal in the third to reel him in. The Jets wouldn’t have been so aggressively pursuing a player like Corley at a position of need if they didn’t plan to use him right away.
The Jets are high on second-year slot receiver Xavier Gipson — a different kind of gadget player, more shifty than strong like Corley — and he’ll push Corley for playing time. But Corley is the early favorite to get more playing time and become the Jets’ primary slot receiver. In college, he earned the nickname “YAC King” and he was probably the best wide receiver in FBS at breaking tackles. He doesn’t have much experience making plays (or running routes) down the field, but he’s a perfect weapon to deploy for Aaron Rodgers while Garrett Wilson and Mike Williams do their thing elsewhere on the field.
Corley can line up as a running back, too, if the Jets want to get creative — and that will be on offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett to figure out creative ways to use a unique weapon like Corley.
Braelon Allen (above) has a chance to be RB2 behind Breece Hall. (Mark Hoffman / USA Today)
The Jets signed Dalvin Cook last offseason hoping he could be a strong running complement to Breece Hall. That obviously didn’t work out and Cook was cut before the end of the season. The Jets are hoping Allen can make a greater impact as a counter to Hall in 2024.
Allen described his running style as “very physical, downhill. I try to punish defenders, create contact, more than take it and absorb it. So that is what I bring to the Jets, physical downhill runner, more than willing in pass protection and also able to run routes and catch the ball fairly well as well. So, I think I am a well-rounded back that is bigger than most. It is a little different than what a lot of people are getting.”
Allen can, at minimum, take on a role as a pass protector and short yardage back as a rookie with the potential for more. The Athletic’s Dane Brugler compared him to Falcons running back Tyler Allgeier.
Even more than Fashanu, the Jets are really hoping Travis never sees the field in the regular season. More than likely, this will be a redshirt year for him to rehab from a broken leg and develop as an NFL quarterback while learning from Rodgers and Tyrod Taylor. Of course, the Jets have had to turn to their third quarterback in back-to-back years due to injuries and/or poor performance. In 2022, Zach Wilson, Joe Flacco, Mike White and Chris Streveler all played. In 2023, Rodgers, Wilson and Trevor Siemian.
Douglas seemed confident that Travis will be healthy enough to return from his injury at some point this year, though he wasn’t ready to say the fifth-round pick would be ready for training camp. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Jets added a fourth quarterback at some point just to bring another arm into camp.
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This was the most confusing pick of Douglas’ haul this weekend, in the fifth round. That’s not to say anything about Davis’ talent or potential, just that the Jets already drafted a backup running back one round earlier in Allen and had other depth-related needs (guard, defensive line, safety) they probably should’ve addressed here.
But clearly, the Jets saw something in Davis and he’ll get an opportunity to push Allen for the backup running back job and second-year Israel Abanikanda for the third running back spot. Abanikanda’s days might be numbered.
Like Allen, Davis also brings a power running style into the mix, which will be valuable for a team that hopes to be carrying a lot of leads this season. He’s 6 feet, 220 pounds and Brugler wrote that “he runs tough and balanced with the feet to pick through the defense on early downs.”
CB Qwan’tez Stiggers: Developmental CB6
He has a fun and unique story but shouldn’t be expected to play much (at least not outside of special teams) in 2024. He has the unique rookie perspective of having already played professional football in the CFL, though he didn’t play any college football. The Jets are high on his talent and have one of the best cornerbacks coaches in the NFL (Tony Oden), who has already developed a close bond with him.
Stiggers will get a chance to sit back and learn from Oden as well as one of the best cornerback rooms in the NFL with Sauce Gardner, D.J. Reed, Michael Carter II, Brandin Echols and Isaiah Oliver. Reed, Carter, Echols and Oliver are all set to be free agents in 2025.
GO DEEPER
Beat writers’ favorite 2024 NFL Draft picks: One player for every team
S Jaylen Key: Backup safety competition
It was mildly surprising the Jets waited until the last pick of the draft to address the safety position, but clearly they believe in the Chuck Clark–Tony Adams–Ashtyn Davis trio. Key, this year’s Mr. Irrelevant, will get a chance to push second-year safety Jarrick Bernard-Converse for the fourth safety spot and should also get opportunities for a role on special teams. He played special teams coverage at UAB, though not at Alabama last year.
“I’d describe my game as a physical playmaker in the backfield,” Key said.
DT Leonard Taylor III: DT5 competition
The crown jewel of the Jets’ undrafted free agency class. The Miami defensive tackle was one of the highest-rated players still available after the draft. Brugler graded him as a fourth-/fifth-round pick and the 13th-best defensive tackle. It was surprising that Douglas didn’t draft any defensive tackles, but Taylor was a draftable player and will get a shot to push for a depth spot on the defensive line.
The Jets don’t have any developmental-type defensive tackles on the roster and only Quinnen Williams is signed beyond 2024 at the position. Defensive line coach Aaron Whitecotton is also one of the best at his job in the NFL. I’ll get into Taylor more this week when I look at the full UDFA class.
Brugler wrote that Taylor “doesn’t lack for talent, but the raw physical tools aren’t enough and won’t deliver consistent on-field production until he develops a more disciplined approach. While there is untapped potential there, it will require a patient coaching staff and complete buy-in from the player for him to work his way into an NFL rotation.”
(Top photo: Nic Antaya / Getty Images)
2024-04-29 15:10:18
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