Jets consensus mock draft: Here’s who Jets are favored to pick in each slot

New York Jets consensus 2022 mock draft entering Week 18

With 17 weeks of football in the books, here is how the New York Jets‘ 10 picks in the 2022 NFL draft are currently stacking up:

• Round 1, Pick 4
• Round 1, Pick 7 (via Seattle)
• Round 2, Pick 35
• Round 2, Pick 38 (via Carolina)
• Round 3, Pick 69
• Round 4, Pick 108 (via Carolina)
• Round 4, Pick 115 (via Minnesota)
• Round 5, Pick 144
• Round 5, Pick 158 (via Pittsburgh)

If the draft were held today, what would the Jets’ nine-player draft class look like?

I decided to take my best stab at concocting a consensus seven-round Jets mock draft based on the opinions of those around the world.

To do it, I relied upon the consensus big board at NFL Mock Draft Database, which combines 31 big boards from draft analysts across the internet to stack up 589 draft-eligible prospects.

Using that big board as the basis, here is the process for how I made each pick for the Jets:

1. (Rounds 1-4) The Jets take the player ranked at their pick slot if that player fits a position of need* (i.e. they take the 4th-ranked prospect at pick No. 4)
2. (Rounds 1-4) If the Jets have already addressed that player’s position or the player does not play a position of need, they move on to the highest-ranked prospect at a position of need they have not addressed yet
3. Starting in the fifth round, I selected the highest-ranked player at a position that remained a plausible need following the picks made in the previous four rounds (meaning that repeat positions were allowed)

*- The positions of need I went with are WR, TE, OT, G, C, EDGE, LB, CB, S. I began considering RB in the fourth round.

Here we go: a rough outline of a consensus seven-round 2022 New York Jets mock draft with one week to go in the 2021 regular season.

Round 1, Pick 4: Derek Stingley Jr., CB, LSU

• Big board rank: 4th

Rated as the nation’s No. 1 recruit in the 2019 class by Rivals.com, Derek Stingley Jr. offers limitless talent and a prestigious pedigree, but he battled injuries and inconsistent play over three years at LSU.

In 15 games as a freshman, Stingley Jr. had six interceptions and 15 pass breakups while allowing a passer rating of 52.8. He played only seven games in his sophomore year and saw his allowed passer rating rise to 74.7 while picking off no passes. This year, Stingley Jr. played in just three games while allowing a passer rating of 130.8 (although he was only targeted five times).

Round 1, Pick 7: Ikem Ekwonu, OT, North Carolina St.

• Big board rank: 7th

Junior left tackle Ikem Ekwonu graded out as the best Power-5 left tackle this season at Pro Football Focus, earning a 91.6 overall grade. He had the position’s best run-blocking grade at 93.8 and performed well as a pass protector allowing 13 pressures over 500 protection snaps (2.6% rate).

Particularly, Ekwonu thrived as a zone-blocker, earning the best zone-blocking grade among all FBS tackles at 95.9.

Ekwonu also played some left guard in his sophomore season.

Round 2, Pick 35: Kingsley Enagbare, EDGE, South Carolina

• Big board rank: 38th
• Passed on: OT Darian Kinnard, QB Carson Strong, QB Desmond Ridder

Senior defensive end Kingsley Enagbare had the second-highest pass-rush grade at PFF among Power-5 edge rushers this season at 92.5, trailing only Aidan Hutchinson of Michigan.

Enagbare picked up 45 pressures on 258 pass-rush snaps for a pressure rate of 17.4%, better than higher-regarded EDGE prospects Hutchinson (17.2%), Kayvon Thibodeaux (16.6%), and George Karlaftis (16.1%).

Round 2, Pick 38: Jordan Battle, S, Alabama

• Big board rank: 40th
• Passed on: IDL Travon Walker

A high school teammate of Jets wide receiver Elijah Moore in Florida, Jordan Battle is a versatile safety for the Crimson Tide. He has three interceptions, three pass breakups, and 81 tackles this season, scoring two pick-sixes. PFF has Battle ranked as the No. 2 safety in the Power-5 with a 90.2 overall grade.

Round 3, Pick 69: Wan’Dale Robinson, WR, Kentucky

• Big board rank: 72nd
• Passed on: EDGE Zach Harrison, DL Travis Jones, RB Zach Charbonnet

Junior wideout Wan’Dale Robinson caught 104 passes for 1,334 yards and seven touchdowns this season.

The 5-foot-11, 185-pound speedster was highly efficient on a per-play basis. He averaged 3.56 yards per route run, ranking third-best among qualified Power-5 wide receivers behind only Ohio State’s Jaxon Smith-Njigba (4.01) and Arkansas’ Treylon Burks (3.57).

Elusiveness is the hallmark of Robinson’s game. He tied for second among Power-5 receivers with 22 missed tackles forced after the catch in 2021.

Kentucky also utilized Robinson on the ground, feeding him seven carries that resulted in 111 yards.

Round 4, Pick 108: Hassan Haskins, RB, Michigan

• Big board rank: 108th

A bigger back at 6-foot-1 and 220 pounds, Wolverines senior Hassan Haskins rushed 270 times for 1,327 yards and 20 touchdowns over 14 games in 2021. He’s a fundamentally sound player who never dropped a pass in his career, never fumbled, and was relied upon for solid pass-blocking.

Round 4, Pick 115: Zakoby McClain, LB, Auburn

• Big board rank: 118th
• Passed on: OT Tyler Smith, CB Mario Goodrich, CB Sevyn Banks

Senior linebacker Zakoby McClain picked up 95 tackles (8 for loss), two sacks, and six pass breakups for the Tigers this season. McClain is a smaller linebacker at six feet and 219 pounds, fitting the Jets’ mold for the position.

The Jets also picked an Auburn linebacker on day three of the draft last year – Jamien Sherwood, who played alongside McClain for three years.

Round 5, Pick 144: Tyreke Smith, EDGE, Ohio St.

• Big board rank: 147th
• Passed on: RB Zonovan Knight, OT Nick Broeker, DL Zachary Carter

Tyreke Smith had 36 pressures in a limited role for the Buckeyes this year, recording a solid 13.9% pressure rate and earning an 81.0 pass-rush grade at PFF. The 6-foot-3, 265-pound defensive end added five tackles for loss, three sacks, and two pass deflections in 10 games.

Round 5, Pick 158: Tykee Smith, S, Georgia

• Big board rank: 158th

Junior safety Tykee Smith transferred from West Virginia to Georgia for the 2021 season but only played in one game due to multiple injuries. He missed the start of the year while recovering from foot surgery and then tore his ACL during the season.

However, Smith was on a star-caliber trajectory prior to this season. In 2020, he had 61 tackles, eight tackles for loss, five pass breakups, and two interceptions over only nine games for the Mountaineers. He earned the best coverage grade among Power-5 safeties with a mark of 89.7.

Smith allowed only 110 yards on 25 passes completed against his coverage in 2020. That’s an average of 4.4 yards per reception, the lowest mark allowed by Power-5 safeties that year.

The final haul

Here is our consensus Jets mock draft:

• 4. Derek Stingley Jr., CB, LSU
• 7. Ikem Ekwonu, OT, North Carolina St.
• 35. Kingsley Enagbare, EDGE, South Carolina
• 38. Jordan Battle, S, Alabama
• 69. Wan’Dale Robinson, WR, Kentucky
• 108. Hassan Haskins, RB Michigan
• 115. Zakoby McClain, LB, Auburn
• 144. Tyreke Smith, EDGE, Ohio St.
• 158. Tykee Smith, S, Georgia