The Jets will be submitting their draft card early again
With the dust settling from the final week of regular season NFL action, fans of the league’s 18 teams doomed to watch the coming postseason from home are already looking forward to spring.
Advent calendars have since given way to mock drafts and now fans of the damned can truly make educated guesses on their squad’s future: the end of the regular season has formed the first 18 slots on the 2023 NFL Draft board. The New York Jets, a far too common addition to the list of teams stuck at home, will make their first choice at 13th overall after finishing this season with a 7-10 record.
As the full draft board currently stands (prior to the announcement of compensatory picks), the Jets are currently slated to hold the following picks:
- 13th overall (Round 1)
- 44th overall (Round 2)
- 75th overall (Round 3)
- 112th overall (Round 4)
- 144th overall (Round 5)
- 178th overall (Round 6) – via Houston Texans
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It’s likely of little consolation to a long-suffering New York fanbase that’s set to watch its 12th consecutive postseason without a rooting interest, but the 13th choice is the Jets’ lowest scheduled first-round selection since 2016 when they took Darron Lee with the 20th overall pick.
True to their star-crossed nature, the Jets were on the worst end of an unforgiving draft tiebreaker, which ranks teams in ascending order based on strength of schedule. In a six-way tie amongst 7-10 teams that make up the eighth to 13th spots, the Jets (.538) finished dead last behind Atlanta (.467), Carolina (.474), Philadelphia (New Orleans’ .507), Tennessee (.509), and Houston (Cleveland’s .524).
The Jets have held the 13th pick on four prior occasions, choosing William Yearby (1966), Burgess Owens (1973), John Abraham (2000), and Sheldon Richardson (2013). Five Hall-of-Famers have been chosen in the spot, including Ace Parker, Bob Lilly, Franco Harris, Kellen Winslow, and Tony Gonzalez while 2014 arrival Aaron Donald will likely join them upon his retirement.
Depending on what the team does in free agency, the Jets will likely use the coming pick to improve their offense, namely a blocking unit that could lose both George Fant and Connor McGovern.
The Chicago Bears hold the top overall pick with Houston, Arizona, Indianapolis, and playoff-bound Seattle (from Denver) rounding out the top five. This spring’s draft will be held on April 27-29 at Kansas City’s Union Station.
Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags
