Mock draft season is officially underway for the New York Jets
With the 2023 NFL season well past its midway point and the college football regular season nearly in the books, the NFL draft order is beginning to take shape. If the draft were held today, the New York Jets would hold the eighth overall pick.
While any top-ten selection signifies a failed season, the silver lining is that it also presents the opportunity to add a blue-chip player to a roster clearly in need of reinforcements. For the Jets, who currently rank as the league’s worst offensive team based on DVOA, it couldn’t be more clear that those reinforcements will need to come on that side of the ball.
The Athletic’s Dane Brugler, one of the more respected names in the world of NFL draft scouting, released his first 2024 mock draft on Wednesday. He indeed has the Jets opting for an offensive player — although it might not be one fans have been considering yet to this point.
Brock Bowers, a tight end out of Georgia, is Brugler’s prediction for the Jets’ pick. Here’s his reasoning:
“Assuming the Jets are all in with Aaron Rodgers for the 2024 season, the team’s first-round pick likely will be an offensive player who can contribute from Day 1. Whether you line him up at tight end, wide receiver or a hybrid position, Bowers can be a difference-maker and quickly emerge as one of the Jets’ go-to weapons.”
With Gang Green trotting out a poor offensive line year after year (after year), it’s easy to scoff at this pick. But general manager Joe Douglas has already shown the tendency to draft for talent over positional need (look no further than Will McDonald), and when it comes to talent, Bowers might just sit atop a loaded class.
BROCK BOWERS 😱
An insane grab and two-foot tap to boot. What a snag by the Georgia tight end.
🎥 @GeorgiaFootballpic.twitter.com/MGGzvFjib9
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) September 17, 2022
But the Jets need offensive line help, right? There look to be two truly blue-chip offensive tackles as things stand now in Olumuyiwa Fashanu (Penn State) and Joe Alt (Notre Dame). Either of them would slide in and start immediately for the Jets next season as one of their best offensive linemen.
The thing is, though, even by the eighth pick, Brugler projects both Fashanu and Alt to be off the board. The class features other uber-talented tackles like J.C. Latham (Alabama) and Taliese Fuaga (Oregon State), but Brugler evidently views Bowers’ talent as special enough to bypass whoever the Jets have ranked as the third-best tackle in the class.
Bowers stands alone atop the tight ends. Even with other talented prospects at the position, none of them will come close to his draft grade. He’s truly viewed as one of the best tight end prospects in recent memory, and yes, that includes Kyle Pitts from a few years ago.
It's crazy to say Brock Bowers has an even higher ceiling than what we saw at Georgia. Huge upside after the catch and he can develop into an impactful blocker pic.twitter.com/7oHFK8UZbs
— Joe DeLeone (@joedeleone) November 28, 2023
With Allen Lazard a healthy scratch last week, Corey Davis unexpectedly retiring right before the season, and Mecole Hardman already off the team, a Jets pass-catching core that once looked to be a strength is now among the team’s biggest needs. Make no mistake – while Bowers is a tight end, he would immediately make the Jets infinitely more dangerous in that area.
The ever-so-important question remains, though: is he really worth bypassing the offensive line again?
Ian Roddy is on Twitter @IanRoddy_
