Mel Kiper Jr. is one of the longest-tenured and most recognizable faces in the NFL draft community. When he releases a mock draft, people pay attention – if only because it is certain to spark entertaining conversations.
Kiper released his latest 2025 mock draft on Tuesday. His prediction for the New York Jets is one that would not have been surprising a few weeks ago, but has now become controversial after a recent shift in the consensus surrounding New York’s draft outlook.
Here are the top 10 picks of Kiper’s mock draft:
- Tennessee Titans: Cam Ward, QB, Miami
- Cleveland Browns: Abdul Carter, OLB, Penn State
- New York Giants: Shedeur Sanders, QB, Colorado
- New England Patriots: Travis Hunter, WR/CB, Colorado
- Jacksonville Jaguars: Mason Graham, DT, Michigan
- Las Vegas Raiders: Ashton Jeanty, RB, Boise State
- New York Jets: Tyler Warren, TE, Penn State
- Carolina Panthers: Jalon Walker, LB, Georgia
- New Orleans Saints: Jaxson Dart, QB, Ole Miss
- Chicago Bears: Mykel Williams, OLB, Georgia
After the first week of free agency, Missouri offensive tackle Armand Membou became the consensus favorite to be selected by New York at No. 7, mostly due to the Jets’ loss of Morgan Moses to the Patriots (and lack of a sufficient replacement). However, Kiper went against the Membou wave, predicting that New York will pass on the uber-athletic right tackle in favor of Penn State tight end Tyler Warren. Kiper projected Membou to be selected 11th overall by the 49ers.
Warren was the consensus favorite to be selected by New York before free agency opened. While Membou has overtaken him, Warren remains a popular prediction for the Jets, and that will likely continue over the next few weeks.
The Jets still have a gaping hole at tight end. Their depth chart at the position currently features Stone Smartt, Jeremy Ruckert, Zack Kuntz, and Neal Johnson. Warren is considered a special all-around prospect who could address not only the Jets’ lack of pass-catching threats at tight end, but their blocking woes, too.
Warren-versus-Membou is becoming the prevailing draft debate surrounding the Jets’ seventh overall pick. Not only are they both viewed as top-10 prospects, but they both play a major position of need for New York.
If this is the choice New York is forced to make, it will come down to their stance on positional value. It is widely believed that Warren is a better tight end prospect than Membou is a tackle prospect. Warren is considered one of the best tight end prospects in recent history; if the Jets take him at No. 7, he would be the second-highest drafted tight end of the past 15 years. Membou is not quite as highly regarded among tackles. However, tackle is a more valuable position.
Will Warren be dominant enough at tight end to outweigh Membou’s impact despite playing a less valuable position? That is the question Darren Mougey would have to answer.
It is a fascinating mirror to the prevailing conversation surrounding the Jets at this time in 2024, the Brock Bowers-versus-tackle debate. The Jets ultimately passed on Bowers in favor of Penn State tackle Olu Fashanu; Bowers was chosen two picks later by the Raiders. Bowers went on to have a historic rookie season, which Fashanu did not, but Fashanu blossomed into a promising player in his own right.
Drafting Membou would complete one of the most talented offensive lines in Jets history. However, it would leave the Jets reeling at tight end, which, despite being viewed as a “non-premium” position around the NFL, projects to be a crucial position for the Jets’ offensive scheme.
Drafting Warren would not just solve the tight end issue, but it would give New York a player who could immediately become a star at the position, similar to Bowers last year. However, the Jets could regret passing on the opportunity to anchor the roster with a potentially superb offensive line for years to come.
Prepare for the Warren-versus-Membou debate to dominate the Jets’ headlines over the next 37 days.
