The New York Jets have many different avenues they can go down during the 2025 draft on Thursday.
With the seventh overall pick, New York can choose to be as aggressive or passive as they want when trading up or down. The same can be true for their attempts to find a “can’t miss” prospect with that same selection.
While plenty of names have been tied to the Jets over the last few weeks, it’s time to examine which players would be strong value draft selections and which ones would be mistakes moving forward.
Ranking Jets Draft Scenarios
What makes New York’s draft strategy so complicated is that the Jets have many needs all across the field. Gang Green needs a starting caliber right tackle, a starting wide receiver, a starting tight end, an edge rusher, and safety help.
While they can solve many of these needs during the 2025 draft, there’s a good chance that they simply won’t be able to secure all of them by the time the draft weekend concludes.
With so many names tied to their situation, it’s time to break down which players are “can’t miss” prospects and which ones would be massive mistakes for the team moving forward.
Let’s get to it.
Can’t Miss: Armand Membou, Jalon Walker
I’ve been on the Membou train for months now. He’s a pure right tackle and will solidify the offensive line moving forward for the Jets. He’s the top player they need at their biggest need this offseason.
Walker is an interesting case. He reminds me a ton of Micah Parsons of the Dallas Cowboys because he was used everywhere at Georgia. New York doesn’t know what they have in Jermaine Johnson coming off an Achilles injury. It would be foolish to assume he would be at 100% to start the season, making the edge rusher role a need of high significance as well.
Strong Picks: Kelvin Banks, Will Campbell, Mason Graham, Tyler Warren
Membou fits the Jets’ offensive line needs better than Banks or Campbell because he was a right tackle in college. This isn’t to say either tackle is a bad prospect; there’s just a better fit for the team.
Graham may be undersized, but he certainly is the best interior defensive lineman in the 2025 class. That being said, he plays the 3-tech, and the Jets already have that on the roster. They could try to mold him into a better player, but there’s no guarantee that it will happen.
Then there is Warren.
On the surface, he solves an immediate need for the franchise, especially with Justin Fields as the starting quarterback. Taking a tight end with the seventh overall pick is poor value for the franchise, though. It also puts increased pressure on other positions of higher value moving forward for the remainder of the draft.
These picks would be strong for the Jets, but there are reasons for concern with each.
Nightmare: Jahdae Barron, Tetairoa McMillan, Ashton Jeanty, Josh Simmons
Barron is the only player on this list who would make some semblance of sense if New York wanted to go this route. While they do not need a cornerback, Barron may be moved to safety in a similar way that Brian Branch has been used with the Detroit Lions. Even so, addressing the secondary with the seventh overall pick would be a mistake with so many bigger needs.
Drafting a running back (yes, even one as good as Jeanty) would be a massive mistake for the franchise. McMillan doesn’t have the necessary skills in the Jets’ offense to do well, and Simmons is the worst of the first-round tackle prospects.
Any of these names taken by the team with the seventh overall pick would be a whiff for the franchise.
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