The New York Jets own two picks in the top 10 after Sunday’s games
Though they’ll watch the NFL playoffs from home for the 11th consecutive season, the New York Jets hit a jackpot of sorts after the NFL’s Week 18 action wrapped, putting a bow on the 2021 league standings.
With the first 18 picks of the 2022 NFL draft officially claimed and accounted for, the Jets (4-13) are positioned in the fourth and 10th slots for the upcoming rookie selections in Las Vegas.
The Jets’ regularly scheduled pick lands in the top six for the sixth time over the last eight seasons, as their strength of schedule sees them sandwiched between two fellow four-win teams (Houston at third and the New York Giants at fifth).
Both metropolitan football squads will pick twice in the top ten, as the Giants also own the Chicago Bears’ pick at seventh overall.
In addition to the fourth overall choice, the Jets will also pick 10th thanks to the Seattle Seahawks’ 7-10 mark that placed them third in a four-team, seven-win logjam between the eighth and 11th choices. The Jets obtained Seattle’s pick through an August 2020 trade that sent Jamal Adams to the Pacific Northwest.
New York also obtained Seattle’s 2021 first-rounder in that trade (23rd overall), which was later dealt to Minnesota for the right to draft guard Alijah Vera-Tucker at 14th last spring.
Should the Jets keep the picks, it would mark the first time they had multiple picks in the top ten of a draft since 1965, when they had the first and fourth picks of the AFL edition. Joe Namath was taken with that fateful first while the latter (obtained from the Denver Broncos) was used on running back Tom Nowatzke, who opted to play for the NFL’s Baltimore Colts instead.
Notable recent selections in the fourth overall slot include Kyle Pitts, Leonard Fournette, Ezekiel Elliott, and Amari Cooper. The Jets last appeared at No. 4 in 2006, when they took franchise blocking staple D’Brickashaw Ferguson.
The last time New York found itself slotted in the 10th spot came back in 1985 when it took receiver Al Toon. That spot has recently yielded DeVonta Smith, Jedrick Wills, Devin Bush, and Patrick Mahomes.
Play: 👉 the Jet X Offseason Simulator
The Jacksonville Jaguars (3-14) are scheduled to pick first for the second consecutive season, followed in the second slot by the Detroit Lions (3-13-1). This upcoming draft is scheduled to be held at Allegiant Stadium, home of the Las Vegas Raiders, on April 28-30. Las Vegas was originally supposed to host the draft in 2020, though that edition was moved to virtual settings due to the ongoing health crisis.
Also confirmed was the positioning of the Jets’ second and third-round picks. The Jets’ own second-round pick landed at 35th, while the second-round pick owed to them from Carolina via the Sam Darnold trade fell in the 38th slot. In the third round, the Jets’ selection settled in at 69th.
The positioning of picks on the draft’s third day (fourth through seventh rounds) remains TBD as compensatory selections (which begin at the end of the third round) have yet to be announced. The Jets own two fourth-round picks (via Carolina and Minnesota) and two fifth-round picks (their own pick and a pick via Pittsburgh).
Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags
