2018 NFL mock draft: New York Jets select a cornerback after free agency for a quarterback

In this mock draft, the New York Jets select a cornerback at number six after a different choice in free agency.

Be very quiet New York Jets fans, it’s wabbit season. No that’s what Elmer Fudd thinks it is. Actually, it’s mock draft season once again. It’s that time of the year that everyone starts to predict what is going to happen in the upcoming NFL draft. We have approximately four months to get ready for the real thing. What do we do in the meantime? Say it with me folks, we speculate. It’s our pastime as fans to do just that.

From time to time, we are going to take a look at mock drafts and evaluate the opinions of others, in addition to writing our own. Through all of that, we may find a picture as to what the Jets are thinking come the draft. Either way, we will have a lot of good and varied information available to debate for the entire offseason.

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Today we chose the most recent mock draft from SB Nation by Dan Kadar. The reason is that it includes some free agent moves with regards to the quarterbacks. The selection for the Jets is directly related to who they have going to them in free agency.

In free agency, Kadar has Kirk Cousins staying in Washington while the Jets wind up with Sam Bradford:

"The Jets are projected to have the fourth-most salary cap space this offseason, according to Over The Cap. Let’s assume they spend a good chunk of that on a quarterback like Bradford. His health history makes him a risk, but he could stop a team from taking a quarterback in the first round. The Jets should also be in play for Cousins if he’s available."

From there, the Jets decide to go with a cornerback at number six. Specifically, it’s Denzel Ward out of THE Ohio State University:

"If the Jets hand out a big quarterback contract this offseason, the focus in the first round could shift. This may seem early for Ward, but he had an All-American season and other than his size he doesn’t have many flaws."

Daniel Jeremiah called him a special player.

With all due respect to Kadar, I am not loving this solution for the Jets. Sam Bradford is not the answer. When he is healthy he looks good, but when is that? He has spent his career on the injured list. Bradford has been injured every time you turn around. That makes him a stop-gap at best.

Frankly, with his history, can the Jets afford to not take a quarterback if this is the best they do in free agency? One could argue that they STILL need to select one early and forgo this idea of going elsewhere at number six.

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If they are going to go with a stop-gap, they might as well just bring Josh McCown back. There is not great advantage in investing in a younger but often injured quarterback in Bradford.

Even if this all fell into place, the Jets should not go with Denzel Ward this high. He stands at only 5-10. That is simply too small for an NFL cornerback. His skills may be there, but they were there for Vernon Hargreaves as well. How has that turned out for the Buccaneers? You need tall corners in this league. Pass on this guy. Especially in the top ten.

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