2018 NFL Mock Draft: New York Jets 3-round mock 4.0
By Sean Dyer
There’s no better time of the year than NFL mock draft season! Let’s take a look at how the first three rounds could play out for the New York Jets.
Get excited folks! After three NFL mock drafts for the New York Jets, we will be implementing a trade in our fourth one today!
In this scenario, Kirk Cousins chooses to sign with the Denver Broncos. The Jets will heavily pursue Cousins and likely be in the running for his services all the way to the very end, but Cousins will head to the Mile High City. No, Jets fans do not like that.
The positive of Cousins signing elsewhere is that the Jets can use their cap room to fill other needs, particularly the pass rush.
Instead of spending $30 million per year on Cousins, New York can sign either Demarcus Lawrence or Ezekiel Ansah. Either defensive end would help the pass rush tremendously. Lawrence had 14.5 sacks in 2017 and Ansah had 12.0 quarterback takedowns.
After using free agency to shore up the pass rush, the New York Jets make quarterback their No. 1 priority in the NFL Draft. And after missing out on Cousins, the Jets can’t afford to sit back and wait to see who’s available at No. 6 overall. They need to be aggressive and trade up for a top quarterback prospect.
It turns out the Jets’ stadium-mates, the New York Giants, just so happen to be picking No. 2 overall and their need for a quarterback is not as great. The Giants could certainly use their first round pick on a signal caller, but with Eli Manning still around, they can afford to wait until next year to draft his successor. They could even decide that they’re comfortable with Davis Webb.
The Jets don’t have that luxury. Josh McCown is not a two-time Super Bowl MVP and we know they’re not comfortable with Bryce Petty or Christian Hackenberg.
In order to get their elusive franchise quarterback, the Jets and Giants make a deal:
New York Jets receive: 2018 first round pick (No. 2 overall)
New York Giants receive: 2018 first round pick (No. 6 overall), 2018 third round pick (No. 72), 2019 first round pick, 2019 fifth round pick
This trade is modeled after a previous New York Giants trade. Back in 2004, the Giants traded their No. 4 overall pick (Philip Rivers) to the San Diego Chargers for their No. 1 overall pick (Eli Manning). In order to move up three spots, the Giants gave up their third round pick that year, and their first and fifth round picks the year after. The Jets do the same here to move up four spots.
So after this trade is completed, the New York Jets will still have three picks in the first three rounds, thanks to the Sheldon Richardson trade with the Seattle Seahawks. Gang Green will pick at No. 2, 37, and 49 overall.
Now that we have this trade worked out, let’s take a look at our trade-infused three-round NFL mock draft for the New York Jets!