New York Jets: Previewing 2018 NFL draft day two

Where might the New York Jets look in day two of the NFL draft?

What a night it was for the New York Jets last night in Dallas. The conventional wisdom was that Sam Darnold would be off the board at number one. When he wasn’t, the Jets jumped at the chance to add him to the fold. Baker Mayfield turned a lot of heads but he was off the board, so instead they got who many believed was the number one quarterback in the draft.

We talked last night about what it means in the immediate future. Now it is Friday and that means day two of the draft. Heading into the night, the Jets own one pick, the 72nd pick overall in the third round. How might the Jets use it? What position might they look for tonight?

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I’ll give you three potential positions they should look into tonight. Those three are offensive line, cornerback, and edge pass rusher.

We will start with offensive line. Specifically we start with offensive tackle. For weeks we have talked about the idea of keeping the rookie quarterback on his feet. The Jets need to bring the offensive line back to the strength that it once was. That means bringing in potentially the next D’Brickashaw Ferguson.

There are players still remaining like Orlando Brown and Jamarco Jones on the board. The Jets might consider moving up into the end of the second round to secure one of these guys, but there is just as good of a chance that they fall to number 72. The other tackles aren’t necessarily worth the investment, but the other two should be on the radar. After these two the Jets could look to day three for a tackle.

The Jets also need to improve the cornerback position. Starters Trumaine Johnson and Morris Claiborne are good but the depth chart isn’t as good. Don’t forget that Claiborne also has some difficulty staying healthy. To play the defense that Todd Bowles knows and loves they must have good cover corners.

Players that could be worth a trade up include Josh Jackson, Carlton Davis and Isaiah Oliver. A player like Holton Hill is one that might be available if they wait until pick number 72.

Finally we talk about edge rusher. It’s difficult to find impact pass rushers after day two, but if they could figure out a way to make a deal and draft Harold Landry, that could be a fantastic exception. He has all of the makings of a guy worthy of a day one pick. Lance Zierlein compares Landry to Vic Beasley, so he would be a steal on day two.

Next: Reaction to the selection of Darnold

Even if it is not for Landry, however, there is no reason the Jets shouldn’t take a shot at an edge rusher. It has been a long time since the Jets have been able to solve that problem. Muhammad Wilkerson was supposed to be the guy but we saw how that turned out.

In round three, players to watch out for include Kemoko Turay, Uchenna Nwosu, Jeff Holland and Lorenzo Carter.

This could be a fun night.

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