New York Jets: Meet the 2018 draft class

The New York Jets 2018 draft class is official, and here they are.

The draft is finally in the rearview mirror. The New York Jets draft class for the year 2018 is finally complete. They got their quarterback in Sam Darnold and a whole lot of other stuff along the way. They surprised with some and filled positions of need. Here they are with the links to our reactions:

Sam Darnold, QB, USC

Nathan Shepherd, DT, Fort Hays St.

Chris Herndon, TE, Miami

Parry Nickerson, CB, Tulane

Foley Fatukasi, DT, Connecticut

Trenton Cannon, RB, Virginia St.

There was a fair share of surprises. Many thought the chances of drafting Darnold were a mere smokescreen set up by the Cleveland Browns. Several of the experts ranked him as the top quarterback so the Jets getting him was a surprise.

At first glance, it was a surprise to see them select two interior defensive linemen. Their biggest issue was off of the edge rather than the tackle position, so I know it turned my head when it happened. However, at second look it made a lot of sense to rebuild the defensive line as a whole.

The biggest surprise was that they didn’t choose one offensive lineman. For all we know they have some targeted during the UDFA period, but as of the writing of this post they haven’t chosen a single one. The Jets must make protecting their new investment a priority and that starts on the offensive line.

Next: Darnold and the depth chart

All in all, they served a lot of positions of need. We obviously will see how things play out in training camp, but on paper, the roster is better than it was prior to the draft. Whether you agree with the quarterback choice or not, they did select one that many thing will be Pro Bowl caliber. We can only hope they are the right moves as we move forward. Will they pay off? Time will tell.