New York Jets: GM Joe Douglas hits home run in first Gang Green draft
Round 3, Pick 68: Safety – Ashtyn Davis, California
At the 2019 trade deadline, the New York Jets sent Leonard Williams to the Giants for a third-round pick this year and a fifth in 2021. Meet this year’s “first” third-round pick, Ashtyn Davis. An aggressive safety, Davis is a versatile player from the University of California. He has the type of utility to flourish in Greg Williams‘ defense.
Davis is a former track star at Cal, where he excelled in the 100-meter hurdles. From there, he walked onto the football team, where he made an immediate impact in the secondary.
The Santa Cruz, CA native, started as a cornerback for the Golden Bears, playing his first two years at the position before moving to safety. He finished his college career with 166 total tackles and seven interceptions.
Team Fit
Davis meshes well in Greg Williams’ defense. The Jets DC is known to be an aggressive play-caller with creative blitz packages. Having a player with Davis’ versatility and speed screams blitzer. Davis does a great job as well in man-to-man coverage, which will allow the Jets to go into three safety sets. Having an extra safety on the field, allows All-Pro Jamal Adams to stay in the box and create havoc at the line of scrimmage.
Round 3, Pick 79: Edge – Jabari Zuniga, Florida
With their pick in the third round, the New York Jets addressed another significant need, edge rusher. The selected University of Florida product Jabari Zuniga. The former Gator finished his career with 116 tackles and 33 for a loss, including 18.5 total sacks.
Going into last season. some evaluators viewed Zuniga as the number two edge player in the draft behind Chase Young. If Zuniga had a better year in 2019, he probably would have gone in the earlier rounds.
Zuniga’s big knock is his injury history, which hampered his senior season. A high ankle sprain, along with other minor injuries, kept the pass rusher out of seven games his senior year. When healthy, he can be a disruptive player both inside and out. At 6-3, 253-pounds, Zuniga will most likely line up wide in the Jets 4-3 set. This affords Williams the luxury to get even more creative with his defensive personnel.
Team Fit
Drafting Zuniga fills another hole the team has had for years. The Jets haven’t drafted an impact player that can get to the quarterback since John Abraham in 2000. Zuniga feels like he has plenty to prove after a disappointing2019. If he can stay healthy, Williams will put him in positions where Zuniga can impact games.