New York Jets full 2019 NFL mock draft
By Joe Romano
The New York Jets have a young quarterback, new coach and a ton of cap space; all setting up for an interesting dive into the NFL Draft.
As the NFL world is busy entertaining free agents to build their roster, there is a month until the focus swiftly changes to the NFL Draft. Smart teams know that the draft is really where teams are built. There will be impact free agents signed but the biggest impact for teams still come via the draft.
The New York Jets understood that last year when instead of signing Kirk Cousins to a massive deal, they were able to draft a rookie quarterback who is cost controlled for five years. Even if Sam Darnold is only 75-85 percent of the player that Cousins is, his contract makes it worth it. There is no better value to NFL franchises than quarterbacks on rookie scale contracts. That is one reason the Jets have such an abundance of cap space.
New York has already started shaping their roster under new coach Adam Gase. They were able to pull off a trade for former Oakland Raiders All-Pro guard Kelechi Osemele. That trade fills a massive hole up front for the price of a slide back in day three of the draft.
General manager Mike Maccagan and his staff still have the second most cap space and a top five pick at their disposal. For as good of a situation that Darnold’s contract put the Jets in, they need to nail both free agency and the draft for it to be worth it. There are massive hole at edge rushers, impact skill positions players, and in the secondary. Luckily the young players drafted of late look to be good finds. Darnold progressed well in his first year. Safety duo Jamal Adams and Marcus Maye have the back end of the defense locked in. Even young receiver Robbie Anderson is showing he can make some plays.
This team can make the draft interesting holding a top three pick but no second round selection. Maccagan will try to play the board as it falls. This mock draft is presented without trades, something the Jets will try to do frequently according to reports.
The mock draft was done using The Draft Network’s mock draft machine and their predictive big board.