New York Jets full 2021 NFL mock draft

A new quarterback highlights the latest mock draft for the New York Jets.

It’s time for a new mock draft for the New York Jets, who have been busy since the last entry. New head coach Robert Saleh has assembled his coaching staff and rumors are flying about whether or not GM Joe Douglas will use a bunch of his draft capital to make a play for Deshaun Watson.

For the purposes of this exercise, let’s assume that the Jets don’t end up swinging a deal for Watson, leaving them with nine selections to use to improve the roster. Here’s a look at the latest mock draft for New York.

New York Jets mock draft – First round

The Jets are expected to find their next franchise quarterback in this draft and Wilson is the perfect fit for offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur’s West Coast system. Wilson turned heads with a strong performance at BYU this season but there are natural questions about whether he can thrive against top-notch competition.

The scheme fit makes this a solid selection, however, and picking Wilson completely aligns the timetables of Douglas and Saleh with their new quarterback. Having Wilson on a rookie deal will also allow Douglas to use his resources to build a winning roster by investing more heavily in free agency.

Douglas will use his other first-round pick, courtesy of the Seattle Seahawks, to continue his rebuilding project by improving his offensive line. The new zone-blocking scheme will help existing starters Connor McGovern and George Fant immensely, so the best opportunity for improvement is at the guard spots.

Drafting Vera-Tucker out of USC would allow the Jets to add a day one starter at one of the guard spots, which would pair nicely with a free-agent acquisition. A strong run blocker for the Trojans, Vera-Tucker would also fit nicely in New York’s zone-blocking system and should be a long term building block on the offensive line.