NFL Mock Draft 2023, Botch Job: Every team screws up its first-round pick

NFL Mock Draft 2023: Every team screws up its first-round pick

With all but one offensive lineman on the board, it would make total sense for the New York Jets to try and find an answer at tackle to help sort out the issues they’re facing with the likes of Duane Brown, Mekhi Becton and the tackle group currently on the roster.

Still operating under the assumption that Aaron Rodgers is heading to the Big Apple soon, though, the fact of the matter is that the Jets have already proven their willingness to bend over backward for the future Hall-of-Famer. So if he wants another weapon, they’d give it to him.

Make no mistake, seeing Jaxon Smith-Njigba with Garrett Wilson, Mecole Hardman and Allen Lazard would be a ton of fun with Rodgers throwing them the ball. But for a team clearly trying to open a Super Bowl window with the quarterback, this isn’t the move that puts them in the best overall spot.

The New England Patriots not putting Mac Jones out on an island with an obvious path the failure again isn’t a bad thing. This team needs to continue addressing the lack of quality pass-catchers in the offense and seeing them do so in the first round of the draft would not be a bad thing at all. This being a botch job is more about the Patriots not seeing the red flags waving right now with Quentin Johnston as a prospect.

Wildly productive at TCU, Johnston looks like he should be a matchup nightmare with his size and explosiveness. But when you look at his average testing speed combined with the fact that he plays much smaller than his size on tape, it’s hard to see him as the true alpha No. 1 receiver that the Pats would be looking for. This pick would be ignoring the signs, which is a problem for a team in such desperate need of help at the position.