Even in down years for the organization, the New York Jets usually do a pretty good job of identifying and developing defensive personnel. Their biggest issue as a franchise has been poor quarterback evaluation, as well as everything that stems off that decision. By punting on Aaron Rodgers after two years, Gang Green has hitched its wagon to Justin Fields for some reason. We will see how that goes.
In the meantime, it will be quite interesting to see what direction the Jets decide to go in with the No. 7 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. Given that their incoming head coach Aaron Glenn favors the defensive side of the ball, they were probably always leaning offense. New general manager Darren Mougey played wide receiver in college, too. So does this mean the Jets will be drafting a weapon?
According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, one player the Jets are looking at potentially drafting at No. 7 would be Penn State star tight end Tyler Warren. He won the Mackey going away. While Warren could be the next Brock Bowers in the NFL, the Jets are hoping he is better than what they thought they had back in the day in Kyle Brady. The other guy tied to them is Texas defensive back Jahdae Barron.
For the record, I had them taking Missouri tackle Armand Membou in False Start's NFL mock draft...
New York Jets drafting Tyler Warren is a slap in face of Aaron Rodgers
While I would be totally in favor of Warren coming off the board to the Jets picking at No. 7, this does run counter to what the team could have been with Rodgers. If he was still the quarterback, odds are, the Jets would not have gotten him the help he deserved, strictly on the belief that he can continue to make chicken salad out of chicken mess. With Fields now the starter, of course, he will get help...
At some point, we have to stop being so utterly infatuated with the idea of Fields and just accept he is only a stop-gap quarterback in this league. We have been obsessed with the idea of him dating back to his days of high school football in Kennesaw in our native Cobb County. Regardless, the Jets need to be unified with every decision they make throughout the draft process to get out of their quagmire.
Truth be told, Warren is the type of on-field talent that can take a bad team like the Jets and turn them into something good. My biggest concern is not Glenn as a head coach or even Mougey as a general manager. It is that Woody Johnson still owns this team and he loves himself a star, or near enough. Fields could be the straw that stirs the drink, but I would have rather run it back with Rodgers instead.
New York has the longest active postseason drought in the NFL for a reason, and that is ownership.