Mock Draft Burn Out, WR's, Punters & The Bearcats

Your Jets questions answered.

Is it football season yet? I’m enjoying the hockey season as a Rangers fan but the basketball season can end whenever it likes (Knicks fan). I’m busy moving house today, so I thought a quick Q&A to finish the week was in order. As ever thank you for sending in your questions.

nicole esther @njrealtornic

@DWyattHupton What’s the cure for mock draft burn out? 😉

This is a very real problem affecting 9 in 10 Jets fans. The problem for us NY fans is our season is usually over before Halloween, which means the mock season starts much earlier for us than most other franchises. I love mock drafts, they’re great content and generate great interaction, but even I’m bored of them now. There are only so many times I can put a mock together which has the Jets taking Chad Muma and Cole Strange.

the Great Grimaldi @Glenscoach

@DWyattHupton Jokingly, how many Cinci players will we be drafting now? Seriously, how good a coach is he?

What’s the over/under here do you think? I’m going to set it at 1.5 and take the over. Here’s a list of Cincinnati Bearcats eligible for the draft:

Sauce Gardner (CB), Myjai Sanders (Edge), Darrian Beavers (LB), Desmond Ridder (QB), Alec Pierce (WR), Josh Whyle (WR), Coby Bryant (CB), Bryan Cook (DB), Jerome Ford (RB).

Cinci is losing a lot of talent there. I’m going to pick Sauce Gardner and Myjai Sanders as the two future Jets.

This leads to your second point around former Bearcats defensive line coach Greg Scruggs taking a job as the assistant defensive line coach with the Jets.

The honest answer is I’m not sure how good of a coach he is, but head coach Luke Fickell liked him enough to promote him from Director of Player Development to the coaching staff in 2020. He spent two seasons as the defensive line coach and he has two Super Bowl rings as a player (one with Seattle and one with New England).

He’s a young guy at just 31 years of age, but Saleh was on the Seattle coaching staff when he was drafted to the Seahawks in 2012, so there is some familiarity there.

Cincinnati had one of the best defensive units in college football in 2021 ranking 4th in the nation by allowing 4.47 yards per play while ranking 20th in sacks generated. Considering how many teams there are in the FBS, that’s like ranking in the top 5 in the NFL.

Stephen Palleschi @steverangers3

@DWyattHupton New punter, how about Jordan Stout Penn State?

Stephen, a question about special teams, love it!

I’m not sure the Jets are ready to move on from Braden Mann despite a down season in 2021, but I’m all for bringing in competition at any special team’s positions, and that absolutely includes punter.

Jordan Stout is the best punter in college and it’s good to have a punter who’s also a kicker, although I’d say he’s safely a better punter than he is a kicker.

His net yardage of 44.6 was the 4th best mark in college and he was also inside the top 5 with kicks downed inside the 20, but the best stat of all? His hand time led all college punters at 4.34 seconds.

Louis Kimmelman @KimmelmanLouis

@DWyattHupton If Burks, London or Wilson jumps out at the combine would you be willing to draft a WR @ 4?

Absolutely. The Jets will largely be finishing their big board after the combine with minor tweaks during pro-days and pre-draft visits. If they have top 10-15 grades on any of those guys, then they absolutely should be willing to take them at #4. I think it was former Packers GM Ron Wolf who said in his book many years ago if you fing a guy you love and he’s your guy, you take him and don’t worry about what anyone thinks. If the Jets love any of them, over the other positional players then they should be willing to take them with the #4 pick.

Joe Beldner @JoeBeldner

@DWyattHupton Which of Burks, Wilson and London do you think best fits our current offense? Which WR would best help Zach breakout in Year 2 if we chose to go that route with Pick 10?

This is a really good question and a very tough one to answer because I look at it two ways. On one hand, our system is predicated on getting the ball into the hands of the receiver in space and letting them do what they do after the catch. So ideally I’m looking for good route runners who can line up all over and are dangerous after the catch, so that to me is Wilson and Burks in a nutshell, although Burks is more limited in my opinion in terms of his ability to separate. I’d throw in Jameson Williams in here as well who led all college receivers with 9.3 yards after the catch per reception.

On the other hand, I look at what’s missing from this receiving unit and the obvious thing is the ability to win contested catches down the field. Drake London is obviously the king there with a 67.9% success rate on contested catches and he still put up 5.2 yards per reception, so it’s not like he’s a sitting duck as soon as he’s caught the football. The more and more I look at this class the more I think waiting until the 2nd/3rd round makes sense where you can take guys like Pickens, Dotson, Doubs, and Watson.

Personally, I think any of those guys mentioned will help Zach burst out, but I’m putting my faith in Wilson as the guy to really excel.

sarcasmrox3 @AlidoBitLazy

@DWyattHupton If Thibs is NOT there at 4 and both Hutch and Ekwonu are also gone, rank your top 5 picks for pick 4 in the draft.* *based on current roster and not potential FA signings.

This is a really good question because I’ve soured a little bit on taking Neal or Ekwonu at #4 anyway, especially if the Jets plan to extend Fant as has been rumored recently.

So let’s say Thibs, Hutch, and Ekwonu are gone, I’d go:

1. Jermaine Johnson - Love his explosion, love his speed and he’s good against the run. He’s everything you want in a wide-9 edge rusher. I think he’s going to be a special guy.

2. Sauce Gardner - He’s CB1 in this class and I don’t care what any DSJ fan says. Garnder put up one of the most dominant college careers for any CB in college. He’s long and athletic with enough speed and good instincts.

3. Garrett Wilson - He’s my WR1 and he fits our system perfectly, I like his ability after the catch and he’s hands down the best route runner in this class. I think he’ll test well this week and run faster than most expect.

4. Kyle Hamilton - Probably won’t be a popular one but Saleh said you only take a safety that high if he’s a unicorn and Hamilton is that. He has excellent size, length, speed and instincts. He’s a dangerous weapon for any defense.

5. Travon Walker - Another edge here who’s ceiling is very high. He’s a little raw at the moment but he has all the raw tools. He’s played inside and out but he’s an edge in this defense and he has the explosion/power balance you want.

sarcasmrox3 @AlidoBitLazy

@DWyattHupton Which Jets rookie do you think makes the biggest jump at their respective positions?* Can be assessed via rank within their position OR ability to help team win games.

I think we’re all hoping the answer to this is Zach Wilson, because he has to make a leap for the Jets to be a success. I think he’ll make a jump, I’m just not sure how big of a jump it’ll be.

I think we’ll see a big jump from Moore as long as he can stay healthy. He flashed in 2021 and he has so much talent, he can be a pro bowler next year if Wilson makes a jump. Look what he did last year with multiple QB’s and inconsistent play, now give him consistent play at the QB position, and more weapons around him to draw attention and you’ve got yourself a great season.

On the defensive side of the ball I’m excited to see what Sherwood looks like, we didn’t get to see much of him in 2021 due to an injury, but I liked him coming out of Auburn and the coaching staff loves him, so he could be a candidate for a big jump just by staying healthy.

quinnen thrilliams @blessyathankya1

@DWyattHupton Lotta talk about what new players will be on the team. Which position(s) may not get addressed this off-season a la CB last year?

That’s an interesting question, everyone focuses on where we’ll add so it's interesting to think of it the other way. I certainly don't think it will be corner again, I can see us drafting one highly this year.

The position that comes to mind is linebacker. I'm firmly in the camp of desperately wanting an upgrade there, and there are so many options in free agency and the draft. But, talk out of 1JD is that the Jets really like the combo of Williams and Mosley and there's still a lot of faith in the building in converted safeties Sherwood and Nasrildeen. I still think we'll add a veteran like we did last year with Davis but maybe we won't add as much as fans think we will

That’s the only one that comes to mind. My backup would be offensive line with the Jets just returning LDT and Moses and making no major changes, but I think Joe will look to upgrade.