It will take a few years to really know how well the Jets have done with their choices, but that will not stop the media experts from weighing in right now. Let’s take a look at the preliminary Draft points for the Jets. If you go ahead, I ask you to remember the golden rule. The points of the plan are silly … unless they praise the Jets. Entering this draft, the Jets had an extra first-round pick (from the Jamal Adams trade) and an extra second-round pick (from the Sam Darnold trade), giving them two in the top 10 and four in the top 38. And after another last place in the AFC East – their fifth in six seasons – I thought they would pick two candidates from three places – attacking live, wide reception and cornerback – with their first two selections. And that’s exactly what they did. The Jets picked my top corner at Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner (4) and my top spot at Wideout Garrett Wilson (10), each of whom has an All-Pro skill set. They then returned to Round 1 to pick up Jermaine Johnson II (26), who had fallen on the board. It is a really solid, complete defensive end that had 12 dismissals last season and was the best prospect in the Senior Bowl in January. I had Johnson No. 11 on my Big Board. These are three beginners from general manager Joe Douglas, for a team that needed an influx of talent in all three positions. And yet, Douglas & Co. had a choice at the beginning of the second round to get a good player and they achieved my top position in running, Breece Hall (36), a touchdown maker with some tools to be a weapon in the transmission game. These are three of my top prospects in their respective positions written by the Jets – and an amazing class by Douglas. The only light hit here is waiting until Round 4 for an offensive tackle, which means he has to be okay with George Fadd and Machi Beckton in 2022. Max Mitchell (111) is more of a growth prospect who could be swinging taklin early career. I think Jeremy Ruckert (101) could be a useful constraint in supporting CJ Uzomah. Overall, this is one of the best bands of 2022. Grade A. The Jets fans were thrilled to see the team take a great corner at Gardner, an elusive receiver at Wilson and a power rusher at Johnson all in the first round. General Manager Joe Douglas went up to get Johnson and Hall (the best back in the draft) without losing much value. He chose Ruckert over other needs in the third, but the former Buckeye has the potential to be a good blocker / receiver as a professional. Mitchell will be at least a valuable tackle swing on Sundays, if not a key right-hander. The Jets added another power rusher to the Clemons on Day 3, but the lack of options in Rounds 5-7 means they will have to add some top freelance players. Grade A. The Jets have been in a vicious circle lately. The end of Mike Tannenbaum’s era brought a chips-all-in mentality balanced by the John Idzik era of savings and pragmatism (although most of the draft picks they acquired failed to produce). Did a catastrophic regime of Mike Maccagnan follow that buried the franchise… until now? As we mentioned in our nightly report on the draft, I’m not sure people understand how hard Joe Douglas had a job and how far the roster has come. With this category, the team should be able to start seeing some results. Ruckert was an interesting pickup. In the movie theater in the State of Ohio, he bore some of the exact same responsibilities as Kyle Jusczcyk and George Kittle in the 49ers’ attack, down to a subtle block in arc-style style. This should be a real plug-and-play scenario for the Jets, who needed more players familiar with the way attack coordinator Mike LaFleur wants to carry out his attack. Hall is exactly what Jacques Wilson needs and attack: a run-back that can turn a dead-back game into something. In the state of Iowa, he rescued the Cyclones from time to time when their offensive line was plowed. All credit to Jets CEO Joe Douglas – he had a ton of funds at his disposal and used it properly. The New York Jets added Sauce Gardner at the start of the first round, a pair I saw coming from miles away and writing for January. Gardner looks almost like a clone of Richard Sherman, which compares to the defense that Robert Saleh built in San Francisco with the 49ers. They then gave Zach Wilson an explosive weapon abroad with Garrett Wilson their second choice in the first round, a receiver considered by many to be the top choice in this category. But the Jets were not complete, adding to the advantage as well in exchange for a first-round back for Jermaine Johnson II, an experienced passerby with a full kit of tools from the edge. Putting him in front of Carl Lawson will be huge for this defense. Then, on the second night of the draft, they added Breece Hall early in the second round, which gives the Jets a solid 1-2 set between him and Michael Carter, and their skill sets complement each other perfectly. In the third round, despite signing with CJ Uzomah as a free agent, they brought in Jeremy Ruckert to Ohio, who can put better numbers on the pros than in Ohio State when he played with players like Wilson. and Chris Olave – a pair of top 15 receivers in the draft – every Saturday. Also watch out for Max Mitchell, the tackle from Louisiana. He has been a key player for four years and has seen time in both left and right tackle, and is technically as good as he needs to be in perspective. Grade A. It may seem easy or even lazy to praise the team that had selections in the first three rounds, and this is partly because the Jets were a bad club in 2021. But it goes deeper. GM Joe Douglas has taken full advantage of the removal of S Jamal Adams and QB Sam Darnold – non-draft players – and that’s why the Jets had so much draft capital at their disposal. And it certainly seemed that Douglas used it wisely. CB Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner (No. 4 overall), WR Garrett Wilson (No. 10) and RB Breece Hall (No. 36) were each arguably the best players in their respective positions this year. And trading back in the first round at No. 26 for Florida State rusher Pass Jermaine Johnson II, Douglas may have scored one of the most valuable selections since Johnson was considered the top-10 pick in some rounds. If the Jets are ever going to get off the tarmac, Douglas’s last two drafts will almost certainly be the main reasons. Grade: A + I’m dumb. This class was almost perfect from the Jets. I believe that they ended up with four talents of the first round and continued to find value all over the board. Jermaine Johnson II is slightly ahead for the value they found in the trade, but honestly you could choose Johnson II, Sauce Gardner, Garrett Wilson or Breece Hall and make a compelling argument as to why each was the best choice. This was a category that defined the franchise and has the power to bring the Jets back together. Grade: A + So here it is. The points of this year’s Draft are definitely not stupid.
