New York Jets Mock Draft: Franchise QB at No. 3, predictions for every pick
The Jets are obviously taking a quarterback after trading up to No. 3, but which one will it be?
The Jets have struggled to solve the quarterback position for years and years. Remember, the year their cross-town rivals landed Eli Manning in a draft-day trade, the Jets signed Chad Pennington to a seven-year contract extension (he would win just 20 more games in four years with the team).
Since Pennington, the road to a potential Jets title has been littered with broken dreams, with the team spending one first-rounder and three seconds on quarterbacks, then in recent years getting by with stopgaps like Ryan Fitzpatrick and Josh McCown.
That ends now. The team traded up to No. 3 to put themselves in position to land a franchise quarterback. Now the only questions that remains is: which one will it be?
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New York Jets
| Round | Overall | Player | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | Josh Rosen, QB, UCLA | from IND |
| 3 | 72 | Equanimeous St. Brown, WR, Notre Dame | |
| 4 | 107 | Durham Smythe, TE, Notre Dame | |
| 5 | 157 | Traded to Minnesota | from DAL |
| 5 | 167 | Leon Jacobs, OLB, Wisconsin | from MIN |
| 6 | 179 | Bilal Nichols, DE, Delaware | |
| 7 | 225 | Chase Edmonds, RB, Fordham | from MIN/DEN |
| 7 | 235 | Marquez Valdes-Scantling, WR, South Florida | from SEA |
The Jets start by landing their franchise QB, and my guess is that they'll opt for Rosen over Baker Mayfield. The types of "red flags" he's had to deal with during the draft process reek of teams trying to push him down so they can draft him. The three inches he has on Mayfield are about the margin with which I have Rosen as the No. 3 pick.
The Jets paid a big price to get to No. 3, and that means waiting until No. 72 to take St. Brown, a tall receiving weapon to help the team's depth chart at receiver. Next up is Smythe, who will help blocking as an inline tight end and is a solid pass catcher.
Before picking in the fifth round, the Jets trade back to add another seventh-round pick, They then take Jacobs, who will look to develop into a rotational edge rusher, and Nichols, who could help replace Muhammad Wilkerson. In the seventh, the team adds a couple more skill-position depth pieces in Edmonds, an excellent FCS runner who dealt with leg issues last year, and Valdes-Scantling, who has the height and speed to dominate if he's coached properly.
















