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Creating mock drafts are always tough, but they are especially difficult when it’s only January. At this point it isn’t full blown “draft season” just yet, but it will be as soon as the Super Bowl is over – come February 2nd. Most importantly we still have the free agency period right around the corner which will most likely alter the way any team attacks their draft, not just the Jets.

In my Jets only mock draft for this January I focus on the obvious positions of need – wide receiver, offensive line, edge rushers and I throw in a late round running back. A position of great need that I left out was cornerback, but non of the corners in this mock were of value when the Jets were picking. In this mock we would have to hope the Jets bring in multiple bodies for the secondary through free agency, two names that I would love the Jets to pursue would be Jalen Mills (Eagles) and James Bradberry (Panthers). Neither of these guys are number ones per say who can lock down a single side of the field but they are solid players at their positions who can contribute with Bless Austin, Arthur Maulet and Maurice Canady.

Now I am not one of those Twitter handles or websites that breakdown prospect film and is dedicated to draft analysis, but I do have an idea of what the Jets need at given positions and the types of players they should specifically look to bring in

RD1: CeeDee Lamb, WR, Oklahoma

All of the top tackles were off the board at this point, for what it’s worth if one of them was there (Wirfs, Thomas or Wills) that would be my pick. But the play-making receiver out of Oklahoma was sitting there, it would be hard for me as a Jets fan to see them pass up on a player of his talent if he is still on the board at 11. Pairing him with Sam Darnold who desperately needs a true #1 receiver would be very beneficial for this offense for years to come.

RD2: Mekhi Becton, OT, Louisville

Grabbing the mammoth tackle out of Louisville in the second would be an steal for the Jets who can plug him at left or right tackle for the 2020 season. The combination of Bectons size and athleticism leads me to believe that he will sneak into the first round or will be plucked at the beginning of round two. But stranger things have happened in the draft .

RD3: Jonathan Greenard, EDGE, Florida

A strong, rangy and fast edge presence has been missing from the Jets defense since Aaron Maybin had a solid 4 games for us back in 2011, yeah it’s been THAT bad. Greenard had 53 tackles this past season, 16 for loss and 10 sacks. Impressive numbers that shouldn’t be ignored when he’s on the board in the third round. The Jets get a guy here who can hopefully develop into an edge threat to further round out Greg Williams defense.

RD3: Zack Baun, EDGE, Wisconsin

In round three the Jets nab two edge defenders who posted double digit sacks in their 2019 seasons. With their second third round selection they take senior edge rusher Zack Baun out of Wisconsin. Baun posted 53 tackles and 12 sacks in his 2019 senior season. Bringing in two legitimate edge players to play, rotate and develop in this defense alongside Jordan Jenkins (If resigned) will hopefully reshape the position moving forward.

RD: 4 Isaiah Wilson, OT, Georgia

The Georgia Bulldogs had two absolute studs at both tackle positions this past year. The Jets unfortunately miss out on one of them in the first round in Andrew Thomas. But with some luck they select his teammate Isaiah Wilson who stands at 6’7. Wilson, the Brooklyn native, will come to the Jets as depth if they resign Beachum and either plug Becton in at the other starting spot or sign another veteran tackle in free agency. But if Wilson can develop in 2020 he could find himself in the starting lineup towards the end of the season or going into 2021.

RD: 5 John Simpson, IOL, Clemson

RD:6 Lamical Perine, RB, Florida

RD: 7 Kalija Lipscomb, WR, Vanderbilt

The beauty about the Jets needs at this point is these are positions that play-makers and starters are easier to find then the previous need the Jets have been searching for in years, quarterback. If the Jets select and hit on a decent amount of players at the positions of need listed at the top, they could be in line to turn this roster around faster than many think.

Winston Hill was one of the first three names announced for the 2020 Centennial Class who will be inducted into the Hall of Fame this year. The 8 time NFL All star who excelled at both left and right tackle will be the newest member of the “Green & White” inducted into Canton.

Jamal Adams has been voted to First Team All-Pro for the first time in his career and he absolutely deserved it. At times this year Jamal would take over a game by making a game changing play (ask Daniel Jones). That is the exact energy and talent the Jets need to first KEEP and continue to build around as this roster moves forward.

Jamal finished the season with impressive numbers – 75 combined tackles, 61 solo, 10 TFL, 1 INT for a touchdown and 1 fumble recovery for a touchdown; all while missing two games towards the end of the year with a sprained ankle/foot.

I fully anticipate a contract extension in the near future for Adams as Bears safety Eddie Jackson just set the market as the highest paid safety – Jamal will fetch more hopefully sooner rather than later.

Jamal Adams is heading to the 2020 Pro Bowl down in Orlando for his second consecutive Pro Bowl appearance. Before Jamal went down with a foot injury these past couple of weeks he was on an absolute tear.

The mid season trade rumbling drama was unfortunate and tugged on everyone’s hear strings because this entire fan base adores this player, myself included.

Jamal needs to be a player this team is built around, Joe Douglas needs to extend him this offseason and not look back. Having a dynamic player on your football team, no matter what side of the ball, is hard to come by.

Make Jamal a Jet for life and move along.

The Jets went down to Baltimore on Wednesday afternoon as clear under dogs, not only because of the incredible amount of injuries they have but the vast difference between theirs and the Ravens roster. If the Jets were at full tilt this game would have been a tough match up for them to win, closer? Yeah, maybe – but this Ravens team is operating at a level I certainly have never seen before.

My Reaction

I had a feeling this Thursday night match up was going to go along this line, I did however think the score and our overall performance would be considerably worse. The first half of the game it seemed to take the defense some time to get settled in, the hype around Lamar Jackson and this offense was real – giving up 21 points before halftime. But their defensive stands at the end of the first half left me with some confidence for that side of the ball heading into the half. In the second half the Jets D came out with the same energy they end the first half with, forcing the Ravens three and out on multiple occasions. But since the Jets offense was sputtering at this point the D was forced back onto the field one too many times as the Ravens began to hit their second half stride putting up 14 points in the third quarter and 7 in the fourth. Considering the injuries and lack of depth/talent the Jets defense played a hard game from start to finish, even though this was their worst outing of the season. A player that continues to stand out to me is linebacker James Burgess, he had an awesome fill and finish on a third and short while again getting his hands on an almost interception on another third down which forced the Ravens to punt. I would love to see Burgess back next year to back up Avery and CJ while also contributing on special teams.

As for the offense they played considerably better than I thought they would, typically in games against teams like this on the road things begin to implode rather quickly. They moved the ball well throughout the entire first half other than a punt of two (I don’t remember how many exactly.) Sam Darnold started off looking real solid, poised and extending/making plays for this offense – literally doing the best he could to put each ball in a perfect position for his receivers. The offense did miss some opportunities, they missed a FG on their first or second drive, Robby Anderson could not come down with a contested ball on a 4th down and Jeff Smith Jr (fresh off the PS) stopped running on an out and up route that could have been a huge gain to put the Jets in prime position to score again. And finally on the same drive as the Jeff Smith hiccup, Sam Darnold makes an errant throw leading to an interception before the half – that was a big blow. At that point in the game considering how both sides of the ball seemed to settle in at that point you need to come away with points before the half whether the score is 21-14 or 21-10, either way he needs to be smarter with the ball there. In the second half the Jets sputtered for most of the third quarter before they found themselves again heading into the fourth, the consistent pressure on Sam was forcing rushed throws which lead to incompletions which ultimately resulted in too many quick three and out drives. It has been a frustrating season for me, I cant even imagine how frustrated Sam is working behind an offensive line that allows pressure on simple stunts within two seconds of the ball being snapped. Sam finished the day 18-32 for 218 yards with 2 TD’s and 1 INT – he also had a fumble after the Jets decided to leave Trevon Wesco on a defensive end in a 3rd and long situation (yeah that never works…). Moving forward I would love to see Sam finish this year strong against two stronger defenses in Pittsburgh and Buffalo, hopefully leading to some confidence to carry into the offseason.

The special teams was fantastic at every level other than Sam Ficken, who I simply can not watch any longer – he is so inconsistent it’s alarming. Ty Montgomery and Vyncent Smith consistently brought the ball out to the 25 yard line or more – time and time again, the Jets had relatively good field position for most of this game. Braxton Berrios also did an awesome job in the punt return game with one or two returns standing out because of a decent gain/switch in field position, much of the fan base was upset that Douglas moved on from training camp favorite, Greg Dortch, but Berrios has done a fantastic job and will most likely be our punt returner moving forward into 2020. Finally, the Jets punt return group blocked a punt for a touchdown early in the fourth quarter thanks to Terrell Basham and BJ Bello (who has been an ST contributor since joining the Jets like a month ago) for their first of two scores in the fourth. I have to say special teams coach Brant Boyer has continued to do an outstanding job with this unit after really impressing last year.

The banged up and depleted Jets have two more games before they close the book on this disappointing and very interesting 2019 season. I know most wont because this fan base is ridiculous but I will be rooting for this team to finish strong against the Steelers and Bills, carrying some momentum into the offseason and the 2020 season.

The Jets beat the Dolphins in a close game 22-21 on a Sam Ficken field goal.

Everything aside this was a nice win for the jets who were without safety Jamal Adams and running back Le’Veon Bell. You have to give this coaching staff credit, getting the players they had prepared to play this game after such a disappointing loss last week against the Bengals.

Sam Darnold has been in some type of mode these last three weeks, posting those numbers above against a good Raiders team. Hopefully he can keep this going down the stretch of the season.

The Jets came out this Sunday on fire against the Oakland Raiders, a Raiders team who has playoff aspirations as we come down to the final stretch of this season.

After watching this 34-3 smackdown you have to give credit to this Jets coaching staff, starting with Adam Gase. The team as a hole looked motivated and well prepared, executing at a high level in every phase of the game.

The Jets next two games will be at Cincinnati then home verse Miami, hopefully they can continue to stack some wins.