If the New York Jets want to contend in the AFC East, then Sam Darnold needs help at the wide receiver position. Go draft the best guy available at No. 11.
The New York Jets can take flight with the No. 11 overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.
Despite getting off to a rocky start in 2019, the Jets rebounded decently in the second half of the year to finish the season at 7-9. Starting quarterback Sam Darnold came down with mononucleosis in September. His backup Trevor Siemian broke his ankle and then it was Luke Falk time before Darnold eventually returned later in the year.
New York is close to contending for a playoff spot in the AFC. The Jets have talent on defense, a promising young quarterback, a new general manager in Joe Douglas and an offensive-minded head coach in Adam Gase. Though they won’t contend for the AFC East crown if Tom Brady returns to the New England Patriots, they can push for a playoff spot.
However, the Jets need to take the best receiver available with their first-round pick this spring.
While this is the deepest wide receiver draft in history, New York has a shot at a top offensive playmaker on the outside with their No. 11 pick. The three wide receivers they need to consider taking are a pair of Alabama Crimson Tide wideouts in Jerry Jeudy and Henry Ruggs III, as well as Oklahoma Sooners superstar CeeDee Lamb.
It would be shocking to see Jeudy fall all the way to No. 11 for Gang Green to pounce on. He could go as high as the New York Giants at No. 4. If the Jets don’t take him, the Las Vegas Raiders absolutely will at No. 12. Jeudy projects as the next great Alabama wide receiver in the ilk of Julio Jones, Amari Cooper and Calvin Ridley.
Lamb feels like the next wide receiver off the board, as he’ll go somewhere late in the top 10 to the Arizona Cardinals at No. 8 or the Jacksonville Jaguars at No. 9. He’s not as much of a sure thing as Jeudy, but was every bit as productive during his time in college. Despite boom-or-bust potential, he’s too good of a prospect to pass up if still on the board for the Jets to have at No. 11.
Then, there’s Ruggs, the superstar of the 2020 Combine. Though not as polished as Jeudy or as productive as Lamb, there’s a lot for Gase to work with if he were to go to the Jets at No. 11. In short, it would be shocking to see all three wide receivers off the board before the Jets are on the clock. Quarterbacks and offensive tackles will make up much of the top-10 picks.
Though New York has the cap space to bring back Robby Anderson on a new contract, Douglas will want to make his mark on his first draft in the Jets organization. Going with a wide receiver as your first first-round pick seems very risky, but New York needs to get that position right if the Jets want Darnold to completely tap into his potential as a franchise quarterback.