With Aaron Rodgers set to return from the torn Achilles he suffered last season, the New York Jets aren’t expected to use their first-round pick in this year’s NFL Draft on a quarterback.
And after recently signing free-agent left tackle Tyron Smith, people aren’t expecting the Jets to use their top selection in the upcoming 2024 draft on an offensive tackle, either.
Instead, it sounds like New York would prefer to trade back in the first round this year and acquire some additional picks to help them build their roster for the 2024 season, according to ESPN’s Rich Cimini (via Paul Andrew Edsen Jr on Twitter).
Sounds like the #Jets are in the business of trading down in the first round after the Tyron Smith signing 👀
‘From the stuff I’m hearing I really think they wouldn’t mind trading back at all a few spots. They only have two picks in the top 100, I think they would like to get a… pic.twitter.com/4LiE87lLpm
— Paul Andrew Esden Jr (@BoyGreen25) March 17, 2024
With the return of Rodgers, the addition of Smith, and the majority of their talented 2023 defense still being under contract, the Jets are still feeling optimistic about their chances to be successful next season.
Currently, New York has seven selections in this year’s NFL Draft, including the 10th overall pick in the first round.
That seems like more than enough for the Jets to add more talent to their roster, but based on what Cimini said, the team would like to acquire at least one more selection from the first three rounds, as five of their seven picks this year are in the fourth round or later.
New York’s goal of trading back and acquiring another valuable pick seems like it has a good possibility of happening, especially if one of the top quarterback prospects begins to fall down the draft board.
Will the Jets’ draft strategy help them get back to the playoffs for the first time since 2010?
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