NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah held a conference call on Wednesday previewing the upcoming 2024 NFL Draft in Detroit April 25-27. Here are the Jets Draft updates from that call.
You just touched on the crux of my question. I think you mocked Marvin Harrison and the Jets in one of your recent drafts. But just some teams that you expect might be aggressive trade-wise and maybe nonquarterbacks that you think teams might target aggressively?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: That’s interesting just to see who can move? At the end of the day, I don’t think the Jets are going to be that bold to go up there and make that move. That was my — I think I used the word chaos, and I was going with chaos for fun. Maybe that’s the problem with mocks, is you get to one point in time there’s some boredom sets in, and you want to shake up the snow globe a little bit. One thing I would say on the Jets, though, the one thing about them moving — talking about them and then we’ll get on these other teams. If Odunze — we talked about him potentially being in Chicago, if he gets to 8, I could make a strong argument that the Jets could make an easy, painless flip with Atlanta, where Atlanta goes back to 10, they could leapfrog Chicago and take Odunze, and it wouldn’t cost them much. You give them your 3, they give you a 4. You could have other picks involved there. You wouldn’t necessarily lose a pick, you could swap a pick.
In terms of other teams to be aggressive, I mentioned Washington, top of the second round, being a team that could jump back up and make a move. I never sleep on Howie Roseman as a potential to go north or south. I always keep an eye on them. I think they have a pretty obvious need there at corner. You have somebody like Terrion Arnold or even Mitchell, if Quinyon Mitchell, if either of those guys start to drift a little bit, I wouldn’t sleep at all on the Eagles being an aggressive team and going up there and trying to get one of those corners.
Other teams to be a team to keep an eye on, to move around a little bit, those are kind of the key ones. The other one I would say is the Saints have historically in their DNA been an aggressive team. They’re in a position where they have a dire need at tackle. I think they could stay where they are at 14 and get a really good one, but they’re always a candidate to try to move up and get a guy that they really love.
I want to pose a Jets scenario for you. If the top three receivers are gone, which is likely, and Joe Alt is gone, so then the Jets are probably looking at Bowers or the next best offensive tackle, what do you think Joe Douglas would do in that scenario? If he goes tackle, who do you think might be the preference after Joe Alt?
DANIEL JEREMIAH: My guess on the tackle front would be Fuaga. I mean, that would be Fuaga or Fautanu, one of those two guys. I would guess Fuaga, but both of those guys have position flexibility, which, when he’s been healthy, that’s been big with guys like Tucker, to get your best five out there. There’s a bonus there with having those two guys.
To be honest — and I haven’t talked to Joe, but that would be, if you’re going to ask that decision, my gut tells me I think they would take Bowers. I think he comes from an organization and all the time in Baltimore where they had great tight ends and they’ve always done a good job of drafting tight ends. I like their tight end room now. Conklin is a solid player. But this would give him a little something different there that they don’t have. That would be, if it came down to that between the tight end with Alt off the board, I would guess Bowers, and then I would put Fuaga and Fautanu right behind that.