The 2024 draft is in the books and while I wasn’t a big fan of the moves Joe Douglas and co made, this is the team that they put together to end the 13-year playoff drought.
The Jets selected Penn State left tackle Olu Fashanu with their first pick after fleecing the Minnesota Vikings in a draft day trade that cost New York one spot in the first round. In round three they went with Western Kentucky wide receiver Malachi Corley.
But that isn’t really how the Jets had planned for it to go. According to one expert, Fashanu wasn’t their top choice.
NFL Draft Analyst Todd McShay, appearing on the God Bless Football podcast, thinks the plan for the Jets all along was to move up to take Washington wide receiver Rome Odunze, but the Chicago Bears who selected Odunze at pick number nine, surprised everyone by not trading out and taking him.
“I really thought based on up all my calls that Chicago was going to move out of number nine and that kind of set off a chain of events. Chicago staying and taking Odunze at nine. Now, the Jets what do they do? They trade down. What does that tell you?” McShay said, indicating that the Jets traded down when they were unable to move up for Odunze.
“It was going to be a weapon at that spot. And it was going to be a receiver to get a number three receiver and a guy who could contribute right away for the Jets. If not, the debate then became ‘do we go with Brock Bowers at 10 or do we trade out and get the left tackle’. And I can just say this, they got value in moving back just one spot and kind of fleeced Minnesota.”
Odunze going to the Jets would have been spectacular television. Rodgers would finally have finally been quarterback for a team that took a wide receiver in the first round, and we would have been talking about how many points the Jets can put up while running highlight packages.
Joe Douglas, appearing on the Rothenberg and DiPietro show on ESPN NY was asked if he tried to trade up to get Odunze, and he skated around the question. “Yeah, I think I think we were the first train in the draft if I’m not mistaken. I think everyone saw from from one to nine, everyone decided to stick and pick and they made their choices,” Douglas said. “So, there wasn’t there wasn’t a lot of movement, I feel like I feel like goys locked into their, players and made their choices. And so, once we once we got to 10, we had an opportunity to move back one spot with the Vikings, we were able to pick up a fourth and a fifth.”
Spoiler alert. He did try and move up for a wide receiver. The other teams just weren’t biting.
The Jets can cheer and smile for the cameras all they want about landing Malachi Corley at the top of the third round, but make no mistake about it, he was plan B for this team. They wanted to bring in someone to come in and contribute right away as a true wide receiver. Corley is more of a gadget type of guy. That doesn’t mean he won’t be effective.
After the disappointing year for Allen Lazard, the health concerns for Mike Williams, and the lack of progression from Gipson and Brownlee, the Jets knew they needed someone to be where Aaron Rodgers needed them to be when he needed them to be there. Sometimes, you have to roll with what you got. And for the Jets, that doesn’t include Odunze.
