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I will get to the draft in minute, but let’s start with the Jets picking up the fifth-year option on guard Alijah Vera-Tucker.
“Guard” is the operative word.
He needs to stay at guard.
He can be a perennial All-Pro at that position.
And he got hurt the last two years playing out of position at offensive tackle, doing the team a favor after some tackle injuries.
Did playing out of position lead to the injuries, hard to tell, but one of the injuries was a torn pec, an arm injury, and his arms are a little short for the NFL offensive tackle position, making him better suited to guard.
But whether you want to speculate on if playing out of position led to one of the injuries, which is perhaps irresponsible, let’s just say, they owe him one for taking one for the team, so picking up the fifth-year option was the right thing to do.
Aside from taking one for the team, not just playing out of position part of one season, but part of two seasons, another reason picking the option was the right thing to do was this guy the consummate team player, and everything you want in your locker room and culture. He is wired the right way.
Also, he’s a hell of an offensive guard.
He’s only 24, he should be able to bounce back from the pec and Achilles injuries.
Turning to Day 3 of the draft, I’m not going to lie to you and act like I know a lot about the two running backs they picked, I will leave that to the people who give out draft grades, but based on the build and skill set of these players, the picks made sense.
The Jets’ short-yardage offense needs to improve, including on third-and-one, fourth-and-one situations and on the goal line.
So fourth-round pick Braelon Allen, and fifth-round pick Isaiah Davis, should help them, and when you take a flyer on two guys like this, you are probably hoping that one works out, and it’s gravy if both do. Allen is 6-1, 235 and Davis is 6-0, 218.
Davis’ fellow fifth-round pick, QB Jordan Travis, was certainly worth taking a flyer on. He had Florida State off to a 10-0 record this past year before breaking his leg, on one of those hip drop tackles that the NFL has banned.
With Aaron Rodgers and Tyrod Taylor on the roster, they can take it slow with Travis, and perhaps have him start the season on the PUP list to save a roster spot.
He has a lot of arm talent, is a skillful scrambler and has great character, but needs work on going through his progressions and making quicker decisions, and working under Aaron Rodgers could help him with this.
With the last pick of the draft, the Jets picked safety Jaylon Key. I love late-round safeties. It’s a position where you can find really good players late, and there are plenty of examples of that, like Jordan Poyer, also a seventh-round pick. Chuck Clark, slated to start at safety for the Jets, was a sixth-round pick.
So Key could turn out to be a good one for the Jets, but while he get up to speed on being an NFL safety, he has the earmarks of a terrific special teams player.
April 29, 2024
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