People thought they would pick one earlier, but it wasn’t in the cards.
It wasn’t until the fourth round of the 2023 draft that the Jets added an offensive tackle in Pitt’s Carter Warren.
Jets GM Joe Douglas has a sterling reputation for spotting offensive line talent, going back to his Baltimore scouting days, when he pounded the table for Iowa lineman Marshal Yanda in the 2007 3rd-round. Yanda retired in 2019 after making 8 Pro Bowls and is in the Ravens Ring of Honor.
Douglas loves Warren as a prospect.
“You see everything that really good offensive tackles are made of in the National Football League – the size, the length, the pass pro ability, the balance, so feel good about hopefully getting a steal here in Day Three on a guy with a lot of upside,” Douglas said.
Former NFL personnel man Louis Riddick loves how light Warren is on his feet for such a big man.
“He’s a smooth, easy-gliding type of mover,” Riddick said. “Real good movement in pass (protection) sets, real good lateral recovery.”
And the Jets showed good recovery after perhaps some early-round misses at offensive tackle, to land a guy they coveted in the fourth round.
Watching him in the spring, he certainly looks like a guy who can play right tackle or guard in the NFL. The big question is if he can handle left tackle on the NFL level. We will find out more this summer in preseason games, when he’s expected to receive a lot of action.
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