Grade the Jets 2025 NFL Draft

C+, until they prove me wrong

 

B for me. I liked the first 2 picks. Underwhelmed by rest of the rounds. Of course this is on paper. Reality will be different.

 

C.

It was boring but boring is maybe what we need right now. I'm not a huge fan of the later round picks but if the first three picks work then who cares?

 

I am no expert and to be fair, I don’t know anything about these picks from the 3rd round on so I only know what I read…I haven’t seen any of them play.

That being said, I loved the first two picks and then the rest kind of not so much. I would have preferred to go WR in round 3 and then DT in round 4, and then the rest can be the DB filler type picks. I hate drafting a WR with bad hands…that would have taken him off my board, I don’t care how fast he runs…once we see him be wide open downfield and then drop a couple, he will be booed off the field…I still have visions of Stephen Hill dropping wide open passes. I hate that pick. Hope he proves me wrong but until he does I will hate this pick.

Don’t really understand the corner at 3…if he turns out to be a starting corner then I’m wrong and it’s worth it, but if all the reports about him being slow turn out to be true, then it’s not a good pick at that round.

Also feels like plenty of the guys we drafted had questions…a receiver who can’t catch, a corner who is slow, a safety who’s a bit small, a LB who is too slow for the NFL level, etc. Some of course were later rounds so that’s why they were drafted where they were, but just kind of feels like we went our own way and there are plenty of questions on many of the guys we picked. Once you get into the later rounds from 5 on to 7 it’s a crapshoot, so I don’t quibble too much about any of them…if they can contribute depth then fine.

But from an overall look, we came into the draft with a lot of needs - OL, WR, DT, TE, DE, S…it was too much to ask to cover them all with quality in one draft, so I get that we couldn’t….and I do like the first two picks a lot as I think we filled both needs with quality guys. I would have been happier if we came out of the draft with a better WR and a DT, but it is what it is.

Maybe they have a plan at both spots, but right now our WR room sucks balls…we have literally just one guy who is worth anything, and he will be doubled all day long because no one is going to worry about Lazard, or Reynolds, or this new kid. Maybe our new TE can help there.

And so far, our run D still sucks because we haven’t fixed the interior DL yet.

So a lot will come down to finding a DT and maybe a WR in free agency or trade now, and then of course coaching.

So to me, I rated it a C until proven different on the field. Had we come away with a better WR and a DT, I would have given a higher grade.

As the first start to Mougey and AG’s tenure, I’m not overwhelmed with optimism…I didn’t want rookies at both spots and certainly didn’t want a rookie defensive HC again….and this draft didn’t take away my concerns really.

It’s not terrible…I’m not saying D or F, but it didn’t knock it out of the park for me at least, and it didn’t make me stop and say wow ok this Mouge guy knows what he’s doing!

Again, I’m just a fan and I don’t know their scouting reports or coaching strategies or whatnot, so of course I could be way off base. And honestly I’m ok with the understanding that we have “won” so many off seasons in the past only to continue to suck, so I’m not too worked up about it…I’ll wait and see what the product on the field looks like before really passing judgment.

 

If we get three starters out of this draft. It's an A.

I have some serious concerns though. Borat hit on some of them.

I'm most bummed out about not getting one of the DT in this class. It was so deep. Wild we didn't take one.

Still. To keep it in perspective.

If Membou, Taylor, and AZ turn out to be starters... Shoot. I see a world where Membou, Taylor, AZ, Arians, and Moore see significant playing time this year. That's a win to me.

 

I voted A.

No one can predict accurately how any draft pick will perform after being chosen.

My hope is that Moug and Glen did their homework and took the best players available when the Jets got to pick.

Fucking just SHOW ME time.

 

I'm going C+ here, and largely because I feel Membou was too much of a "safe pick that kinda makes itself" there, and which arguably has a partial credit going to the Pats imo (at least among many of us that preferred him over Campbell).

No DT was a bummer. Few too many reaches in there as well, and that one on Arian Smith in particular didn't help to quiet the loud concern I have with Tanner and co being up to the task of fielding a competent offense.

 

I’d say B- ish. I’d be higher but the Arian Smith thing feels perplexing. He’s fast but there’s a dime a dozen fast UDFA’s that can’t catch or play receiver every year.

Mason Taylor feels like a high floor/low upside guy. He’ll be a decent player in the league but I feel like the Jets had the same player in Tyler Conklin here and could’ve brought him back for pennies.

Love Malachi Moore and Membou. The corner looks like a guy that plays just like Sauce but slower.

 

Can't really grade these till we see the product on the field, Everyone went crazy over Becton, Darnold, Elijah Moore, Denzel Mims, etc and look how that turned out. The reaching for a receiver that can't catch in the 4th and we could of probally signed him as a UDFA was just blatantly stupid though.

 

I liked the #1 pick. Taylor was solid, but conservative. He seems like a good all around TE, but there were more dynamic choices available at that position. Lets see how that turns out.

Smith pick appears to be horrid, hope I am wrong. Taking Sanders instead at the slot would have flipped the entire outlook on our draft.

Not getting Sanders on the cheap was also horrid. Maybe he will be great, maybe he will be a dud, but the risk reward for a fourth or early fifth round pick was strong.

The other picks seemed fine, but I gave a C due to the Smith pick and passing on Sanders when we clearly need a young QB prospect.

So, I give a B+ to the first two picks combined, F's on Smith and not getting Sanders on the cheap, and a B on the rest - averages out to a C grade for me.

 

Seems like 1 impact player for 2025, Membou and that’s it

it always takes TEs 2-3 years to play well (exception Bowers of course). The corner could do something I suppose.

C- for 2025

 

I give a B for the players taken, however I up it to a B+ because they avoided the Shedeur hype. It would’ve been very easy for a new rookie regime to be pressured in a NY market on a QB needy team to take Shedeur, but they trusted their scouting reports and stuck to their beliefs. That’s a good sign.

 

I’m not really a fan of giving grades to drafts before the players step on a pro field. There’s so much that goes into drafting from the team itself between scouting, interviewing, physicals, background etc. I guess based on that and how the draft itself played out I would give a B as they seemed to hit a lot of positions in need and I liked how AG talked to the players on the phone after the pick. In reality simply will not know how well they drafted for another couple years. My feeling is DM and AG are both on the same page and truly want to change the culture and it does seem to feel a little different anyway.

I think Membou solidifies the line once and for all - there is no weak link barring injuries of course. I preferred Ferguson for TE but hard to argue about Mason Taylor he has the size, the hands, and the bloodline. I think the FSU CB will be starting opposite Sauce sooner than most think. After that it’s hard to say I really don’t know too much about the rest of the players. Moore was a four year starter at safety for Alabama and Saban couldn’t seem to sing his praises enough. Some question his speed but it he seems to be a strong safety and that was a huge need. I think Smith is a gamble. But then again is it ok to gamble in the fourth round? They didn’t draft a DT there which seems perplexing but there must have been a reason. They’re the ones talking to players, scouts etc what do they know that we as the average fan do not?
The two Miami guys in the fifth round seem like good depth pieces which wouldn’t be so bad considering where they were drafted. I know a guy who follows the Hurricanes he loves the LB - I can see him being a good special framer at the very least. Barron - the edge - I would figure should be rotating in and out of the DL - him I heard of before the draft surprised he was still around.

A little long winded but overall I think it was a decent draft. I remember plenty of years in the past where the draft was an A and ‘watch out for the future’, etc and within 3 years it was a complete failure and I can remember years when the draft seemed underwhelming and turned out pretty decent too. As we watch this draft class play out I think we all would like to know is can this regime identify and draft a franchise QB next year?

 

Can't really judge yet as none of these kids have suited up for us yet however, HOW they went about this draft was radically different. It was quiet. It was methodical. Its was their plan they executed and I hope plugged a few talent gaps particularly at RT. The back end of the draft really didn't ring my bell at all as I'm more in tune with the 6/1 cuts to see who is available and how this rookie CS/FO fills those gaps. I gave it a B although I think a B- might have been more appropriate. Time will tell if any of us are right or not.

 

As someone who stopped following college football a thousand years ago, I don't know how to impose my judgement on people who have been doing it for years and who's income depends on correct decisions.
I will say the Jets made the correct positional decisions at just about the right time. Only if a player fails were they overdrafted. They desperately needed a right tackle, first round. A tight end who can do more than anyone currently on the roster... Second round. A cornerback...third round. A speedy receiver..4th round. Depth at safety, linebacker and edge...later rounds. Now, that's the easy part. Are the players the right players? Can they do what the staff thinks they are capable of doing? That's the hard part. Won't know for a couple of years,
What didn't they do in the draft? Draft a QB. I am of the opinion that Fields could really surprise to the upside and doesn't need to be looking over his shoulder. Its his career on the line and lets see if he rises. Draft a run stuffer DL. The team needs to be able to stop the run better than last year. Now all of the players in the NFL are extraordinary people with extremely rare talent. Why they get the big bucks. But of all the positions where brawn and brains need to be top notch, maybe DL run stuffer is easiest to fill. I said easiest, not easy. they have 4 months to find some guys who can do this.

So, my opinion is I don't know as yet.

 

Not sure what the point is.

I pretend to know the NFL, but I really don't because I don't follow college football much at all.

However......

I was in an Orlando,FL bar in 2018 when we drafted Darnold. I couldn't believe it. I talked so much shit to all the Dolphin and (believe it) Patriot regulars how much they were in trouble. We got our guy. Because.......

Prior, all fucking year it was "Suck for Sam." The experts continously told me he was the best QB in college. Not Josh Allen, not (Heisman award winner) Lamar Jackson, not (another Heisman award winner) Baker Mayfield. It was Sam. Hell, they all liked Josh Rosen...

Of course I believed them, cause they watch college football and I don't.Well, in reality, we all know it's a blind crap shoot.

So my grade is "who gives a fuck?"

Edit:s: I've tried this new vodka diet. It hits hard and gives me smart football takes.

 

Lol try the whiskey diet it’s even better with a more thorough next day stomach ache.

Suck for Sam started during his first year as a starter. He came back down to earth after his second year starting at USC. Same thing with “tank for Tua.” He came in and won the national championship almost single handedly. Dominated the next year starting then came back down to earth.

Not sure what this all meant. I thought Rosen was the best pure passer on tape for that 2018 draft and so did a bunch of others here/a bunch of other scouts. It normally makes no sense. The only people in the world that know how to evaluate QB’s are the folks in Green Bay..

 

Any grade I give here will be graded on a negative curve.

I’m stuck on the sore irony that we drafted OL last year as a critical piece to a win-now team, passing on a guy I thought was a generational TE, because either (a) “you never draft a TE that high”, or (b) “it wasn’t a position of need” …..

…. and then show up a year later to pick OL first and TE second in rebuilding mode.


It’s not that I’m still bitter. It’s that I’m never not.

 

I gave it a B, loved the first pick as well as the TE. The WR is a burner, but the drops need to be corrected.