Jets GM’s comments put anything and everything on the table when it comes to what can happen with their first round pick

The New York Jets have a lot of holes to fill on their roster and not a lot of opportunity to do it. That is why it is going to be up to new general manager Darren Mougey to be efficient and smart in free agency. But that won’t be the only time he will […]

Mike Antoniou
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New York Jets general manager Darren Mougey speaks during the NFL Scouting Combine at the Indiana Convention Center.
Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The New York Jets have a lot of holes to fill on their roster and not a lot of opportunity to do it. That is why it is going to be up to new general manager Darren Mougey to be efficient and smart in free agency. But that won’t be the only time he will have to be smart and efficient.

The Jets currently hold the seventh overall pick in April’s NFL draft in Green Bay. This will make the eighth time in 11 years that the Jets will go into the draft holding a top 10 pick (they had the 10th pick last year but traded back one spot before taking Olu Fashanu). That seventh pick is a very valuable asset which the Jets will have to use smartly.

At seven there is a lot they can do. And there is going to be a lot of differing opinions as to what they should do with it. There will be those who believe the Jets should move up to get a certain player. There will be those who believe the Jets should move back and get more quality players (even though they really haven't been able to do that in years). And there will be those who believe the team should take the best player available when they are on the clock at seven. Darren Mougey believes all options are currently on the table.

The answer to what the Jets should do at seven is a simple one: it all depends. If the Jets are absolutely in love with one of the quarterbacks, namely Cam Ward or Shedeur Sanders, then they should do what they can to acquire one of them. Personally, I’m much higher on Cam Ward than I am Sanders, but I believe the Jets will have to move all the way to the number one overall pick to acquire him. That cost might simply be too great.

If the Jets like Sanders, then they will likely have to move up to get him, although it won’t take as far of a jump to get him. They might only need to leapfrog the Las Vegas Raiders at sixth to get Sanders. I wouldn’t make either of those deals, but I would understand if they felt they had to.  It also will depend on what they do at quarterback in free agency or if they feel like Tyrod Taylor is a good enough option for the year.

If the Jets decide that there is good talent elsewhere in the draft than I am not opposed to trading down, but again it would be dependent on a lot of factors. For starters, there are a few players I absolutely love in this draft that I think will be gone by the time the Jets are on the clock. But if one of them falls to the Jets at seven I would take him. Guys like Abdul Carter out of Penn State, or Mason Graham out of Michigan or in a crazy scenario, Travis Hunter out of Colorado. Do I think any of them will fall to seven? No. But I would be ready to pounce if one does.

Then there is the trade back scenario. A lot of people scream for a team to trade back every year not understanding that in order to make a trade, you need a trade partner. There needs to be a team that wants to move up and have the resources to do so.

There are players in this draft that I like that might be available a little later in the first round. If the Jets find themselves with an opportunity to acquire a player they love and get another asset, then they should jump at the chance.

The last thing a GM should be going into a draft is rigid in his thinking. Hopefully Mougey has learned enough in his time with the Denver Broncos to learn how to be fluid and flexible in his decision making.

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