Since the Jets are treating 2024 like a complete redo of 2023, it only makes sense for a familiar scenario to unfold in the first round of the draft.
of the Jets’ targets for the 2024 NFL Draft. @olu_fashanu / X
One year after spending the No. 15 pick on seldom-used pass-rusher Will McDonald instead of an offensive tackle — thus allowing a glaring need to become a debilitating weakness during the season — general manager Joe Douglas should get a second chance at improving the protection in front of quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
Even if more than just Notre Dame’s Joe Alt is off the board by the time that the Jets pick at No. 10, Penn State’s Olu Fashanu, Oregon State’s Taliese Fuaga and Alabama’s JC Latham all are viable options, according to NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah.
There is insurance against a run on the position.
“Fashanu probably is gone,” said Jeremiah, a former NFL scout who worked with Douglas in the Ravens organization, “so it could come down to Fuaga versus Latham with that selection.”
The riskiest decision given the makeup of the roster before free agency — Mekhi Becton and Duane Brown are unsigned — would be pivoting to fill the big need at receiver and waiting until the third round to address the offensive line.
The Jets traded their second-round pick to the Packers for Rodgers.
“If you can get the tackle,” Jeremiah said, “I feel a lot better about the third-round wideouts than I do about the third-round tackles.”
It appeared the Patriots stuck it to the Jets last draft by making a trade that allowed the Steelers to grab Broderick Jones — the fourth offensive tackle called over the first 14 picks — but the team said it favored McDonald over Jones.
The Jets passed on NFL All-Rookie selection Anton Harrison (No. 27 to the Jaguars).
Here is how Jeremiah sees the Jets’ potential three “different flavors” in this draft:
Olu Fashanu (6-foot-6, 317 pounds)
“Has the ideal frame, ideal length. The Ohio State game this year is the one people will point to where he got in some trouble. His eyes were kind of in the wrong place, and he gave up his chest and got bowled and moved around a little bit. On the whole, I think his tape is pretty solid, and he would be plug-and-play on the right or the left [side].”
Taliese Fuaga (6-5, 332)
“A really, really clean player for me. He has played on the right side, and I don’t see why you would want to move him. He is plug-and-play as a right tackle. He could play guard if you needed him to. Really consistent, quick feet, really explosive when he gets into guys. He’s got some nasty to him.”
JC Latham (6-6, 360)
“He’s got a lot in his body — torque and power, especially in the run game.
He can anchor all day long. He had some issues, more than the other guys, with some of the stunts and twists they saw. I thought his eyes were a little bit late. He would be the fourth guy, for me, in that mix.”
In that scenario, Jeremiah named Western Kentucky’s yards-after-catch weapon Malachi Corley, Michigan’s speedster Roman Wilson and Florida’s contested-catch magician Ricky Pearsall as potential third-round receivers to complete the two-issue equation.
