What might have been for the Jets and Jahmyr Gibbs
Somewhat buried in the grand scheme of draft week was a tidbit of information dropped by former New York Jets General Manager Joe Douglas. Douglas explained that he had intended to draft now 2x Pro Bowl running back Jahmyr Gibbs in the 2023 NFL draft.
Joe Douglas confirms that in the 2023 Draft the Jets were 100% set on taking Jahmyr Gibbs, and didn’t expect him to go in the Top 15
This has been a rumor for awhile, but now confirmed by the GM who is also marketing himself for a 2nd job pic.twitter.com/OhegpU9vid
— NYJ Matt (@NYJ_Matt) April 25, 2025
Instead, the Lions selected Gibbs before the Jets ever picked and they went on to select Will McDonald IV. McDonald admittedly is looking like a strong fallback option, as he had a very good 2024 season in which he logged 10.5 sacks, 11 tackles for a loss, and two forced fumbles.
This all begs an interesting set of questions.
First, which player is the better value? The potential All Pro running back or the budding pass rusher? On one hand, Gibbs has been significantly better thus far, but, on the other, McDonald’s position is generally viewed as more valuable and harder to acquire in free agency.
Second, what would the Jets generally look like if they had acquired Gibbs? Would that have helped in 2025 as the Jets tried to make do with a clearly less talented version of quarterback Aaron Rodgers than he had previously been? Beyond that, what would have become of running back Breece Hall, who could have easily been viewed as expendable as Gibbs emerged as a star?
In the end, we’ll never know how it all would’ve shook out, but it’s interesting to think about how this one decision impacted so many areas.
What do you think? Do you wish that Gibbs would have made it to the Jets pick?