“You always take the best player on the board” is a draft mantra that gets repeated by Jets fans and pundits every single year. Usually just before they project every team to go with a player who addresses their biggest needs.
We’re seeing it again this year with the New York Jets as one mock draft after another seems to have them taking Missouri tackle Armand Membou or Penn State tight end Tyler Warren. Both are good players, but neither comes close to the level of Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty.
Respected draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah lists Jeanty as the third best player in the entire class in his most recent top fifty with some saying Jeanty should sit atop the list. And other than a six-week old mock from Chad Reuter, there’s really no speculation that has the Jets going with Jeanty in round 1?
Why is that the case if taking the “best player available” is “always the way to go”? There’s nobody who believes Membou or Warren are better than Jeanty, or at least there shouldn’t be.
And the Jets lack play makers on offense which Jeanty would be from the moment he walks in the door.
Yes, the Jets have running back Breece Hall who, up to this point in his career has been hamstrung by bad coaches and a major injury in year one. On just about any other team, Hall likely has a couple of 1,000 yard seasons under his belt. As a Jet, because their coaches can’t count, he has zero.
But even if Hall had been more productive up to this point, he’s entering the final year of his rookie deal and will likely walk after this season.
Now it’s important to point out the fact that while it’s unlikely, there is a slim possibility that Jeanty isn’t on the board when the Jets pick at seven which will make all of this moot. But should things unfold as most predict, why isn’t Jeanty universally viewed as a future Jet? And more importantly, should he be?
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