NFL Draft Mock Match: Consensus Pick For Jets at No. 10?
Even in the tricky, turbulent world of player evaluation, sometimes matches are clearly made in Heaven. So it is with the New York Jets and the overwhelming consensus of who should be their pick at No. 10 overall in April's NFL Draft:
Oregon State offensive tackle Taliese Fuaga.
The Jets are obviously desperate to protect 40-year-old star quarterback Aaron Rodgers and Fuaga is widely considered one of the top three blockers in the draft. Feels like a 1st-and-Goal at the 1-inch line, but ... these are the Jets.
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And Rodgers suffering a season-ending Achilles injury on the fourth snap last season was all the reminding we need about best-laid plans. Still, the pick makes too much sense not to make sense.
NFL.com draft guru Daniel Jeremiah has published two mock drafts. Though he's made changes throughout the top nine, on both Jan. 21 and Feb. 21 he predicts the Jets will pick Fuaga No. 10.
Wrote Jeremiah last month:
"I love Fuaga’s tape from his career at Oregon State. I think we’ll see him move up draft boards during the evaluation process. He’s massive and powerful. New York's offensive line is screaming out for more help as the Jets look to protect Aaron Rodgers."
Writes Jeremiah this week:
"I tried to connect different players to the Jets, but I keep coming back to the same one. Fuaga is a plug-and-play right tackle."
In NFL.com's 2.0 version Fuaga will be the third offensive lineman drafted, behind Notre Dame's Joe Alt (No. 5 to Los Angeles Chargers) and Penn State's Olumuyiwa Fashanu (No. 7 to the Tennessee Titans).
In the 1.0 version, Alt went No. 7 to the Titans and Fashanu 13th to the Las Vegas Raiders.
In both mock drafts Jeremiah projects USC quarterback Caleb Williams going No. 1 to the Chicago Bears and North Carolina quarterback No. 2 to the Washington Commanders.
