Re-Draft of the 2020 NFL Draft: Who Do the Jets Take and Where Does Mekhi Becton Land?
Throughout one of their worst seasons in franchise history, first-round pick Mekhi Becton was a reason to be optimistic about the Jets' future every time he took the field.
The left tackle had a tremendous first season, routinely putting quality defensive linemen in his own highlight reels while growing into one of the best young offensive linemen in the game.
If all 32 teams went back in time and re-drafted the 2020 NFL draft, however, Becton wouldn't be available for the Jets at No. 11.
Using the knowledge of how the season turned out for each rookie, ESPN's network of team reporters redid the first two rounds of last year's draft. Here's when Becton was taken off the board and who New York ended up with in his place:
10. Cleveland Browns
Original pick: Jedrick Wills Jr., OT
New pick: Mekhi Becton, OT
Wills had a fabulous first season protecting Baker Mayfield's blind side. But with him off the board here, the Browns go with another promising left tackle prospect for the future. The 6-foot-7 Becton started 13 games for the Jets. — Jake Trotter
11. New York Jets
Original pick: Mekhi Becton, OT
New pick: Chase Claypool, WR
Ideally, they'd re-draft an offensive tackle, but Andrew Thomas' mediocre season forces them to go wide receiver, their No. 2 need. There's plenty to choose from, including Denzel Mims (the Jets' actual second-round choice), but it's hard to ignore Claypool and his 873 yards and nine TDs. — Rich Cimini
Later on, ESPN's writers had the Jets take running back Antonio Gibson (who plays for the Washington Football Team) with the No. 43 pick. That would mean in all likelihood that New York wouldn't take running back La'Mical Perine later on in the fourth round.
As Cimini mentioned, New York originally came away with wideout Denzel Mims in the second round. After selecting Claypool in the first in this hypothetical, it's hard to imagine the Jets would double down on wide receivers.
Claypool had a breakout season with the Steelers in 2020, playing in all 16 games and snagging 62 receptions. Mims was sidelined for much of the year with injuries, compiling 357 receiving yards on 23 catches in nine games.
For the rest of ESPN's re-draft, and all 64 picks, click here.
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