Jets Round One Draft reaction from Connor Hughes and Zack Rosenblatt | Jets Final Drive

On Jets Final Drive, SNY NFL Insider Connor Hughes and The Athletic's Zack Rosenblatt react to the draft picks New York made in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft and preview what's ahead in rounds two through seven.

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The first round of the NFL draft is over, and we are here on Jets Final Drive breaking it all down.

New York didn't welcome just one new player, not just two new players, three first round picks.

Remember the last time they had three first round picks?

Worked out okay for a little bit, but they're hoping this one turns out for a little bit more longevity.

Zach Rosenblatt's here, I'm here, and we're talking about it all, and it starts right now on JFD.

It is a very special NFL draft edition of Jets Final Drive.

He is Zach Rosenblatt.

I am Connor Hughes.

Zach, we are through the first round, and it was an eventful one for the New York Jets.

Three new players are in here.

It is David Bailey.

It is Kenyon Sadiq.

It is Omar Cooper.

My friend, how was the night for you?

I know it was a very, very, very busy one for myself.

Yeah.

You know, you, you always get suspicious when your team is, not your, the team you cover is done their picks in theory for the day, but you find out that they're not gonna talk until the end of the round.

Like that's, that's when I was like- Yeah I, I, I try to convince myself it, it meant that they weren't necessarily, trading up, um- Yeah but then they did.

I mean, it was, it was fun.

Like, we, we were talking before the pileup, it's an adrenaline rush 'cause it's just, like, you're, it, it's such a long, slow build-up the, the day of the draft, and then you get there and it's, like, pretty rapid 'cause you're doing so much.

You're writing, you're podcasting, you're doing videos, you're doing interviews.

but it was a fun day.

I mean, the Jets now have had three first round picks in two drafts in the last, like, five years, and they're gonna have three first round picks next year.

Like, that's- Yeah pretty crazy to think about.

So we have a lot to talk about obviously.

But, I enjoyed it.

I know you had to, you had to cover two teams, so you were, you did, like, five draft picks.

Less enjoyment.

Which is a- Less Yeah.

Less enjoyment.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I was, I was joke because, like, we all, we all have our, like, pre-draft thing, and, like, every company you work for has the things that they want.

What, what SNY asks for is, like, totally normal.

Like, it's the, like, so, so the hypothetical world so you guys can g- go behind the lens.

It's funny, like, I've done a couple podcasts now and they've asked about the reporting aspect of it all and, like, how you go about it.

I didn't know people were fascinated by it.

So for SNY, we do it for every single selection for Jets and Giants.

We go an immediate reaction, which is, like, two or three paragraphs.

Then we do a grading the pick, which is, like, three to five paragraphs.

then I'll do a standup video off of every single pick, after, off of every single pick for, for social media, which is awesome and sweet, and it works, and it, it's really fun.

where it gets complicated is we also have the pre-draft show that I'm on and the post-draft show, and at the end of every, at the end of the first round, I do a column on the Jets and the Giants.

Bro, in a normal world where, like, the Jets have a first round pick and the Giants have a first round pick, that's not an insane workload.

It's like, "Oh yeah, that's, that's, we can, that's normal.

That's pretty good."

When the Giants have two and the Jets have three, and I'm sitting there like, "Oh my God, now I gotta go on the 12:40 Sports Night, my brain is mush," it was a bit, it was a bit much.

But, I will say I absolutely love the draft because it's, it's just a craziness leading into it, where you're trying to gather information in all different ways to try to figure out what's gonna happen.

Ultimately, some people are trying to smoke screen you.

You're trying to go to other teams because the teams you cover aren't actually gonna tell you the truth.

And then you get to the event, and there are always curve balls that are thrown that absolutely nobody you talk to saw happen, and there were quite a few of them here in the first round of the NFL draft.

And we are gonna touch upon that and so much more on this episode of JFD.

We thank you guys, of course, like we do every single episode, for joining us wherever you are joining us from, whether that is SNY.tv, whether that is X or whether that is YouTube, but YouTube is the place to be.

Constantly push you guys there because we have a live comment section that's running throughout the duration of the show.

You can interact with Zach.

You can interact with me.

You can ask us questions about what might be coming in the second round, what could be coming in the third.

Are the Jets gonna trade back?

What's going on?

Or just, honestly, takes on the three players that the Jets have already selected.

You can do that all on YouTube, so make sure you head on over to SNY's YouTube channel.

Subscribe to the YouTube channel so you can get access to our complete catalog of digital content.

Zach, let's start with this one, which I think is the one that most people are on opposite sides of the fence with, and that is the David Bailey over Arvel Reese at number two.

I was a little surprised because normally at the second overall selection, this is just from a fan reaction, I feel like everyone's positive.

Like, you have players you want, but even when they go in opposite direction, you're not upset.

It's still the second overall pick in the draft.

I felt like reading through my mentions, which is a dangerous place to go 99.9% of the time, it felt like there were a lot, a lot of Jet fans that really, really wanted Arvel Reese and didn't necessarily want David Bailey.

Yeah.

It was, it was a higher range of, like, people who wanted Reese versus the ones who wanted V- Bailey than I th- realized, honestly.

Like, maybe the people who wanted Reese so badly weren't really as public about it.

Like, I, 'cause I, I did, I thought for a while that there was a, a, a contingent of the Jets fan base that wanted Bailey, and I'm sure there is, and they're just not as loud 'cause usually the people who are happy aren't as loud about it as the ones who are angry.

So, I'd say that.

But yeah, I, you know, I think some of it had to do with, you know, it was, like, let's be honest, like a wacky process leading up to it because of, you know, the canceled visit and the interviews and, you know, the Vegas odds were changing by the hour on draft day.

Like, it, it was- Yeah it was a typically wacky Jets process.

But, like, as you and I said the whole time, like, while I think you felt this way, too, like, maybe I would've picked Arvel Reese over David Bailey.

I, I still- thought at the end of the day they were gonna get a high quality NFL player.

Like, I, I think David Bailey at, at minimum is gonna, should be a, a good NFL player for a long time, and there's- Yeah something to be said about adding that.

Like, they, they decided to go with the pick that is a little less risky.

but ultimately, like, yeah, I, I, I was surprised by the negativity because I, I do think once the fans start to watch Bailey, and, and i- if he is pr- as productive as the Jets think he's going to be, then they're gonna like him a lot.

And obviously on the flip side is if he doesn't get those, you know, close to 10 sacks that everybody keeps saying he's gonna get, then they might not feel very good about that pick.

And then, you know, the, of course-He got drafted by the Giants, and then now the- Yeah, Reese the Jets have to, like, live with comparing him for the next five to 10 years, those two guys.

And you're, you're gonna see across town what it's gonna look like if Reese is a star, and the Jets are gonna hear about it every day, so.

Maybe.

I, I, I would push back on that slightly, because I, I'm The Giants' use for Reese, and, and we'll touch on this quickly then we can get to the process of how the Jets chose.

But the, the Giants' plan with Reese is different than what the Jets' plan with Reese would've been.

So- Yeah in, in this alternate reality where the Jets decide to select Arvale Reese, he's going to start as an off-ball linebacker on their defense.

But more, and more, and more, and more they were gonna transition him to being a full-time edge rusher.

Because they believe that he needed coaching, he needed fine-tuning, he needed to learn the technique of rushing around the outside, which makes sense.

He had 104 pass rush snaps throughout college.

Like, it was gonna take him some time, but once you taught him to position, and his athleticism and that knowledge married together, you were going to have a player that was a Micah, could potentially be a Micah Parsons level rusher around the outside.

That's the athleticism, and the talent, and the skill that Reese has.

He's just never been a rusher, so he doesn't know how to do it, so you gotta teach it to him.

the Giants don't have that plan for, for Reese, from talking to people.

I'm talking to somebody very high up there this morning and they said like, "He was an off-ball linebacker at Ohio State, he's gonna be an off-ball linebacker for us."

So they're basically gonna play him inside next to Tremaine Edmunds, and then occasionally he'll blitz like anybody else would blitz.

So I think, I think that took me back a little bit, 'cause at first I was like, "Oh man, how are they gonna fit him, and Abdul, and Bryan Burns?"

And oh, it's gonna be great storylines for us, because if David Bailey has four sacks as a rookie and Arvale Reese has 10 or whatever, like you can start comparing them and pitting them against each other.

But it sounds like they're literally gonna be playing two different positions, and I don't know if I totally agree with that.

All right.

So let's talk about the process, Zach, to get to David Bailey here for the New York Jets.

Yeah.

They kept this thing under wraps, dude.

Like w- again, I, I've said this, I don't even know how many places I've been where I've talked right now going into the NFL draft.

I am steadfast in my belief, and I learned this during the Sauce Gardner trade, or the Sauce Gardner, not trade, the Sauce Gardner drafting.

If you go to the team that you cover and ask them what they're going to do, they're not going to tell you the truth.

No matter how good of a relationship you have with those people, they're not gonna tell you, because they don't want that information getting out.

So depending on if your relationship is really, really good with those people, you're putting them in an awkward spot where they either have to lie to you, not tell you the truth, or just not answer.

So my stance with the NFL draft, and I think yours is too, is like you just ask everybody else what they're hearing.

Because as much as reporters dig, teams are digging tenfold, because they need to know what's happening in and around them in order to gather the information so they know who's actually going to be there for them.

That's their process and that's what they do.

They do their mock drafts, they do their intel gathering.

They do everything they can to turn over every rock to figure out what's gonna happen in and around them to put their own draft plans together.

Nobody had any concrete idea what was gonna happen with the Jets, and it started volleying and flipping to the point where we wrote a, a Rumors and Rumbling story on SNY about the NFL draft.

Dude, everybody I talked to in the first round was like, like in the first six selections, seven selections of the NFL draft, was like, "It's Reese, it's Reese, it's Reese, it's Reese, it's Reese."

And I was like, "All right, man."

Like, we're now talking about, like, several general managers, handful of coaches.

Like, a lot of people are like, "Dude, it's gonna be Reese, gonna be Reese, gonna be Reese."

All of a sudden you started having the rumblings come out about no, it's still Bailey, it's still Bailey, still Bailey.

Peter Schrager was heavy on that.

You had Todd McShay heavy on that one.

He flipped back again.

So I started checking in with my guys, and my guys were now saying like, "I still think it's Reese, but now I'm thinking a little bit more I don't know."

And I was like, "All right.

Now we're wishy-washy, but what's the reasoning?"

And the reasoning, like, well, they need the win now player, whatever.

It's wishy-washy.

Dude, this went all the way to the point where we are an hour before the NFL draft and I'm sending text messages out, and I had one coach who told me, go He goes, "Dude, I am sitting in my war room right now with my general manager.

I think it's Reese, and he thinks it's Bailey."

And then at the same time, another general manager texts me, goes, "Hey, I'm still think- I'm really confident I still think it's Reese."

So, like, the Jets kept this thing so under wraps, dude, in a way that, like, I don't think I've ever totally experienced before covering the NFL draft, which is saying something.

Yes.

I What I would say about that, like as you're saying it out loud, like, it just sounds so ridiculous that this was the case for a number two pick, where the number one pick has been determined for s- like six months.

So but, like- It was ridiculous I don't blame the Jets for, I don't blame the Jets for that.

And, and somebody actually made a great point to me that, like the NFL also wants the mystery.

So, like, I'm sure there is an aspect of, like, the Jets not telling I mean, the Jets pr- Yeah don't wanna tell anybody anyway.

But I do think the NFL prefers when these teams don't make it cl- We'll get Zach back in here in a second.

Okay.

But I, I You back, Zach?

Yeah.

Yeah, I'm back.

I don't know what happened there.

yeah.

I would But I w- I was just saying, like the NFL wants the mystery at the top because it, it m- drums up interest in the draft, and I think- Yeah there was a lot of conversation around this pick because it was such a push and pull, tug of war between- Mm-hmm it's gonna be Reese, it's gonna be Bailey.

I know some people viewed it, them picking Bailey, as in evidence that there was leaks, but I do think this whole time this wasn't national insiders or reporters, like, getting the info from the Jets and then reporting it.

I think it was what we've- Yeah talked about.

It's you talk to other teams, they have their opinions.

And I think, you know, if you ask, like, a head coach, and we both have did this, head coach, GM, assistant coaches, like, "So what do you think the Jets are doing?"

"Oh, I think they're gonna take Bailey."

If you ask the follow-up question, "Why do you think that?"

It's not, "Somebody told me that in their building," it's, you know, logically this, this, and this.

The Jets are trying to win now- Yeah blah, blah, blah.

So, that's why you heard, you had people like us thinking it was gonna be Reese and you had other people thinking it was gonna be Bailey.

I will say my wife sh- Depending on who you talked to.

Yep.

My, my, my wife shamed me for getting it wrong.

She said, "I don't know how I can stay with someone who got the pick so wrong."

like, "What will they think of me?"

So, my wife is also mad at me for, for thinking it was gonna be Reese.

but you know, that, that's just the way this draft process goes.

That's why I try never to make, like, definitive declarations on anything with the draft, 'cause it's such, like, lying season, silly season, smoke screens.

Oh, yeahUm, to Muji's credit, you know, he did, he was, like, pretty blunt and honest afterwards.

He's like, somebody asked him if he got any trade interest, and he said, "Not any serious interest."

Like, they didn't really get any calls.

Yeah.

So it's not like they were trying to drum up trade interest.

I think that was maybe the speculation of why it w- it was acting that way.

Yeah.

And, and he made it sound like, and may- maybe this part wasn't entirely truthful, I don't know.

It seemed like it was, that they had They didn't really, like, crystallize that they were definitely picking Bailey until a few days ago, like, just through conversations.

He's like, "We don't wanna, we didn't wanna make any decisions before we had to," and so it was a few days ago where they r- realized it was gonna be Bailey.

And it might have been before that based on the canceling, the visit timing, and all that weirdness.

But at the end of the day, they landed on what I think is going to be a good NFL player.

Again, it's not, maybe not what I would have done, but I don't think it's a bad pick either.

No, and, and I, I actually don't, I don't disagree with Muji.

I, I think this is something, because it was such a unique NFL draft where And, and we can talk about how they got to this process and why it's Bailey now.

Because it was such a unique process in that these two players were so close in their grade, and it really was a pick your flavor.

A- and that's why when I was talking to certain people, they were like, "Oh, no, it's definitely gonna be Reese."

Like, I, I literally had a coach text me last night, it was, like, 11:30 or so, and he goes, I'm gonna be honest with you, Connor.

He goes, "I'm sitting here in our war room."

He goes, "I am stunned still that they took Bailey.

Like, I don't understand."

He goes, "Everything that Reese does well, everything that Reese projects to be- Yeah it's what Aaron Glenn wants and what Aaron Glenn needs.

I don't know how they went with Bailey."

It's like, it's still one of those things where it's just a pick your flavor.

Here's what the Jets battled between.

In Arvelle Reese, you have a player that has more upside than probably any defender in this year's draft, physically, athletically, his bend when he learns it.

It, it's just he has the chance to truthfully be somebody that is a Micah Parsons level rusher.

He is so young, right?

Like, 20-something years old.

Like, super, super young.

Not a lot of pass rush snaps.

You see the potential of when you get your hands on him, what you can turn him into.

That's what you have with Reese.

On the other side, though, 'cause the downside of Reese, though, is that it's a lot of projection.

That's the downside with him, is it's projection.

It's you don't know it.

You haven't seen him rush 500 times throughout college to know what his repertoire is.

You watch the, the drills of him going through the bag drills, and he's standing up.

It's 'cause he's never really done it.

He was an outside linebacker that just went out there to try to figure it out.

So he, there's a lot of projection there.

There's a lot of development there that's needed.

You need to have a plan in place to truly work with him and stick with him in a program to eventually, in year two, three, you might have the best player in the draft, but year one, you're gonna have a good player, not a great player.

When you flip it over to Bailey, you have somebody that you know what he is.

This guy is a pin his ears back, rush the passer, and he rushes a player, passer pretty damn well.

Like, that's what he does.

He had 14 and a half sacks last year, which was first in football, 23 quarterback hits, 19 and a half tackles for a loss, 81 quarterback pressures, and a Pro Football Focus grade of 93.3.

This guy is a beast as a pass rusher.

And from the Jets' perspective, and they're deciding what they're gonna do, they looked at this very similar to when Aaron Glenn was in Detroit with Trayvon Walker and Aidan Hutchinson, and it was which one do you want?

In Walker, there was a lot of projection.

There was a lot of development needed.

There was a lot of upside.

He was a physical freak, but you needed to work with him.

And then you had Hutchinson, where you just knew who he was.

You knew exactly what you were gonna get, you knew exactly what he was gonna become, and you knew what the floor was.

It was a lot higher than the other guy.

There's more of a bust factor with Trayvon Walker.

There's much more of a bust factor with Arvelle Reese than there is with David Bailey.

And ultimately, what the Jets decided was this was a player who they believe is tough in Bailey, dependable, has a skill set that they need, is, quote, "extremely smart," one source told me about Bailey, and they can't wait to get him in their building.

Yeah.

You know, I'd, and I'd, I'd also add, and it's something that I f- honestly should have factored in more, is they do have I think everybody's focused on Frank Reich being on Stanford, even though he didn't coach David Bailey, but there's three guys they have on staff who are, like, assistant position coaches who were in the Stanfords building when he was there.

So they at least had coaches who knew him on a personal level.

But to play devil's advocate, I would say, is the part that you and I have also talked about throughout this process, is that Bailey is someone who needs a lot of work in the run game.

And so you now have two edge rushers in Will McDonald- Yes and David Bailey who are not good against the run.

And, you know, an argument can be made you might need to take them off the field on running downs, and we don't know what kind of leads the Jets are gonna have this season.

They won't be favored in a lot of games certainly.

so, like, that would be the knock against it.

Like, the idea of Bailey's more of a win now player.

Well, Reese, while he needs to be developed in some ways, was gonna be an every-down player.

Yeah.

Whereas I don't know that David Bailey's necessarily an every-down player.

I do like the rotation they have a- at edge rusher.

You have Will McDonald, you have him, you have Joe Asay, you have Kingsley Enobakhare.

So that's, like, four guys you can rotate in and out and keep them fresh and all that stuff.

But with the number two pick, you know, maybe the Jets believe in their ability to develop him as a run stopper and he plays more than we're realizing.

But I, I, I want someone who is more likely to be a three-down player than a two-down player is what I would say.

That's my pushback as well.

A- and that's why And I, I actually talked to somebody over at the Jets about this.

Like, we were texting, you know.

He hit me up.

He goes, "Oh, what'd you think of, like, what we did?

What'd you think of the three picks?"

And I, I'm always honest, man.

Like, I'm, I'm not a, I'm not a smoke blower.

Like, I'm gonna be, I'm gonna be as straightforward as I can.

And it was like, "I love, I love the Sadik pick.

I love when you got Cooper."

I was like, "But if it was up to me, I would've gone Reese over Bailey."

And, and the justification isn't like, oh, this is the, he's gonna be Micah Parsons.

My thought process with this is exactly what you just said there.

It's twofold, Zach.

It's one, I am very, very concerned based off of defensive coaches who I've talked to around the NFL.

And again, this is the NFL Draft.

It's projecting.

This dude could be Von Miller, and somebody's gonna-- I'm so sure Boy Green or, or MYJ Matt's gonna clip this and make me look like an idiot in five years.

But, like, there are concerns around the NFL about David Bailey's ability to play the run and willingness to play the run.

It's kind of like basketball with defense.

Like, as long as you try, you can kind of do it okay.

There's a concern there.

Is there a willingness to stick your nose in and play the run as a, as a run defender with David Bailey?You're fine if you have that and Jermaine Johnson on the other side.

You're fine if you have that and another, like, just edge-setting guy on the other side.

That's fine.

It's no big deal.

You can have one guy that just specializes in rushing the passer.

You can mask that by shading things over there.

You'll be fine.

When you have Will McDonald, who you put the fifth, picked the fifth-year option on, Will literally cannot play the run, and then you also have David Bailey, where now there are concerns with him playing the run.

That's a former first-round pick and now a top three pick.

How do you get those guys on the field at the same time on first and second down?

Like, that's my concern.

Rushing the passer, big leads, dude, it's gonna be like Robert Mathis and Dwight Freeney.

Who gives a crap?

Like, like, I absolutely don't care.

That's gonna be unreal.

But how many leads do the Jets have where those guys are gonna be able to pin their ears back?

How many times on first and second down are these teams just gonna be like, "Here, hand it off.

Here, hand it off.

Here, go stretch, go stretch, go stretch"?

Then you're really gonna keep taking those two guys off the field to put Ossai and Anagbara on the field?

Like, it's just that, that part frustrated me where I didn't necessarily see the fit.

And then when you actually analyze where the Jets' defense is, and again, I know they needed an edge rusher.

That's, it's, Bailey's gonna step in and all.

He's automatically their best pass rusher right now.

He steps in the building, boom, he's their best pass rusher.

This Jets defense, and you and I talked about it as you're texting this, when you look at that depth chart, man, they are not a piece away on defense.

They have holes, and they have voids at all three levels, pass rusher, linebacker, back end.

It's everywhere.

Like, they really do need a full-on rebuild.

They got rid of their playmakers, whether that's Jermaine and Sauce and Quinnen, they're still working to refill it, and they haven't necessarily done that, dude.

Argal Reese to me, and people got locked on this, oh, he's not a fine p- he's not a fine-tuned pass rusher, not a fine new passer.

Totally accurate, but he still can be a, an effective, really good player at a bunch of different levels to start, and you can let him rush the passer sometimes, play off-ball linebacker sometimes, drop back into coverage and let that athleticism shine.

He could do so much that he felt like, and I said this to somebody over at the Jets, he to me felt like the chess piece that was missing, that Aaron Glenn, who's now calling defensive plays, can have a weapon in his holster that he can pull out and use in all these different ways.

And you can now have a defensive line that you like, whether it's Ossai and Anagbara, and then you have McDonald over there, the interior line with Briggs and Phillips, linebacker Demario Davis, and now just have, like, this joker all over the field that's sometimes rushing from the A gap, sometimes around the outside, dropping back, and you never know what he's gonna do as you continue to work with him and develop him, and eventually he's more of an every down edge rusher than maybe this, like, do it all player in year one.

That, that's, that's the only thing that I push back on and why personally I probably would've gone Reese over Bailey, kind of like you were.

Yeah, but again, like, at the end of the day, even if he is a pass rusher specialist, if he's an effective pass rusher, like, the Jets didn't have that last year.

Like, their pass rush was one of the- Yeah worst I've seen.

like, you look at the numbers, they were last in pressure rate.

I think they were 28th in sack rate.

Will McDonald was the only player with more than four sacks, and six of his eight sacks came in two games.

Like, this was a, a pass rush that's been destroyed ever since that Hassan Redick trade, and- Yeah they needed to infuse some pass rush into this defense.

And while I like Ossai and Anagbara, like, those guys aren't, like, dynamite pass rushers necessarily.

So, like, you needed a upgrade pass rush, and so I get it in that sense.

And if he comes out and he has eight sacks, nine sacks, whatever it is, like, 10 sacks is probably a lot to put on a rookie.

But i- if he can get a lot of sacks as a rookie, maybe force a few fumbles, you need that pressure up front to he- help the guys on the back end and start forcing- Yeah some turnovers.

So, like, I, I, I get the logic.

And, you know, and, and, and if this is gonna be a base 3-4 defense, I know they're gonna be multiple, like, he's gonna play a lot of outside linebacker.

I don't know how much of that he played at Texas Tech.

I think he, he had his hand in the dirt a lot, and I, that's when he struggled against the run, so maybe him being stand up will help him against the run.

I don't know.

but yeah, I, I, I, I like him as a player.

I think he's gonna be good, and I actually think he's gonna be fun to watch in, like, the battles he's gonna have in training camp with, like, Olu and Membu are, are gonna be fun because I, he, that get off- Yeah is kind of like wh- when Bryce Huff was here.

Bryce Huff used to dominate in training camp because of his get off, and so I, I'm, I'm, it's gonna be fun to watch him in camp, I would say.

Appreciate you guys everywhere you are watching us from.

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Watch our show over there on YouTube as much as we love you on sny.tv and X, just 'cause you can play in that comment section.

And Sam, our incredible producer, is sitting there monitoring the entire section, sending questions to Zach, which we'll address throughout the duration of the show.

Also wanna point you guys to SNY the television station because we have a ton of content coming with you guys all throughout, including on Sunday.

the day after the NFL Draft, we're gonna have our draft recap show.

Connor Rogers is on that.

I'm gonna be involved in it.

Bart Scott, Willie Colon, all of us kind of jumping in there with Steve Gelbs as well.

Chelsea, from the facility doing a bunch of stuff, and Nicki obviously out there in, Pittsburgh.

So we're gonna have a ton of content there.

That's our draft show on Sunday.

So make sure you guys stay tuned to SNY to watch that.

three first round picks, like we said, for the Jets this year.

Zach, the second one, were you surprised by Kenyon Sadik?

Like, did that one take you back a little bit at all?

I, I, I, I heard a lot of him to the Ravens.

I heard a lot of him potentially sliding a little bit further down in the NFL draft.

I think when you talk to people, you see the athleticism, the freakish athleticism, which I know you wanna get into.

Production, not necessarily there.

Elite level in college, 51 catches, 560 yards and eight touchdowns.

He had Dante Moore as a pretty good quarterback, so usually it's like, oh, you know, it was a tight end, he didn't have a quarterback, they were run Whatever.

I was kind of surprised the numbers weren't as good.

But you can't coach that speed.

You can't coach that athleticism.

You can't coach that jumping.

99th percentile of the tight ends who tested at the NFL combine with his athleticism, which is freaky.

Yeah, I mean, to, to answer your initial question, like, yeah, I was, I was surprised when his name was the one they said, especially with Makai Lemon and Omar Cooper on the board at the time.

you know-But like I, I, I get it.

Like, I think value-wise it was a great value there.

Like, out of You know, if the f- if the, the David Bailey pick was the safe pick in quotes, I think Kenyan Sadiq was, like, the big swing pick.

Like, he's a guy that's, he's not a perfect prospect, but he is a freak.

You know, he's a little undersized for a tight end.

He's like 6'3".

He didn't have a lot of production in college.

He was only really a starter in his last year.

So, like, he had some drop issues.

Like, there's some questions there.

But I, I, I really like the idea, especially, like, it's hard to, to talk about Sadiq without acknowledging that they traded back to get Omar Cooper.

So, like, it I think at the time a lot of fans were upset with the Sadiq pick because they didn't draft Mekhi Lemon in particular, but because you didn't draft a receiver there.

But I think if you factor in that they got Cooper in the end and they only had to give up a fifth round pi- fifth round pick to go up and get him, like, I, I think that I like the Sadiq pick more, in retrospect knowing that, I would say.

You know, I, I texted with another coach from another team who did a lot of work on, on Sadiq.

He was really high on him.

He, he, he wanted his team to get them.

He, he called him Vernon Davis.

said his run after the catch and contact balance are elite.

hi- his biggest concern was his motor, but he thinks, like, a good coach can fix that.

And he had the drops, but the, this coach wasn't really concerned with the drops 'cause he thinks that's, again, coaching.

And, and I've heard good things about Alfredo Jenkins, who's their new tight ends coach.

So I, I, I think the question is more You know, we've covered a lot of Jets offenses where the offensive coordinator didn't really know how to use a guy creatively.

Like, will I'm not saying Frank Reich won't, but, like, we need to see it.

Like, so will Frank Reich use him in a way that it makes him effective, the most effective?

Like, he's a unique, unique player.

You can play him with Mason Taylor.

I don't think this impacts how they view Mason Taylor at all.

he can play big slot.

He's I mean, he's ran like a 43 at 250 pounds.

Yeah.

Like, that's, that's pretty insane.

So I, again, like, I, I keep thinking about training camp.

Like, he's gonna be fun to watch at training camp.

Like, he's a, he's gonna be a guy that I think Jets fans, will grow on Jets fans if he lives up to his potential, which obviously isn't guaranteed.

But again, I, I For me, it's hard to talk about Sadiq without coupling it up with Omar Cooper.

Like, it- Yeah how I described it on my other podcast, Flight Plan, we, we went live at midnight last night.

but, like, if you were to swap and say the Jets Oh, the Jets picked Omar Cooper at 16, and they traded up- Yeah to get Kenyan Sadiq at 30, I think everybody is happier today.

And so, like, I think- Closing in.

Yeah.

Yeah.

So I, I, I don't think it's as big of a deal it's being made out to be.

I, I like what they're doing on offense.

You're building an offense of young guys who are all gonna be here next year when you add the other quarterback, and, you add him.

And we'll get to Cooper specifically later, but you add him, you add Cooper, you have Gary, you have AD Mitchell, you have Mason Taylor- Mm-hmm Breece Hall, Isaiah Davis.

Like, it's, it's a solid, solid group of pass catchers and, and a solid offensive line up front.

Yeah.

Look, their, their thought process, 'cause I, I reached out.

Again, I kind of sent out some text messages this morning.

Yesterday was so crazy, just kind of recapping the draft, talking to some people what they want.

Versatility was the big thing I got back from my Jets people about Like, this is the other thing.

You can also The Jets, Jets have no problem talking about the players once they're drafted, then they're like, they'll explain their But the Jets have been very good with that.

Like, a, a big shout-out to them.

Like, they're very good at explaining their why, which is always helpful as, as a reporter.

But, you know, they, they like his versatility.

his physicality is a big one, the fact that he has no problem sticking his nose in there and blocking.

They believe he can play the Z, F, and Y, which gives them a ton of flexibility.

But he- I know receiver was a big thing, and Jets wanted to get it.

We're gonna get to Omar Cooper in a second here.

But the Jets viewed this one going into the draft as a top 20 probably, I would say.

A definitely top 16 situation.

There were two receivers worthy of going there, and that was Carnell Tate and it was Jordan Tyson.

After Tate and Tyson, there was a gap between you got to the next group of players.

That doesn't mean the next group of players are poor, that doesn't mean the next group of players suck.

Obviously, the Jets traded up to get one of those players.

But the value just didn't match the selection.

So I genuinely do believe that at number two the Jets went with the player that they believed was the best player available on their board.

And here at 16, with those receivers gone, with Tate going very, very early to the Tennessee Titans, and then Tyson going to the Saints, which most people expected, they went back to that BPA, the best player available.

And they went out there and they got a guy who's going to impact the game.

He's gonna need time to develop as a tight end.

All tight ends do.

The acclimation period from college to pro at the tight end level is so under-talked about, but it's why you don't usually see people do what Brock Bowers did, where he just steps on the field and he's unbelievable.

Like, it's gonna take some time usually for a lot of these guys.

But the Jets now are creating this offense where they can put people in a bunch of different places, and they have weapons, where you can have Mason Taylor in line as your tight end, you could have Sadiq in the backfield, you could have Sadiq as a slot, you could have Sadiq split wide.

You also now have Cooper in the mix, and Gary Wilson in the mix, and AD Mitchell in the mix, and Arian Smith, who they help they can develop as the guy who's gonna take the top off the defense and play five or six snaps a game just going deep.

Like, you're starting to see those pieces come together.

And Sadiq is an interesting weapon that, again, did I love him at 16?

No, I didn't love him at 16.

But I think when you look at all the other options that were there, Maui Noah's gone.

But Ma- wasn't Vega gone, too?

Vega was before the Jets did- Yeah.

Yeah, he was picked, right before them by the Ravens.

Yeah.

Yes.

Yeah.

So, like, I, I think Vega would've been a good selection there, the Penn State guy.

I think that would've made a lot of sense.

But Vega's off the board.

Maui Noah's off the board.

Like, there's a lot of these players that are there that we would've been like, "Oh, that makes sense.

That makes sense.

That makes sense."

They went, they went, they went, they went, went, went.

Mansor Delany, gone off the board.

Like, like, all of these players were gone at the point, so it's like, what did you want the Jets to do?

So this Sadiq one I love.

Again, it's more of the It's funny, we, like, we got into the argument, not you and I, but the argument of, of David Bailey versus Arvelle Rees.

And it was like, "Well, take the more proven player in Rees."

Well, with their second first-round pick, the Jets went with the upside player in Sadiq, where you see all of that athleticism, 43 and a half inch vertical, 439 speed at the tight end position, 6'3", 240, which isn't your prototypical 6'5", 250 tight end, but still pretty good size for a guy to go out there and, and play football.

So I, this pick to me, Zach, was one of my favorites of the first round for the Jets.

Like, I, I, I liked it honestly more than Bailey, and I think I like it a little bit more than Cooper, too, just because I think with Frank Wright you have somebody who knows how to develop people, and you have a professional in the room there at offensive coordinator, and I can foresee how the Jets wanna, wanna use him.So what, what I would, what I would add to that last point, is that from what I- I was ready for you to say, "I What I would push back on.

What I would push back on was that" No, no.

I haven't disa- I haven't completely disagreed with you yet, so we haven't had our- Yeah you know, u- usual, fights.

But, yeah- Yeah I'd, I'd say the offensive staff, especially Reich, from what I understand, was, like, pushing for Sadiq.

Like, they really wanted him.

Yeah.

And everything I've heard since they drafted him is that they're just, like, over the moon that they got him.

Like, that- Yeah this offensive staff, Seth Ryan, Frank Reich, Alfredo Jenkins, the Titans' coach, like, they just feel very excited about what they can do with him in this offense.

And, you know, it They obviously needed a pass catcher yesterday, and they got two of them, and I think- Yeah part of, part of why everybody was nervous is 'cause you got the tight end first.

But I, I, I, I've alluded to this with you and on the other podcast, and maybe we should have, like, more aggressively predicted it, but, like, of course they picked a tight end, like, after two straight years of everybody mocking them a tight end in the first round.

Of course the year they draft one is the year that nobody is mocking it to them .

So it, it's- Yeah just, like, the most Jets thing that they waited until after everybody thought they were getting a tight end.

You know, they coulda got Brock Bowers, Tyler Warren.

Instead got their two tackles.

Now they get the tight end.

They have two tight ends.

And the Jets don't have a rich history of drafting them, but I, I think between Mason Taylor and Sadiq, odds are at least one of them will pan out, and maybe both of them.

Finally here, Zach, we're gonna talk about the, the last of the first-round picks for the Jets, Omar Cooper.

'Cause you're right, I, I think you, I think you described it perfectly that when you look at this as, say, just Sadiq and just Bailey, the Jets draft looks one way.

When you then loop in Cooper and realize, like, oh yeah, they also got the wide receiver, it looks a little bit different.

Omar Cooper, so wide out from Indiana, Fernando Mendoza's go-to guy, somebody that was mocked to the Jets a lot.

We actually had him in our mock draft, which I loved our beat writer mock, dude.

The fact that the only pick- We did.

that was actually accurate of the 32 And we didn't, like, bring on schlubs here.

Like, these are the best of the best at what they do.

And it just shows you how crazy the NFL draft is and how things really went off the rails, I think, when both Jeremiah Love went three and then Carnell Tate went four.

That's when everything just, the you know what hit the fan was when that happened.

And we're gonna talk more about draft surprises- here in a little bit.

But our beat writer mock, Brooke Hughes, my two-and-a-half year old daughter, selecting Fernando Mendoza first overall- was the only selection that was a, a nail on the head.

The other one we got was Omar Cooper, but I had Cooper at 16.

I didn't have him at 30.

Yeah.

all right.

So let's talk here about this one, Zach, with, with Omar Cooper.

talented receiver, 69 catches, 937 yards, 13 touchdowns a season ago.

A freak after the catch.

I think it was, like, 400 of 400-plus of his 900-plus yards came after the catch a season ago, so- Yeah that was kind of freaky from him.

he is a slot receiver, though.

That's where he played 99%, I think maybe even, like, 100% of his snaps in 2025.

No, it wa- it wasn't that, it wasn't, it wasn't that high.

I thought In last year?

It wa- it wasn't 90%, no.

I think it was more like 70%, 70% of the time.

Or maybe it was his yard gain?

Yeah, I think it was yards in the slot.

I thought it was a lot more than that.

I'll look it up while you're talking.

I, I saw something that was like Yeah, do that for me, 'cause I almost po- I thought I saw something, like an insane number of his snaps came from in the slot last year, 'cause I remember talking about that.

But, Cooper is somebody who's played the majority of his tenure there in the slot.

Whether it's 70 or 90%, we'll see what the final number is there as Zach Googles and looks it up for me.

the Jets went out here and they saw a player.

Now, the Jet- I know this from talking to people with the Jets.

They see him as, while he's best in the slot, he does have, have some flexibility to go outside.

But when you're now piecing together the Jets' receiving trio, you have AD Mitchell as your true X, like your big-bodied physical dude.

That's your X, AD Mitchell at T- the Jets keep speaking so glowingly about this guy.

Like, they genuinely love AD Mitchell, and they're really happy that they got him.

Crazy they got him in two first rounds, so.

Seve- 70, 76% of his snaps were in the slot.

Okay, cool.

All right.

So- 76% of his snaps were in the slot.

Obviously high, but yeah.

Yes.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

So slot receiver there obviously.

Now you have Cooper, who can play in the slot, and Garrett Wilson, who has inside flexibility.

From my understanding, he doesn't really like playing inside.

Like, Garrett wants to be more outside, moved around the formation, all that fun stuff.

He doesn't wanna just be a slot like we saw with Cooper Kupp.

Or how the Jets actually originally envisioned Garrett Wilson when they drafted him, 'cause they thought Corey Davis was my X, Elijah Moore is gonna be the Brandon Cooks, and then Cooper Kupp is gonna be, or Garrett Wilson's gonna be the Cooper Kupp as that freak in the slot.

now they have their Omar Cooper in the slot.

They have Garrett Wilson moving all over, and then AD Mitchell as your slot, or as your, as your big X.

Here's how I evaluate what the Jets have done to this point, Zach.

When they went out there and they drafted Sam Darnold way back when, third overall, and when they went out and they drafted Zach Wilson second overall, the Jets' process during that was get the quarterback, and then we'll f- we'll build the roster around the quarterback.

The everything that they have done, a little bit with what the holdover is from Robert Sale and Joe Douglas, free agency this year, especially this draft, and now with all these picks they have coming up in 2027, specifically on offense, it's like they are building the offense now so that then when they get the young quarterback and they throw him into the roster, or they take the young quarterback and they throw him into the, the mix and they make him their quarterback, he's in a situation where he can grow, develop, and thrive.

That's where he- That's what they're trying to do.

They have the offensive line, and they can still add to it.

They might even add to it here, whether it's Colton Hood or they end up going with an interior offensive lineman here in, in the NFL draft.

But they have an offensive line that's, that's pretty good.

Is it perfect?

No.

But when you're talking about, outside at left, Olu, then Parham, then Myers, then Titman, and then Fa- Membo, that's a pretty good offensive line.

I mean, it has a chance to be really, really good, but at the baseline, that's a good offensive line.

You have a backfield of three running backs, and they're gonna try now after this draft to get something done with Breece Hall, which we're gonna talk about when we do the, our draft recap show here on, on JFD.

But they've got the running backs with Breece Hall, who they're hoping to extend, Braylon Allen, and Isaiah Davis.

You now have a two-headed attack at tight end, whether it's Mason Taylor and Sadiq.

And also Jeremy Rucker's still floating around there, too, as kind of like that blocking dude, but still a serviceable option, as a checkdown.

And now you have the receivers, Mitchell, Cooper, and Wilson.When you put a quarterback in, this isn't gonna be like when Sam Darnold was throwing to D'Onta Burnett and Jermaine Kearse.

This isn't gonna be like when Zach Wilson was out there trying to figure it out with the misfits that he was his first year in, in 2021, whenever they drafted him.

Did I get the years mixed up?

In '21.

This is not gonna be like that.

They, they are, they are creating as good of a situation, I don't think this is hyperbole and I don't think this is seeing things through green-colored glasses, of the teams that you expect to be selecting within the first five to 10 picks of next year's NFL draft who are gonna be quarterback-needy teams, I do not believe that there is a better situation out there to groom a young quarterback than the Jets.

And you can loop Frank Wright into that, the offensive line, the receivers, the tight ends, the running back.

I truly believe the Jets have generated and built that over the last couple of years here.

Yeah, just to, just to talk about Cooper a little more specifically, couple things.

Like, he is phenomenal after the catch, as you mentioned.

I think he's been- Yeah compared to Deebo.

Like, I think he's kind of the prince that was promised with Malachi Corley is what I would say.

Like, I, I feel better about, Omar Cooper's ability to make plays after the catch than Malachi.

I mean, he's obviously faster and he's got more size.

he, from what I've heard, people feel like he can play more inside and outside than you would think for someone who played primarily in the slot in college.

he forced, like, the second-most missed tackles among all drafted wide receivers over the last five years.

Like, his missed tackle rate is pretty ridiculous.

And then he had, you know, that catch he had against Penn State was the catch of the year, and a guy who- Yeah can make clutch catches like that, that's the kind of guy you want on your team.

Like, he has a proven ability to come up in big moments.

He was the number one target on the national champion for the number one overall pick at quarterback.

And so I, I, I don't have any issue obviously.

And I know Glenn highlighted this and, you know, it's, maybe it's overblown a little bit, but, like, bringing a guy in from a winning program like that, like fresh off a national championship, knows what it takes to get to that spot.

You add him to Garrett Wilson, you add him to Adrian Mitchell, like I, I like that wide receiver room a lot more today than I did yesterday obviously.

And I, I don't think they're necessarily done adding a wide receiver.

I don't know if it'll be on day two necessarily, but, as you said, like, at the end of the day they're, they're building for the future.

Like, this is, this is a really good supporting cast for Geno Smith, and I do think he's gonna do a good job of distributing to all these weapons.

And you could argue about what the ceiling is if Geno Smith is your quarterback, whatever, but at the end of the day this is picked for next year.

Because if, if you look at all the guys you named, other than Breece Hall everybody is under contract for next year.

Breece Hall and Braylon Allen- Yeah are the only two that are not under contract for next year.

you know, they still need to re-sign Joe Tippmann, which I think they will.

But other than that, like everybody's under contract for next year that matters.

And so like there's something to be said about that.

Yeah.

You have a year to develop Kenyon Sadik, you have a, a year to develop Omar Cooper, to develop AD Mitchell, to develop Mason Taylor, to get M- Membo to the next step, to get Fashanu to the next step, and, and maybe if they draft another offensive lineman or whatever.

Like, all these guys are gonna have another year of seasoning before you drop- that rookie quarterback in.

And as you said, it'll be a positive situation.

Like, if everything works out this season to what the Jets are comfortable with, then you have Frank Wright coming back, and that's a infrastructure that you believe in.

And so that, that's, ultimately they're, they're putting the right pieces in place, and whether these guys pan out or not or whatever, like, there's a lot of logic to everything they're doing.

Let me pose this one to you.

I, I, I don't, I don't think we're I think both of us are on the same side of the, the fence here on this one, is that I had absolutely no issue with them trading up to get Cooper either.

I mean, there was a chance- No Cooper was gonna be there at 33 for a wide receiver.

You have a fifth-round pick.

Like, yeah, I have no problem with that whatsoever.

By the way, again- Again, and Susan get Just to, just to cut in, cut on that real quick, like the Jets deserve credit because it seemed pretty clear to me that the Bills were about to draft him because they immediately traded out- Yeah after the Jets drafted Omar Cooper.

So like how many times have we covered drafts where the Jets got swooped on somebody they wanted- Yeah at the last minute because everybody knew that's who they wanted?

Yeah.

Like, so credit to Muji for jumping ahead of the division rival, only giving up a fifth-round pick.

Like, anyone, I don't, I haven't seen anybody criticizing the trade, but I don't see why you would.

No.

Like, it's a fifth-round pick.

Like, you move up, you go and get the guy.

Correct.

He wouldn't have been there at 33, and I- you have the 44th pick.

Like, if you don't have the 44th pick, like maybe it's a different convo, but you still have the ability to get somebody really talented today or trade back and get more picks, so.

What's your opinion, and, the, I, again, the, like either of us fricking know this.

Like, we're not gonna know this answer- for two or three years.

But would you, would you have preferred David B- Denzel, David Boston.

Would you have preferred Denzel Boston over Cooper?

'Cause I think that was the one that you and I were going back and forth on.

Again, not disagreeing, but like when you look at what the prototypical Frank Reich receiver is- Yeah it is Boston.

It's big body.

Yeah.

Physical, just, you know, gotten out physical, dudes.

Let's beat some dude, like big dudes beat up little dudes, let's go do that.

Would you have gone him over Cooper?

I, I, I, I gear towards no because I think this might have been, and Cooper, I think this might have been the Jets' first need-based pick of the draft where they picked somebody that was a need that kind of filled a hole in the roster.

But I think when you look at their receiving trio of Mitchell, Wilson, and Cooper, they all complement each other than if they had added Boston, where Boston would've just been a very similar player to AD Mitchell.

And then, then I guess you, you have two big guys and Garrett's playing more in the slot.

But I think with Cooper now you have somebody that's a bit more versatile, flexible, and fits what the Jets needed.

For me it's even less about, like, the body types not being a good match or whatever.

Like, for me it's just the Jets and teams in general I think get into a bad habit of just, like, trying to fit, like, the puzzle pieces into the right place or whatever.

But I, I think what is more important is just getting quality pass catchers, like getting guys who are going to be good.

And so, like, I feel more confident- that Omar Cooper is going to be a good NFL player than I do Denzel Boston.

And so whatever you wanna say about size and fit and all that stuff, like I, I go with the better player.

The Jets just need to get better players.

Like I like and I think his ceiling- Yeah is also higher than Boston's.

Like, I- if, if you wanna say the body types, like I think Boston does make a lot of sense.

but ultimately, like I, I like the idea of you, you bring in the best possible pass catchers and then you figure out how you're going to use them after.

Like I- Yes that's why you get Kenyon Sadik as well.

Like, you, you get these two guys, these are, you know, at, we, who we the Jets felt was the best pass catcher on the board at the time and we wanna get him.

You know it- without knowing that they were gonna go up and get Cooper, like at, at 16 I personally would've picked Lemon, like, at that time 'cause I, I really like him.

Right.

And I think he's gonna be just a solid NFL player.

He's a good run blocker for his size.

I know he's not a great athlete.

But again, like I said-Having the knowledge now that they also got Cooper, like, I actually like the Sadik pick more.

So, um- Yes yeah, I, I, yeah, but yeah, to answer your question, I w- I prefer Cooper over Boston.

I would've, well, I would've understood if they picked Boston, but I, I think he's less clean of a prospect than Cooper is.

I agree.

Regarding Lemon, I actually Lamon.

Re- regarding Lamon.

I looked him up.

I, I hit up actually an offensive coordinator, and was like, "Dude, so I had a question."

I was like, "I feel like back when I was originally doing mocks, it was the big three, and, and Lemon-" Yeah was always in there, and I feel like he's kind of fallen off.

Like, I haven't heard from him."

I was like, "What's the deal?"

And he said, he said to me very, very bluntly he loves him, but there's just a limitation to him.

He's kind of like a poor man's Cardale Tate.

So like, if you think Cardale Tate's gonna be a great number two receiver, you think Lemon's gonna be a good number two receiver.

He goes, "That's fine."

He goes, "If you have a number one," like the Jets probably would've with a Garrett Wilson, or the Giants could've with a Malik Nabers.

Like, that makes sense to add him because he's your number two.

He's just not somebody that they believed was gonna be, you know, your, your upper echelon wide receiver one potential.

There just wasn't anything about that.

moving on here a little bit, Zach, it's the NFL Draft, so there, there's always surprises.

Do you have any that jumped out to you that were a big one?

For me, I, I think it starts absolutely at four with the Tennessee Titans, and I, I know this one- Mm-hmm, yeah shook the Giants building, 'cause that's when they were like, "Holy crap, we're about to get Arvel Reese."

Yeah, yeah.

surprised the hell out of me when I looked down and saw the text message that like, "Dude, the Titans just took Cardale Tate."

Bro, I talked to so many people about Cardale Tate, and I, I report, I wrote this, and it's true.

Like, man, I even checked in on it after Tate went four to the Titans.

The I would say there were 31 other teams in the NFL that were not as high on Cardale Tate as the Tennessee Titans.

Like, they viewed this guy as a super safe, super clean prospect, but a number two receiver.

Like, that's what he is.

To see him go four to the Titans considering the other, there are options that were on the board, with the other concerns that Tennessee has and the issues that they have, bro, I, I would make the argument that Reese was a better pick there.

Corner was a better pick there.

I would even go as far as say an offensive lineman would've been a better pick there, if it was Fanu or something like that.

Yeah.

I was stunned to see Tate go four based off of everything I heard about him going into this draft.

Yeah.

That, that was, you know, I guess give Sala credit.

He, he sent out a bunch of smoke screens, and I don't think there was a single person that credited him.

Oh, I don't know.

I mean, that predicted a- Sala wanted him.

Right, if you saw that clip of Sala You see, dude, did you see that- Did, did actually, no at the ESPN NFL Network?

You guys did the same thing.

No, I didn't.

They had the Titans war room.

Bro, like we covered Sala forever, dude.

Like, you see him after the draft- He gets hyped he's fist pumping.

"So-" "So-" I gotta move my mic. "

boss."

"So boss."

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah, like one of those things.

I guess we haven't seen the phone call yet, but like, everyone's high-fiving, and then there's like Robert just standing in the war room like, you know, rocking.

But I'm not saying it's as bad as Sean McVay when they took Ty Simpson, but I saw that and was like, "Eh, I don't know if that was Robert's guy.

I don't know."

I mean, look, they needed holes.

They need a wide receiver.

Obviously, they wanna help their young quarterback, but that was, that, that one shook me, dude.

That one, that one very much surprised.

Dude, the Jets weren't sure if they wanted him at 16, and this guy went four.

Yeah.

Like, that's crazy.

Yeah.

I, I, I was more confident he would go higher than you were, just 'cause I, I think there was more teams that liked him.

like, I think there were teams that didn't obviously, but, I mean, it makes sense in theory, like they are trying to surround, Cam Ward with the best possible environment to succeed, as we're talking about with the Jets for whoever they drop in there.

And now you have- Yeah Wandale, you have Cardale Tate, and you have Calvin Ridley, whatever he has left.

it's a little bit better of an offense, so I get that to that degree.

I mean, the, the biggest surprise for me though is Simpson, who you just alluded to.

Like, I- Yeah I thought the Rams made sense.

I did not think he would go 13.

Mm-hmm.

Like, I, I don't get that.

Yeah.

Frankly, like I- Yeah in, I get Like, if you take a step back, I get it in theory, but like, I don't think a team was gonna The Jets weren't gonna pick him at 16.

Like, I, I still feel confident about that.

Yes.

I'm very confident in that, yes.

And so you don't have a team, unless, unless somebody's trading up, you don't have a team who's gonna consider him until 21 at the earliest.

It didn't sound like the Steelers were gonna seriously consider him.

I don't think the Browns were gonna pick him, and so that leaves you with are the Cardinals gonna trade back into the draft basically is the only other one.

And so look, I, at the end of the day, the Rams, they generally do the right things all the time, so it's hard to blame them for doing anything.

And if you- Yeah believe in him as a, as a future franchise quarterback, he has the ability to sit behind Matthew Stafford for two years.

I just think they're in a Super Bowl window right now.

I think they have either the best or, like, close to the best Super Bowl odds for next season, and you just drafted a player who's gonna play zero snaps for you this year.

So that was surprising to me, and I'm not, it's not that I'm, like, very negative on Simpson.

I just do not see him as a first-round prospect if you just look at all the knocks against him.

Like, even beyond- Yeah the inexperience, he's 6'1" without arm strength.

And he, you know, he has pretty good accuracy, but, and he's, like, pretty mobile, but a- he's not, like, great at anything, I don't think.

So, that one- Yeah was a surprise.

Like, I, I didn't expect to see that name come up when the Ram I thought the Rams were gonna pick Lemon or an offensive lineman, and they picked a quarterback.

Lamon.

And so Lamon.

other than that, like it wasn't, like, shockers.

Like, you know, like Vega went kind of everybody projected.

I think the offense, everybody talked about there being a running offensive lineman.

That happened.

Caleb Banks went pretty high, but I actually had heard, like the day before the draft that the Vikings really liked him.

the Ste- I mean, the Steelers thing was the funniest thing that happened, I should say, other than the Sean McVay press conference.

The Steelers being on the phone- Yes with Mekhi Lemon- Yeah, yeah, yeah as the, as the Eagles trade up to dr- Lamon Like, that's something that would happen to the Jets.

Like, the, the Jets were, like, the least- Yeah mocked team in the NFL yesterday I think compared to you look at the Rams and you look at what happened with that.

Like, being on the phone with a guy to tell him you're gonna d- we're gonna draft you with the next pick.

Like, you got overzealous.

Clearly the Eagles jump ahead of you, take him.

Like, i- if you see the video, like Lemon looks so confused about what was happening.

Somebody comes running over like, "The Eagles are calling.

They just traded up for you."

And he's like, "What?"

Like, I've never- Yeah seen anything like that.

And for it to happen on live TV is just, like, just wild.

And the Steelers are-You know, they're in a such a weird It feels like it's gonna be a weird, bad season for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

And, don't get a lot of what they did this off-season.

And so, like, that wasn't like a shock or anything, but it felt like they were thrown for a loop, and they drafted an offensive li- Like, the I was texting with our Steelers writer, and he was like, "They've drafted three offensive tackles in the first round in the last, like, four years, and I'm not sure if they have two starting offensive tackles still."

Like, that's, that's like where they're at.

Yeah.

'Cause this guy's like a raw prospect.

Broderick Jones is, like, injured and a mess.

And Troy Fountain who was like, okay.

So the Steelers are in a weird spot.

O- other than that, you look at the, the rest of the picks in the first round, there wasn't anything shocking.

Like, I think a lot of these picks made a lot of sense otherwise.

The Ty- Like, the only thing that I would push back on the Ty Simpson pick for is that Sean McVay has, obviously this isn't groundbreaking news, there's no hot take here, Sean has earned the benefit of the doubt to, to if he believes in this guy.

Yeah, but he, he maybe didn't want him though.

That's what, that's my point.

It's like Sh- if Sean was in that war room, and he's like, "Guys, look, Matt Stafford's coming back.

The last two years with the roster as it's been currently constructed, we've gotten on the doorstep of this thing.

I mean, we were a Jalen Carter pressure away from beating the Eagles the year that they won the Super Bowl.

We were right down to the wire last year as well.

Like, like, this, this is a situation here where, like, we feel, we feel like we have a championship team with Matt Stafford, and we know Matt Stafford's coming back.

But we probably only got Matt for one more year.

We probably, we're, we're, we know where we are here.

I think this guy can create a situation where we've got the Aaron Rodgers to Brett Favre, where we've got the Patrick Mahomes to Alex Smith, where we've get somebody, I can develop him for a year, teach him for a year, groom him for a year, and then guess what?

He's gonna take over, and we're gonna have another sustained level of success with the Rams."

If Sean is in the war room and he's saying that, you go, "You know what?

We like the offensive linemen.

We like Lemone.

We like this guy.

We like that guy.

You know what?

We're taking the quarterback.

Like, we're getting it."

When you got Sean acting like he is regarding this quarterback And again, I don't know if he loves the prospect, but he just wanted a win now player to try to get him over the hump.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

I don't know.

We've seen that before.

But bro, like- It's probably what it is.

Press conferences- That's probably what it is.

Yeah.

But the press conferences- Yeah.

It's a bad look all that stuff- It's a bad look it's a bad look.

No matter what, it's a bad look.

And he's been doing this long enough.

Like, if it was Aaron Glenn, I would almost understand it 'cause he's a new coach.

If it was any time first time guy, Mike LaFleur, like, I would get a first time head coach.

Like, I know Aaron's in year two, but still he's a young head coach in the NFL.

You kind of get it.

You give it to him.

Sean knows what he's doing, dude.

Like, he knows what that sounds like.

He knows what that looks like.

He knows where every camera in the Rams building is.

Like, he knows what this res- what the He knows- And- the vibe this is giving off.

And act- acting that way just, like, draws attention away from this kid who's had this, like, special moment in his life.

And it, and I'm su- sure Sean McVay's gonna come back today and realize what happened.

Um- Yeah like, maybe he didn't realize how he was coming across in the moment.

But, like, just being like, "Well, Matthew Stafford's our starter.

he's gonna compete with Stetson Bennett."

Like, it w- it was, like, very, um- Yeah you know, it was unfortunate that the tone came across that way because, like, I don't know, like, it Even the, the phone call that he had with Ty Simpson, he was just like, "Hi."

Like, you know, that was, that's how he started it.

"Hi."

but so that- Yeah you know, whatever.

But, I mean, at the end of the day, like, as we said, like, it'll probably work out 'cause it always does for the Rams.

Like, they just always seem to make the right decisions.

Yeah.

So you, like, always give them the benefit of the doubt.

But yeah, I, I, I thought his range was anywhere from that Rams pick, like, to you could have convinced me he was gonna drop to the Steelers pick in the second round.

Like, that, I thought he could have gone from 13 to 60, and you could have, and I would have believed you.

So I, I'm curious to see.

There was a lot of, like, BS Carson Beck buzz at right before the draft where it's like, oh, he could sneak into the end of the first round.

Like, I, I try not to comment on it 'cause I'm just like, "That just feels like somebody doing an agent a favor."

Like, I just, I don't- Yeah I don't see how that's possible.

I just don't think Carson Beck has it.

He, he sounds like he's very smart, but I, I just don't think he has it as a NFL quarterback.

So maybe- Yeah I'll be surprised, and somebody'll pick him in round two.

But, like, that, that noise I was like, "Well, if they're talking about Carson Beck in the first round, then Ty Simpson is certainly going in the first round."

Oh, yeah.

Oh, yeah.

you wanna take some fan questions?

You wanna do that?

Yeah, let's take a couple.

Do that, and then we can talk about, we can preview the second round a little bit here, which is gonna start in, what is it?

When, when's it actually start today, 7?

7:00 PM?

7:00, I believe.

Yeah.

Okay, so 7:00 PM.

So in, it's 11:00 o'clock, so yeah, what is that?

Eight hours?

Seven, eight.

So yeah, eight hours.

rest of the draft, Jets picks 44, 103, 140, 228, 242. this question is, can we go more in-depth on the 44th selection in terms of what I think the Jets will do?

So I, I look at the team right now, and, and what do they need help with?

I would say, I don't know if 44 is gonna be where they go 'cause I don't think the prospect is gonna match the value, especially if the Giants go with McDonald early.

Interior defensive line is a spot I could see the Jets target.

That's something that I think they could beef up just as an eventual replacement for Briggs and Phillips 'cause you're probably gonna need to continue to fortify the middle of Oh, they have Sweat, too, so, but still, I think you still wanna fortify the interior of the defensive line.

cornerback is a big one.

Colton Hood, Terrell, both there.

McCoy, I'd be worried about that long-term, just because you don't know how screwed up the knee is.

In fact, I told you one, one team I had completely took him off the draft board.

But cornerback, I'd keep an eye on.

Safety, I would keep an eye on.

There's value there to be had.

Receiver, I wouldn't rule out as well.

Interior defensive line, too.

So I think those would be spots I'd look pretty early on there, with probably a hedge and lean there, Zach, towards safety and wide receiver.

Or, I'm sorry, safety and corner.

I, I agree with all that, but I, I, I also Like, the, the pick that I think I would be most excited about if I was a Jets fan is actually a linebacker, Jacob Rodriguez from Texas Tech.

I, I just, I think- That's not- I mean, it depends on what you think about Jamie and Sherwood and, you know, whether you wanna keep him and all that stuff, blah, blah, blah.

But I just think-Rodriguez is, like, a, a really good athlete.

He's a great leader, and he forced, like, so many turnovers at Texas Tech last year.

And he ha- he'd have the ability to learn from Demario Davis for a year before taking over as, like, the green dot guy, and it would give you the ability to trade Jamie and Sherwood if you want to.

And so I really like that idea.

As you mentioned, like, corners, like, I don't think Colton Hood will get to 44, but I think they'd have a hard time passing him up if he's there.

You mentioned Caden McDonald.

I doubt he would make it that far.

Interior offensive line, you know, Emmanuel Pregnon, Chase Besantes are the two big guys there.

and then like you said, receiver, like, there's still some really intriguing receivers.

Like, if Denzel Boston keeps falling or Jeremy Bernard or something like that, like, I could see those.

But I My, my choice would be linebacker, but my prediction would be defensive back, I would say.

I'm r- I'm right there with you.

I think e- especially with the way that the first round has fallen- Yeah I, there are some really good players.

I mean, there was a lot of buzz about Colton Hood potentially going top 20.

Like, it was a bit of a surprise that, that he slipped into the second round.

Same thing with AB.

I, I think unfortunately is after, after Delane, there, there was a drop-off between It was gonna be McCoy, but then McCoy's injury scared some teams off.

But, there's also opportunities here for the Jets where if they wanna move up into the second round, like move up a few picks or m- move up a few selections just to make sure that they get their guy, I think that's certainly a, a possibility for them of what they wanna do.

what about this one, Zach?

This one's a, a question from YouTube, from, Bun- Bun- Buntero?

Buntero23.

which is, "What about the possibilities or prospects of moving down from 44 to take a late third- Yeah or early fourth?"

I think that if that were to happen, Darren Moogey should hand in his resignation letter- and that should never happen.

I think that their option should be to move up to 34 and then call it a day.

Would be No, I'm just kidding.

And, and, yeah.

That's obviously- And do the- totally something and then do their press conference immediately.

Yeah.

Yeah.

And then tell, and then say, "Oh, by the way..." Actually, yeah, trade all of their, all of their day three picks to move up, like, 10 spots in the second round, and then make your selection.

No.

I, I think this will be something that the Jets explore.

I, I do.

I, I, I don't think that- Yeah this draft is one that's particularly rich in terms of talent, so it's not like you're, like, jumping at the bits to go get certain guys.

It's almost like there's a lot of solid players and NFL players in this class, but not necessarily great ones.

So you This is a good Second round, third round, fourth round, this is a really good opportunity for you to get your depth, so that if something happens to Garrett Wilson, you feel like you're pretty comfortable to, to turn to this guy.

This is a situation where if something happens to, Brandon Stevens, you got a corner that can move up.

Something happens to McFitzpatrick, you gotta say Like, find your depth that's gonna improve your special teams and make you a more well-rounded team, and you do that with more swings than less, and I think it is something the Jets will explore.

Yeah.

I mean, I, I think it makes s- I mean, they, like, like we mentioned, they lost their fifth round pick in that other trade.

they have two sevenths.

They have the two fourths.

yeah, I think there's some logic to trading back, but I, I also, as you mentioned, like, i- if there's a prospect you really like, I also am not opposed to trading up and giving up one of those fourths if you have to.

Like, I- Yeah like, just add the best possible players.

Like, next year's the year where you're gonna have a million draft picks.

I think there's not a lot of, like, starting slots on the roster right now, even if, like, the depth is pretty bad at a lot of spots.

So I, I'm just curious, like, I The interesting thing to me about day two is we're g- you're gonna find out, like, how they feel about certain guys on the roster right now.

Yeah.

Like, so if they draft a guard at 44, that tells you, like, maybe they're not gonna start Josh Myers or Dylan Parham potentially.

Like, if they draft a safety, maybe that means they don't like, I don't know, like Dane Belton as much as you would think.

If they draft a corner- Yeah Izzy Thomas.

Like, you can attach, like, a, a, a rook- a rookie to a guy on the roster and be like, "Okay, this, this tells me that maybe they're not as high on this other guy as we thought."

So that, that's gonna be the fascinating part for me, like, the, the depth chart and, and what it says about who the, what they think about the guys on the roster right now.

this one comes from Brian Sternback, which is, should the, should fans assume that the Jets are done with the starting components of the offensive line and defensive line?

I should've looped this one actually in when we were talking about this, Zach.

I don't think they're done at guard.

I mean, if, if the right interior offensive lineman falls to them, I could see that being the pick as well.

I, I think that's a selection for them- Yeah where they could find somebody.

And this, the second round's a great spot for a guard, and I don't Look, My- Myers had a, had a better than expected season last year.

When you look at him analytically, it still wasn't a very good year, and I still think that Joe Titman's best future in the NFL is at center.

He's an okay guard, better at center.

Like ABT, great g- great guard, okay tackle, one of those things.

I, I think that you are I Look, if they had to go play a f- this is a, a Joe Shane comment, but, like, if they had to go play a football game tomorrow, the Jets could.

That's, that's a big thing for Darren Moogey, and that's a, that's a testament to both Moogey and Glenn, is that they are in a position right now where if they had to go play a football game, they can.

And because of that And I, I don't think they'd be an awful football team either if they had to go f- play a football game tomorrow.

Not great- Yeah but I don't think they'd be awful.

Now you can truly let the board fall where it does, where you can find situations where, say, the right offensive guard falls to you, you can improve the guard position, and suddenly you got a better guard.

If the right corner falls to you, you can improve the corner position.

If the right defensive, interior defensive lineman fa- I think they're done at defensive end, but if the right interior defensive lineman falls, you can take the interior defensive lineman.

Like, you can do those things now because of the way the roster's currently constructed.

Yeah.

Yeah, I, they have a lot of, they have a lot of flexibility with this pick, I would say.

And so they, they still can go with the best player on the board because, as you've said over and over, like, if you look across the roster, especially on defense, you don't have a lot of guys that you're like, "This guy's gonna be here in 2028," I would say.

So- Yeah get the best guy on the board.

Other than offensive tackle, like, you could say almost any other position.

There's not gonna be a quarterback that's the best player on the board, so you eliminate those two spots, and tight end.

And, you know, that leaves you with, you could potentially get a good receiver, offensive lineman, defensive lineman, linebacker, safety, blah, blah, blah.

Yeah.

Like, I think they're in a good spot if they stay at 44.

All right, we see these questions here.

James Walsh, and these are the last three we're gonna take.

James, James Walsh, Charleston, Jets Rebel, and then Jake Brown.

or actually, sorry, not Jake Brown.

Jake's got a Brees Hall question, so we're gonna take that one.

But, it's, it's quarterback questions.

So the, the big guys that are left is you got Beck, you got Drew Aller, and you got a couple other physical freaks, man.Zach, do you think that the Jets end up adding a quarterback here?

I know somebody asked, I, I think it was yeah, it's James Wallace wanting to know if, if Carson Beck's an option at 44.

I, I, I still believe, based off of everything we've seen from the Jets, that if they're gonna take a quarterback it's gonna be on day three.

Yeah.

And I think if you're looking for the quarterback you wanna take on day three, it's the big-bodied, physical, strong-armed guy that just needs time to develop, that Frank wants to get his hands on to see if he can't turn him into something.

I've been saying it for a while, like, that description reads pretty closely to what Drew Aller is.

And so I think that Drew Aller would be a good option for the Jets, but a good option for the Jets on day three.

I, I don't I, I, I n- I, I don't This isn't reporting, this is just my opinion.

I don't think the Jets should, and nor do I think the Jets will take a quarterback here on day two.

I think that'd be a bad idea.

Unless maybe it's late in the third round, then fine.

So- But, like, not in the second.

So we're Earlier in the week I was I did a story on all the work they'd done on quarterbacks, and I, I found this old art, article where Frank Reich, when he was the Colts coach, laid out, like, the five traits he looks for in quarterbacks.

And so- Ah.

Who wrote that?

Those five traits- Do you remember who wrote that?

I don't want to put he on the spot now.

Zach Keefer, actually.

Zach, Zach Keefer.

Fucking Oh, f- Yeah.

Probably unbelievable.

Zach is the- Yeah, yeah Zach is Real quick.

He's the best.

Zach is the best feature writer in our business.

Like, like, he- He's good.

I know he's covering the Colts for He is the single best feature writer, I think, in the NFL right now.

Like, Zach's unbelievable.

So as soon as you said his name I was like, oh, Z- Z- Actually, send me the link when we're off here.

I, I wanna read that.

Yeah, yeah.

I will.

but so he, he said, number one, toughness, mental and physical.

Number two, he had what he called accelerated vision, which is his wording for how fast do you think on your feet.

Number three was accuracy.

You have, you know, fitting in the tight windows.

Number four was footwork.

You have to look at the feet.

Most sports are played from the ground up, blah, blah, blah.

And intangibles was, like, the leadership, are you a playmaker in big moments.

Like- Yeah he's not mentioning the size there.

Maybe not Drew Aller.

I know there's a history of Yeah, that's what So that's kind of like the, the- Maybe not Drew Aller one of the conclusions.

Like- What Yeah, 'cause, it's funny, 'cause I went through and, you know, I don't watch these guys as closely as, like, Dane Brugler, so I looked at what he said.

And, let's see.

He, he fell short in Reich's categories included.

He wrote that he had messy footwork, streaky ball placement, inconsistent rhythm, and that he sabotages himself with late decision-making.

But I, I bring that up because it actually made me think, like, man, like Garrett Nussmeier actually makes a lot If, like, you've removed the size part of it, 'cause he is undersized.

Yeah.

But Garrett Nussmeier, he's tough, he's competitive.

He has really good accuracy.

He's kind of a gunslinger.

He can fit into tight windows.

It gets him into trouble sometimes- Yeah 'cause then he tries to do that all the time.

he's got really good intangibles.

his He's really quick.

He throws He threw a 2.48 seconds average time to throw.

like I He fits pretty well in those five categories.

So, like, I, I'm And they did work him out privately.

We don't know what they thought about it.

We don't know what they think about any of these guys technically.

We just know, like, which guys they did private workouts with and things like that, so- Well, it's the ones they cancel they draft that's kind of Yeah.

Yeah, yeah.

That, that got, that got my antenna up, though, is what I'm saying.

So, like, I, I don't know that Nussmeier will be there.

You don't pick him in the second round unless you love him.

If he's there in the fourth round at the top, like, I don't know.

I'm, I'm intrigued by him as a prospect.

He was a guy that was supposed to be a first-rounder a year ago.

Yeah.

He's had some injury stuff as well.

At that point you're gonna get a flawed quarterback, and so I like the idea of him as a developmental backup.

And I, I don't hate- Yes the idea of Aller just because he has the traits.

Like, he physically looks the part athletically.

He has the arm strength.

I just think Nussmeier's probably a better quarterback today than, than Aller is.

The other part of this, too, that wasn't in Frank Reich's system i- is the, it's the or the list that Zach, that Zach made is and it's probably the most important thing that he's looking for a quarterback is which one will frustrate our producer Jeff Goldman the most.

And I think that's the one where, like, you add Drew Aller into the I mean, that's gonna tilt every- I know footwork's important and accuracy, too, but, like, that's the one that- Yeah kind of is circled, bolded, and underlined a few times.

So that's why I still think it's gonna be Aller.

But, no, actually, that's a great find, Zach.

That really is a good find.

And, and shout out Zach, I mean, Keefer.

Like, he's- a un- unbelievable writer.

So, like, I Truly.

Like, he writes things, dude.

He's one of those people where I You and I talked about this before.

Like, I forget what, what story you wrote.

I texted you about it.

It was, it was one of the ones recent- like, within the last two or three months.

And I said, like, any time you read- He, he had that Gruden one we're all competitive.

He had that Gruden one- Yeah that blew up.

Yeah.

But, like, any time you write anything, like, in this field, 'cause we're all in it, we're all competitive.

We love each other, but we're competitive.

Like, you wr- you read something, and like I'll read something you write, or somebody else writes, and you're like, "It's a good story.

I love it, but, like, I could've I feel like I could've written it better.

I had a similar angle.

I could've done this, too."

Like, it's You just com- you naturally compare yourself to what you're writing.

Remember I told you about this the other day.

Like, you wrote something the other day, and it pissed me off so much.

It was a few months ago.

And I remember reading it and being like, "Damn, I don't think I could've done that better."

Like- Oh, that, that, that irked me.

Like, it irked me.

Zach is one of those where, like, I try not even to read his stuff, 'cause I'm like, "I can't write like this."

Like, just it's unbelievable.

Like, he is It's, it's, it's so detailed- It's amazing but not overwritten.

Like, it's he's just I, I know this is gonna be a Zach Keefer podcast here, but, like, yeah, it's He's, he's unbelievable.

So I highly recommend any Jet fan go look at him, 'cause he's r- truly one of the best in our business.

real quick here before we wrap up, Zach, I'm gonna run through the best available players.

This is, I believe it's per Adam Schefter right now of the best player available just considered across the NFL.

And then I'll go through real quick if any of them jump out to you.

Obviously, the Jets are picking 12th overall here in the second round.

wide receiver Denzel Boston, edge Zion Young, linebacker C.J.

Allen, Jermaine McCoy.

Again, asterisk there because of his knee issue.

I heard he might fall away to the third round.

Avian Terrell, Emmanuel McNeil-Warren, Colten Hood, I know the Jets have done a lot of work on him.

Kayden McDonald, keep an eye on him for the New York Giants.

Cassius Howell, T.J. Parker, Emmanuel Pregnon, Jake Golday, and Christian Miller.

anybody there that particularly stands out to you?

I would say I mean, the, the s- the safety Emmanuel McNeil-Warren is intriguing to me.

Yeah.

Like, I think he was someone who, people thought would go in the first round.

If- Yeah it, it just depends on what the J- I, I don't think the Jets necessarily feel like they need another safety, 'cause they traded for Minkah- Mm-hmm signed Dame Belton, brought back Andre Cisco, and don't forget about Malachi Moore, who- Yes Aaron Glenn really likes.

So that is four safeties, but, he's a really talented, tall, play-making safety.

So, it's a good value if he fell to 44.

I...Well, no, it's not gonna happen.

I was like, ah, what would you feel like if they just still, if they, if like for whatever reason Denzel's there and they take him, they go Boston and God, that, God take that to turn Giants fans on.

That'd be, that'd be fun.

Yeah.

It would be fun.

It'd be fun.

It's almost like I was, I was joking with my, my boss.

I was in, I was in studio yesterday.

I was talking to him, not a Giants pod, but I said, I was like, "Man, if the Giants sign Odell Beckham, like that first week of training camp's gonna be fun."

Like, that is just gonna be- storyline fodder, and page view gold, and videos of, of neighbors, and Beckham, and Jackson, and ah, it's g- it's gonna be a fun one.

But that would be a good one.

I, I, looking at this l- I mean, I like Allen at linebacker.

I like, Colton Hood, like I've said multiple times at corner.

I like those guys as well, and then if you wanted to go with Pragnant to, to get a guard there to shore up as your longterm future, that's, I think that's something I would keep an eye on there.

I know it's a lot of resources to be invested in your offensive line, where it's two first round picks at tackle, theoretically a first round pick at center, and now, or sorry, second round pick at center with Titman and own, a second round pick at guard.

But I don't care, man.

Build the wall so when you get the rookie, you don't have to worry about him getting hurt and getting knocked out of games.

anything you wanna add here, Zach, before we, we wrap this one up?

No.

Yeah, I'm, I'm, I'm curious to see who they pick today, but you know, three rookies.

They're gonna have some press conferences today.

I, I'll be doing Flight Plan again tonight after their picks, after their press conferences and stuff, so it might be another late one.

But appreciate all the sickos who stick around and, and podcast with me, so.

There we go.

Absolutely, dude.

All right, so that's gonna do it for this episode of Jets Final Drive.

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The N- the Knicks are making me more and more depressed by a daily basis, but hey, Ian Begley is gonna try to provide some therapy there on The Putback.

It's Mets season, Yankees season, all that fun stuff, so we've got a ton of clips from Sports Night.

Also, our Jets pr- our Jets draft shows.

You can watch clips from that where I'm breaking it down, Connor Rogers, Bart Scott, Willie Colon, all that fun stuff with Steve Galves, and then Nikki and Chelsea as well.

So, SNY's YouTube p- channel, it is the place to be.

Make sure you guys go there.

As far as Zach and I, make sure you keep following Zach over at The Athletic and on his Twitter.

You can follow me as well.

We're gonna have Jets, Jets, drafts coverage, Giants draft coverage, all of that stuff.

The plan right now, if I'm not mistaken, is to come back to you guys with a complete draft JFD recap show on Monday.

That time is to follow, so we will, keep you guys posted on that.

So, he is Zach Rosenblatt.

I am Connor Hughes.

A huge thank you to our entire production team of Sam Pandell, and Jeff Goldman, and Corey Palmer, and everybody else over at SNY.

Thank you, guys, for hanging out with us, and we will see you on Monday.

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