New York Jets: A Grade
Goals Entering the 2017 NFL Draft: The Jets happen to be in the worst shape of any team in the NFL. Like the 49ers and Browns, they are devoid of talent almost everywhere. However, they lack the cap space to do anything about it outside of the draft. With so many holes on the roster, the Jets need to trade down early and often to acquire as many rosterable players as possible.
2017 NFL Draft Accomplishments: The Jets had to move down early and often, as suggested, and that's exactly what they managed to do. General manager Mike Maccagnan did a masterful job of wheeling and dealing throughout the weekend, acquiring resources on numerous occasions. This was absolutely imperative, as Daniel Jeremiah echoed what I wrote in the goal mock prior to the draft: The Jets, at least prior to the draft, had the worst roster in the NFL.
Not only did the Jets move down many times, but they also picked up some talented players in the process. They began the weekend by selecting two talented safeties, and yes, they needed two. Jamal Adams and Marcus Maye will automatically improve one of the worst secondaries in the NFL. Meanwhle, three offensive weapons were added in ArDarius Stewart, Chad Hansen and Jordan Leggett. They were quality selections, especially Leggett, who was a steal in the fifth round.
I'm sure some will consider this a failure of a draft for the Jets because they didn't acquire a quarterback. However, that was never the plan. Charlie Campbell reported back in January that quarterback was not in play for the Jets because they liked how Christian Hackenberg was progressing behind the scenes. And even if Hackenberg sucks, the 2018 NFL Draft is loaded with better quarterbacks - check out the 2018 NFL Mock Draft for more - so the Jets can just wait to acquire Sam Darnold, Josh Rosen or Josh Allen.
The Jets had a terrific draft overall, as Maccagnan did what he could to upgrade the talent on the roster as many ways as possible. There's still a long way to go, but this was a nice start.
