Hey, Jets fans, the time is finally upon us. It is draft week throughout the National Football League and here at One Jets Drive to preview what's ahead. We had an opportunity to talk to NFL Networks draft guru Daniel Jeremiah. Nobody knows the draft as well as DJ. And then also Joe Douglas, the Jets football architect who will make the Jets selections next weekend talk to the media here at One Jets Drive and Caroline Hunter shot talk to him.
So we're gonna right now on the pod this week talk to DJ, get his thoughts on the top prospects, and then Caroline is gonna go take a deep dive with Joe Douglas on the Jets football architects pre draft process in the final days the weight it's almost over, DJ, let's start your analysis right now with quarter back out of Appellationian State, Daniel Jeremiah, give me the scoutary report that dude coming out.
Yeah, we're gonna go with fin frame, durability concerns. There's been some injury history there. Decent athlete, you can run around a little bit. Although he's not gonna hold up if he if he plays that recklessly. Arm strength well below average. Uh, there's there's definitely Uh time, tends to be a little aggressive, doesn't have the arm to back that up, gets himself in some trouble that way. But a good kid, you gonna work hard, give you everything he's got. That's that's it.
I love it. So let's fast forward a couple of years to Daniel Jeremiah working in Baltimore with a young Joe Douglas. What was j D like during that time?
Yeah, I mean Joe's I don't know that he's changed much. You know, he's he's always kind of been the same guy, very comfortable in his own skin, well liked by everybody, worked really really hard for h you know, I go back to just the days where we play basketball together. So he's uh, very you know, very competitive, but not gonna say a lot. I'm gonna just play real physical and tough. But yeah, no, I don't know that you'll find anybody have a bad word to say about Joe.
It's it's easy.
He's an easy guy to like and an easy guy to root for.
Do you guys keep him at the low blocks? I mean he's only six foot four, but he's got that wide body.
Yeah, he's an offensive rebounder and then he's not gonna take a lot of shots. But you know, if you you know, if you can get him the ball down low, he's you know, he can back you up, thro thro his backside at you, and flip one in every now and then. But he's he's more of a he's he's more of a defensive rebounding guy on the on the court.
Okay, okay, So speaking of rebounding, let's get to the meat and potatoes of it for the Jets at number ten overall, what do you think about the landscape he is facing.
I'm fascinated by it. I think there's a couple of different avenues you could look at there. You know, I did what I called my my chaos mock draft the last time we did it out of semi boredom.
You cause a lot of headlines with that one I did.
I had some fun with that one, but I just thought, you know, if the Chargers want to move out, the Jets are all in, let's try and make a trade here where they can get up and get Marvin Harrison Junior. I don't think they'll be that bold in this draft. With the with the limited picks that they have, I think if you're thinking of, you know, is there a chance that Jets move up at all? I think it would be a maybe a little baby move just to
get ahead of the Chicago Bears. If if somehow at Douneesay was there at that point in time, I think he would make a lot of sense from that standpoint. But outside of that, if they stay where they are, I think you've got a decision coming down to you know, Brock Bauers a tight end versus the you know, the top available offensive tackles, So that to me would kind of frame you know, what direction they want to go and and what they feel their need?
Is there?
How unique of a draft is this at the top, because I your top fifty overall prospects, you have three receivers going two, three, four, and then they afore mentioned Bauers seven.
Yeah, I mean I've got them, you know, rated so highly, and I don't think there's a lot of separation between those three wideouts. So we've got three of the top four players in the draft are wide receivers. I don't know that I've ever had that before, and they're all deserving of being up there, and then it's a you know, there's a drop off after those three guys, but then another wave of wide receivers and it's a good class there. I don't know that I remember as offensive heavy top
of the draft as we have. I mean literally, you can go through the top ten and just use three positions and go, Okay, we're just gonna shop for quarterbacks, tackles, and receivers and we can fill out the entire top ten of the draft and you wouldn't be really a reach on anybody.
Most likely scenario for the Jets though, you think Marvin Harrison and Malik Neighbors gone by the time we get to seven eight ish, because you've mentioned the possibility of a if you are going to move up, maybe roma Doonsday is still on the board and brock Bauers could still be there a ton right.
Yeah, No, I would give Jets fans hope from this standpoint. I remember, you know, the big Draft, the Sauce Gardner Draft, and thinking, Okay, you've got Garrett Wilson and Sauce Gardner, like that's a tough That's a tough one for me. I think that was like my third and fourth ranked players or something like that.
And then I.
Thought, there's no way Garrett Wilson gets to them at that point in time, after after Sauce, and I'm like, holy crap, like that all just kind of it all just worked out. It just all magically worked out. So I'm sitting there going, there's no way Rome gets there. He's the perfect fit. Like, if you ask me who is the perfect player to fit in with this group that they have, it would be him because Mike Williams can Now you don't have to rush him back when
he gets back. You have Garrett and Rome can play inside if you want him to. So you get some interchangeable parts there, and now you've got some real depth at that position, which you didn't have last year. So that, to me is the home run pick. And I didn't I don't see that that could happen. But I also didn't envision, you know, that that draft went the way that it did. I didn't envision Brice Hall was going
to be there in the second round. I didn't envision, you know, that you'd get the best pass thresher in the draft down there in the twenties. It just that one fell for him. So I'm not going to rule out the chance that maybe this is the second version of that and somehow Dounsday's there at ten.
If Rome's the home run pick, I'm going to put you on the spot. These love baseball. We know the Padres are your team. Give me the triple, the double, and the single for the Jets, because one thing that's caught my year the way you've been talking about the tackles is you said you wake up every day feeling a little bit differently about each of the top five tackles.
Yeah, and not that I fall out of love with any of them, just I appreciate the strengths of different guys in what they do. Like a great example, if you told me that they got you know, either Bowers as the tight end, or you said they got Fatanu from Washington or they got Fuaga from Oregon State, I would be equally excited with any of those three picks. And they all are distinctly different guys with different strengths to me, like Fatanu with his ability to play basically
any of the five positions. We all know the injury history the Jets have had on this offensive line. We know that they've added two thirty three year old tackles. Having a guy that can that can move around wherever you need him to combined with vera Tucker who can move around wherever you need him to play, that provides you a tremendous, tremendous asset there. And then you talk about Fuaga. You know you can play you know, right tackle,
can play guard. There's some there's some versatility there as well. I don't think he's quite as versatile as Fatano, but again, somebody who you know, he brings something specific to the table. So I think the Jets are in a great spot with what they need and the directions that they can go, you know, whether it's receiver, tight end, offensive line. I think they're in a great position to really help their offense here.
You've spoken about eleven, twelve, thirteen, that each of those teams could be interested in quarterbacks. Any possibility there not for that slight move up, but a slight move back for the Jets.
Yeah, I would be all for it. You know that, you know, get some extra picks here, slide back a few spots. It is a you know, you have to be comfortable with several of these tackles, which I you know I could talk myself into it, so yeah, I don't.
I don't.
I you're trying to convince the you know, the Raiders or the Broncos to get ahead of the Minnesota Vikings. You know, if you're the Jets and you're a Jets fan, you're hoping that you don't see the trade up for the you know, for the quarterback too early there, because that could you could have some value to be able to move back on the other side of that coin. If people moving up for quarterbacks, maybe that's pushing down you know, the dunesday scenario that falls into your lap.
So you can look at this each each way. Here, I just know whether they whether they stay where they are, maybe slightly move up a little bit for one player, or slightly move back. I think it's their position really really well for what they need to get accomplished.
How much do you like the depth in this wide receiver class? Because if the Jets don't go wide out round one, Yeah, what options could be there on the board in three that would make a lot of sense for this team.
Yeah, I mean, everybody's gonna have these guys in different order. For me, I'm a Malachi Corley fan. I like him a lot from Western Kentucky's great after the catch, just so physical and so tough. I think that's probably the sweet spot of where he goes. Roman Wilson's another one out of Michigan who's got some real juice, some real speed and can kind of play in there in the slot. So those would be a couple guys who would be
intriguing to me. I think at the beginning of process you has said Ricky Piersall would be a great third round pick. I think he's run his way out of that. He's run his way into the second round, so I think he'll be long gone at that point in time.
Developmental quarterback if the Jets go in that direction on Day three or some names that you.
Like, Yeah, Rattler's the one I would say would be the top one out of South Carolina. You know, there's obviously a lot of ability. There is big time recruit going into Oklahoma. You got better at South Carolina last couple of years. All the stuff you hear there has been positive in terms of the leadership, character, maturity.
All that.
So that would be the first one, and then I would say Leary would be the next one out of Kentucky, former NC state quarterback. I think there's something to work with there. But those would be the two guys. Pratt is the one that gets mentioned as, you know, as kind of someone that's intriguing. So that would be the order that I would have him. I would have it Spencer Rattler, I would have it Leary, then I'd have it Pratt DJ.
Where's the best stup going to be found there on day three?
In terms of value, Yeah, I think corners, you know, I think there's you know, corners. Uh, look, if you just go in the in the seventh round and you haven't watched any of these players and just went up to the board and grabbed every six foot corner that ran low four four, just grab them and be like, okay, well just pick we're gonna get one of these guys.
And just they're lottery tickets, you know, just just take those lottery tickets and and and every now and then you're gonna hit on one worst case scenario, you've got a practice squad kid you can work with and develop. But to me, at that point in the draft, you're just gambling on traits.
Speaking of trades, how about the running back position. The Jets drafted is Yobana Khana last year. They have one of the best backs in the National Football League in Preset Hall. But if they're going to add to the stable there on day three, you got a pair of fourth round selections obviously, Yeah, yeah.
I can give you a couple.
To me.
I think there's like, if you're looking for complimentary pieces, there's there's a couple of different ways you can go here. I really like Ray Davis is kind of a you know, as a physical back. He's five a's two hundred and eleven pounds, but he's run really really hard. Out of Kentucky. He would be kind of in that vein, in that mode. I like Isaac Garrindo from Louisville. He ran his butt off.
He ran the low four threes. I don't think he's the most elusive guy in the world, but he's got some size and some real speed, you know, to break away and do things there. My late one that I just watched the other day who I really liked was Blake Watson from Memphis. I mean he's he's five nine and a half, two hundred pounds. He ran four to
four flat. He was an old dominion transfer who has got tons of production at Memphis, running the ball, catching the ball, he's got explosives, he worked out well, didn't get invited to comb I have no idea why, but to me, that's Memphis has been a running back factory and this guy's got excellent production. So that, to me is one that I had circled there on Day three.
And you mentioned at the beginning of your conference call with the national media media that bottom line when you're looking at headlines for this draft offense, offense, offense. So you think that, hey, when we're done in Detroit April twenty seventh, and you're an NFL network, you're talking about that theme being the prevailing one coming out of the Motor City.
I think so it is. It's a league with a lot of young quarterbacks right now, and it's a league that's going to welcome in a handful more in this draft, and I think you're going to see this draft as one to serve those young quarterbacks, and you know it's something that's a priority for these teams, and it just happens to be what the draft class has given us.
Let's end here. You've been calling the games of the Chargers, Mike Williams, What do the Jets have in this new receiver and how excited are you to see him get paired up with the future Hall of Famer here in Aaron Rodgers.
Yeah, he is. I'll full honesty, and six years of doing the Chargers, there's not a player that I've been around that I enjoyed more than Mike Williams. I could put him right up there is my favorite.
He is.
He is the best dude who everybody in the building is gonna know and love, who's never had a bad day. So you start first of all with the person. He's an energy giver. Everybody's gonna love being around him. As a player, he found ways and the big games the Chargers have been in the last six years and big wins. He had a major part of it. He loves the big stage, he loves big moments. He's as good as fifty to fifty ball catch guy as I've ever ever
been around. He's outstanding there and has kind of a he has a little flair for the dramatics. So I think with the Jets with Aaron Rodgers, with a lot on the line, New York, the attention, big games primetime. I think this is kind of made for Mike Williams.
Jill welcome into the studio. But first and foremost, there's a lot going on this week. Aaron Rodgers and the guys are back for the offseason program and draft is next week. What's the most exciting time for you about this period of time?
Yeah, I think I think a rams up once the players get back, you know, and you see the small faces, you see the guys dapping each other up and having fun on the field, and you know they're just the energy changes, you know, and and everything ramps up, and you know it's draft time shortly after that. So but we've had some great meetings leading up to this week and a lot of hard work by our coaches, our scouts, analytics,
football add and everybody operations. And it's really god iss to this point where we're ready to ready to attack this draft next week.
What is this pre draft process like for you and your team?
It's it's it's hectic, it's busy.
You know.
We we wrapped up our we're allowed to bring thirty pre draft visits in players to visit, and we want to make that a comprehensive visit. So these players can can touch every department in our building and for every department to have an opinion on them, so that in and of.
Itself, it's it's it's a cool problem.
And you get to know these guys, spend a little time with them, and along with the meetings that you have with the coaching staff, and then we get into our strategy meetings and we start going over every single scenario leading up to the draft. So it's busy, but it's fun. A lot of good, good discussions and getting to know the players and.
Connect with them.
Now, you started your career as a scout, So what is this whole process like for the scouts and how much work do they have to do going into this?
So the process like this is like this is their super Bowl. You know this is this is a.
Scout super bowl because you've been you've been working for this moment ever since May of twenty twenty three. You've been You've flipped the page on last year's draft and you start working on this year's draft, and it's just it's such a it's all it's a consuming thing. You're crisscrossing the country. You know, you're gone one hundred and eighty days out of the year, and you are taught
so many different Every day is different. You're talking to different coaches every day, You're seeing how different programs will run every day, and you're getting such quality information. And then you have to have conviction on the guys that you really love and the guys you feel are going to come in here and stand for the right things and help the Jets win a Super Bowl. And so it is. It's a really special, special day, special weekend for the scouts.
Now, I know the roster is never complete and you're about to add to it with the draft, But what do you think about your roster at this point in time.
Well, I think there's a lot of depth, and I think we have dynamic playmakers on both sides of the ball. So and now it's just about coming together as a team as a team and doing our thing. But I feel like we're in a good position to have great flexibility as we go through the weekend with the draft.
How did free agency impact how you're approaching the draft and your draft strategy.
Well, free agency definitely impact it because what you don't want is you don't want a ton of glaring holes on your roster leading into the draft, so teams can lock in on you needing a specific position and training in front of you to try to get someone that they might like that they think you're going to draft. So I feel like we're going into this draft without any glaring holes or weaknesses on the roster that teams might look to try to get in front of us.
For What do you like about the position of being at number ten and then having seven total picks.
Yeah, we're in a good position.
I feel like we're ready for anything. You know.
If a lot of quarterbacks go, you know, that's great. If not a lot of quarterbacks grow, we're still going to be just fine. And a lot of discussions that we've had over the last couple of weeks where we want to make Friday, Thursday, Friday Saturday just almost.
Surgical, you know, just we know what we're doing.
We've had all these discussions, We've talked about every single scenario. Now we're letting the board follow us and we're just executing.
How do you prepare for all of those different scenarios? What does that really look like for you and the team.
Yeah, we get in a room and we hash out every single scenario that can happen, and you know these players are here, what are you doing? You got to move up? Would you consider moving back? How far would you be back? So we have so we have all these discussions leading up and then you know, we kind of create our game plan and we just we have our list of guys and we just go down the list and it's just just execute.
Now, you've put in so much work to get to this point. What happens in the final few days leading up to the draft? Is it pretty much nothing happens? Or are you working up until that last second?
I think in terms of evaluations, pretty much the Hayes and the barn you're just working the last second, talking to talking to teams about possible trade scenarios. You know, you're having conversations with agents. You know, you just there's conversations. But in terms of the actual player evaluations, those are pretty much gone. Now we're just talking about draft DA scenarios.
Now. What do you think about having the last pick in the draft mister Irrelevant this year?
Yeah? I love it.
I've never I've never been part of a team that's had mister Irrelevant, So I'm actually looking forward to it. And obviously there's it's still it's gonna be a great opportunity to at a player that we think can help us long term.
So I'm excited about that.
And lastly, why is the undrafted free agent process so important to you guys after the draft?
Oh?
Yeah, I mean that that really is the cherry on top. I mean, because that's where you really make your hay is finding finding undrafted free agents that can make your team.
I mean, that's that's a that's a special thing.
And the last few years we've had our our our staff, our college scouting staff, our pro scouting staff, and our coaches have done a really good job of recruiting these guys here after the draft. And you know, we've had guys that come in and really help us, you know, Bryce Hoffs and Xavier Gibson and Jason brown Wied. So when you have a guy that's an undrafted free agent that makes your team, it's it's it's always a special thing.
Awesome, Joe, appreciate the time.
Thank you.