LISTEN | Jets Draft Podcast | Mike Tannenbaum on the Jets Draft (4/20)

sixteen years with the Jets, seven years as GM. Remember the last time the Jets were in the playoffs two thousand nine, two ten, they came a fraction away from actually going to the Super Bowl in Dallas. Would were not able to complete that comeback against the Pittsburgh Steelers, But that was a hell of a team, that two thousand ten team who took down Peyton Manning in his place, then Tom Brady in his place, and I thought it

was gonna be a historical run. Well, I think a lot of Jets fans were hoping that it would be historical when that team was a lot of fun to watch too. Brian Baldinger just put out a breakdown of the OH nine Jets, focusing on the offensive line. Thomas Jones, Seawan Green Leon Washington, who of course is now back in the building as an assistant special teams coach. And you know, it's fascinating to see how good that team was.

And I think Mike offered great perspective of bringing in a rookie quarterback, which a lot of people are expecting the Jets to do in just a couple of weeks here in April's draft. Happen and even Joe Douglas alright, it's happening. So anyway, Um, Mike has great inside because he's been in the war room. We've talked about a lot of things, you know, when do you discuss trading up and what types of players do you want to surround your rookie quarterback with? And he was great, really,

and you know, I don't want to spoil anything. So with that being said, let's hear from Mike Tannenbaum. I heard you on the radio the other day. You said that Zack Wilson you believe is the right pick for the Jets at two. Can you elaborate on why you believe that and what does Zach Wilson now bring to the table and what you could expect from him as a rookie I like him a lot. I think he makes a lot of throws that you see traditionally from the pocket. Um, but I think what really separates him

is his ability to make plays outside the pocket. And I think his accuracy down the field is really something that is unusual. And I think when you look at the characteristics of these top five quarterbacks, what separates him in my mind to clearly make him the second best quarterback is that downfield accuracy. Do you think it's clear cut for the Jets right now that he is the guy at number two because this quarterback class appears pretty talented at the top. Yeah, I mean, I surely don't know,

but um, it certainly seems that way. And uh for me again, I think it's trivial on straw lines. Zach Wilson draw line, and that I think is really interesting conversation amongst the next three. And then after that, I think there's a big line to see who the sixth

best quarterback is in this draft. You know, with the Jets having five picks in the first three rounds and a lot of people anticipate Joe Douglass to add either playmakers or protection for Zach Wilson, assuming he's the number two overall pick in your opinion, Mike, what is the more important play there if the Jets were to add you know, if they had a choice of a playmaker or a protector at twenty three and thirty four and

so on. Yeah, I think it's offensive line, offensive line and offensive line after that, because if you can't protect him, nothing else matters. And when I had the privilege of being the Jets GM, my first draft was OH six and our first two picks were the britishaw Ferguson and Nick Mangold, and they were the foundation for a lot of great teams that we had, and a lot of

that was in the formulive years of my career. I just saw in two thousand and five we had lost two quarterbacks and seven snaps between Chat Payton and j Feeler. And when I was promoted to GM, I just we there were some other really good players that draft running Davis Redney Bush. And my point was very simple, like, which is, if you can't protect a quarterback, nothing else matter. You can't went on the road, you can't handle crowd noise, you can't run the ball, and they know you're gonna

run it. So unless your offensive line is fortified, everything else really doesn't matter. You could run four to four one on the outside, but if your quarterback can't step up in a firm pocket, if they can't move people off the ball when you need a yard or two, it's really really hard to win consistently in our league. You moved up a couple of times in two thousand nine, of course, to draft Mark Sanchez. What changes for the

entire organization when you take a quarterback in the top five. Yeah, you know, and we'll see obviously presumptively it will be Zach Wilson for the Jets. And I think what Joe Dumbans would be doing there with some of what we did in OH nine, which is, you know, you tie a head coach and a quarterback together. In our k so it was Rex Ryan Mark Sanchez, and you know, we were fortunate to have success early on with them.

And you know, I think from a front office ownership standpoint is, you know, if you can tie a head coach and a quarterback together much the way Robert salom and again, assuming it's gonna be Zach Wilson, you know you want them to grow together, and that's gonna be

you know, the face of your franchise. So when you can accomplished that and they're both rookies at the same time, I think that's great because they're gonna grow together, they're gonna make mistakes together, they're gonna fumble out of press conference together. There's a lot that they'll go through together, and ultimately that just brings them closer together. Um, and that's really what you want. Um. There's a lot of things that happened, especially when you have these jobs in

New York. It's it's gonna be times ten. When it's good, it's gonna be really good. You know, when you lose a game or miss a time out or whatever it may be, it's gonna be really bad. And those scars and life experiences, unless you actually live it, it's really hard to explain. But to be able to have a partner in a meaningful way that's you in sort of like the same place in your career is meaningful and

in my opinion, ultimately productive. How unique is this place New York, in this organization because when you took Sanchez, of course he was coming out of USC and you're under the spotlight at USC. But it's different coming to New York. If the Jets do indeed take Wilson, here's a kid who grew up in Utah and he's coming to the bright lights of the big city. Yeah, New

York soft for everybody. I was born there, grew up in Boston, and you know, I'm a Northeast person through and through, and I guess it was just something that I was used to and expected. But you know, when you speak to people around the league, Um, some people love New York. They embrace it, they could, they love to stay there. They love the Northeast. And for others, it's just not for them. So there is you know, Eric, it's a really good point. You just don't know how

that's gonna go. And you know where the facility is and being in that part of the country in Mars County, like, there's a lot more options that people perceive it to be. UM, but there's no doubt, like Zach Wilson, coming from Provo, Utah to New York City is gonna be a big, big difference. What kind of challenges do you think that the front office had going through not only evaluating quarterbacks

but every position. Not being able to sit down and talk to prospects as opposed to what it's been like this draft process, where it's mostly through zoom or solely through zoom except for maybe an in person hello at certain pro days. Yeah, everyone's deal with that. We speak to people around the league that it's just it's difficult. And you know, you hear some people talk about, you know, the same pick next year is more valuable than the

same pick this year for that same reason. So it's just different and you you have to make the best of it. And um, everyone's dealing with the same challenges, you know, for being part of the that that's part of the process. I love sitting down just hearing people's stories and hearing their dreams, and you know their insecurities and their fears, and you know what they're trying to accomplish and who they're trying to accomplish it for. And

you're certainly getting some of that through the zooms. But it's just not the same. You just do the best you Ken. I want to ask you about the trade route. In seven seasons the GM of the Jets, you made eighteen trades that dealt away twenty eight draft choices and eight players on the other side of the coin, you acquired fourteen draft choices and five players. What did you enjoy most about that um direction in order that you

used to help your team? Geez, I can't believe you made some intern do all that research or I don't know how those trades worked out, you know, Yeah, a lot of those trades did work out. Yeah, some of them didn't. The you know, those are the ones that, uh, you'll probably keep up, you know, up at night. I know for me, like, look, I was raising this business by a couple of Hall of famers and Coach Parcels and Belcheck, and if I took one thing for them, it was it was a mindset which was scour just

hour every day. You Vinnie test already gets cut by the Baltimore Ravens in June, and we have a young quarterback in Glenn Foley that we really like. And Coach Parcels felt like, hey, you know, Vinnie testa very body give us a better chance to win. Or let's addam we go the ah Chantonship game that year with Nnie Testaverdy. So it was really just more of a mindset, Hey

let's go get you know, a practice squad player. You never know where it's gonna lead to you know, it's it's like we signed a guy one time, Austin Howard, a former tight end, sign him off for practice squad because our propersonal department really liked them. And those are things like you're as proud of as much as training up for Darrell Rievers or David Howard. Excuse me, David Harris. It just it's a mindset of just always trying to

get better and when those opportunities come along. And as relates to draft day trades, you just you never know, um, what's gonna happen. Look at Miami, you know we're sitting there. The number one player on our board in Steen was Laramie Tunsel. We had a very good left tackle in a guy named Brandon Albert, and you guys saw what happened. You know, Lara Vi Tulsa was a good person. There was a video out and we got what we felt was the best player in the draft in with the

thirteenth pick. So you just never know. And draft a trades, it's fun, it's exciting, it's nerve wracking, and you sit there with your head coach, your owner, um, and sometimes you have to make decisions really really fast. What about the decision looking back on it, because I know a lot of people are hoping that Carl Lawson provides that kind of speed and explosiveness off the edge that John

Abraham did. What went into the thinking there of you getting rid of an edge rusher, But on the turn you get a guy who is one of the franchise is top centers. He becomes one of the top centers

in the National Football League. Nick Mangle, Yeah, it's funny you mentioned that, Eric, because one of the things that's a lot of fun about what I do now is we're on Get Up and we're trying to figure out We're in a production meeting and we're kind of spitballing ideas about well, you know, could Sam Donald wind up in Seattle? And you know, how does Russell Wilson get to Chicago? And I'm like, you just do a three way trade? And they're like, oh, you can't do a

three way trade. I'm like, well, I actually did one. And that was something that I was really proud of. You know. John Abraham was a guy we just felt like we couldn't extend at the time, and Atlanta wanted him badly, and we weren't gonna do without a first round pick, so they got Denver involved, to their credit, and we did a three way trade and it doesn't happen often, but that was a win win. I think

everyone benefited from that. And you know, for us, there was three players um that we were looking at um at nine and it was just really interesting. It was Marses, Louis D'Angel, Williams and Nick Mangel. I'll never forget this, so they go right before Nick Um. We were very

happy that Nick was there. We take him at twenty nine and we turned the card and I was sort of like relieved, and then I'm thinking myself, like gosh, like we just took two offensive line in the first round, Like I can't imagine people are gonna be excited about that. In the phone rings and it's Ozzy Newsome and Ozzie's like, I just want to know you're the luckiest guy in the NFL right now. I'm like, you know, what are

you talking about? He said at thirteen it was gonna be Nick Mangold or Helodi Nata and it was like fift Collodi Nata, Nickmingle. He's like it was a coin toss in our room. It's like, there's no way you can explain how Nick Mangold could be almost gone at thirteen and then be available at twenty nine. And that's what happens on draft day. Like if if the three of us are having this conversation a month from now, I promise you each one of us would be saying like, Wow,

I can't believe that happened. And you know, I just lived in a couple of times. Larye Tunsil is obviously an example, but you know, so was mcmingole falling to the bottom of the first that draft class in two thousand and six historically good. Yeah, that's an amazing story. I think that leads me to my next question in terms of trades. Let's just say, hypothetically, obviously we know the Jets have ammunition to move up. I'm looking at the thirty third teams draft prospect rankings. I see the

number one interior offensive lineman Elijah Vera Tucker. If he were to slide out a little bit, you know, maybe he's in the team somewhere. At what point does this become a conversation in a war room, Hey, do we want to move up and get this guy? Not necessarily Vera Tucker, but a player that you think is within reach and you want to go up and get that guy. Yeah, well that's a great point. I would be aggressive. You know, Look, Joe Douglas has done a great job of acquiring picks,

go use them. I'm a big believer in, you know, quality of a quantity when you're convicted about a guy. And you know, after Jets we weren't perfect at it, but you know again, players like Derrell Rivas, David Harris, those were guys that in our minds like check every box. And you bring up a guy like Vera Tucker. We were watching him last night and it was interesting, like some people felt like he could play left tackle. Other

study was a guard. But point being is, he's going to be a guy that should be a ten year player, very good athlete, strong, good, low value, flexibility. And if I'm the Jets, and that's been let's be candid an area over the last several years that hasn't been good

for them. It's really been a problem. And for them to get to where they don't want to go, they're gonna have to go on the road to Foxboro, Buffalo, Miami and move some really big defense linemen off the ball, and I think Vara Tucker is one of those guys that ultimately can do that and if you have to give up a third round pick to go do it by all means because he has the requisite heightweight, speed, he has great tape, he's a good kid. And that to me like when you can get foundational pieces like

a Vera Tucker. And I think sometimes this is what happens. You sit there and say, like, well, maybe the value is really a four. But guess what if you give up a third round pick and he's a ten year starting no one's gonna care about that. Do you think about it in terms of the Jets build right now where they're at, they're starting a new Joe Douglas has been on the job not even two calendar years. This

will be the second draft. Obviously you just hired Robert Salo, But do you think about it, you know, a long term perspective as well with these twenty one draft picks over the next two years, because you got the ten picks this year, but you do have two first round picks next year, two twos next year. I mean you're loaded up. You got five picks in the first three rounds. So what does he have to do, Joe, not just this spring, but over the course of the next couple

of drafts. It's fortifying the lines. I just believe in that. I've seen it. You see the teams that way consistently. We go back to the Super Bowl. You know, you think about guys like mcole Hardman and Tyreek Kill, Travis Kelsey, all the firepower that Kansasy has, they were decimate on

the offensive line, and look, we saw what happened. So until you fortify both lines and can rush the pastor with four players like you look at what Robert Salo came from in San Francisco, and I worked with Chris tick Eric, the defensive line coach in San Francisco, who's fantastic. They were able to get there with four Now they had great depth of their D line and allowed them to move on from DeForest Buckner. They take Javon Kinlaw to replace him. They didn't hit on Salomon Thomas, but

the mindset was there. You can see how they attack the lines. Um. Obviously they resigned Trent Williams, they ampired Alex Back. You know, that's to me, the mindset Eric, you know, to me, it's not about having nine picks next year, eleven picks next year. Look, having multiple first round picks is great, but I would be attacking both lines because that is your foundation. Mike, is there a certain list of qualities at certain gms? Are you particular

look through or look for in the mid rounds? I mean, I'm looking at the fourth round in particular during your time with the Jets, not necessarily as just GM talk about guys like Brad Smith, Leon Washington, carry Rhads, all mid round picks, all good players for the Jets. Are there are certain qualities that you look for when you hit those mid rounds? Yeah, all those good picks are my ideas, just so we could set the reconstrate here. Um now, I would say, you know something that coached

ourselves instilled in me. And we can talk about any of those players, but started with someone like Brad Smith. They need equality to really like start with and and Brad there was a gazillion of them. We were so fortunate again as a human being, as a player, I mean, there's no finer person that you can meet than Brad Smith. But he had incredible production. He was a really good athlete with the ball in his hands, and we felt like there were a lot of jobs he could do.

He had third and fourth down value for us. But it starts with an attribute. It could be quickness, it could be production, it could be sized, but there's got to be something that you can build a foundation and a story from that. Hey, we take this player in the fourth and fifth round. There is a developmental attribute about them. You traded for far if he came in here eight and three at the time that he variance shoulder shoulder injury, shoulder soreness, and the team was not

the same down the stretch, make the coaching change. Then you draft the quarterback. Let's go back to Sanches for a second. Oh nine, has a rookie quarterback ever walked into a better, historically, better historical situation than the way you had set that up? You guys, as far as that roster was concerned with that offensive line, the run game, and the defense. Yeah, it's interesting about that. Like, um, you know, I get the privilege of working with guys

like Damian Woody and Bart Scott. And you talked to d wood and he said, you know, in his opinion, he felt like that oh a team was, you know, our best team, you know, would beat Tennessee. Jeff Fisher jumps out of the helicopter. That really piste off a lot of people and uh, you know down there. Yeah, and look, you never know what will happen if Breth didn't get hurt. That's just part of the game. Um. But it did sort of validate like our belief that we had a really good team and there was a

good foundation there. But it was guys like gaming one again. It goes back to the line we felt like, you need to tackle. He would did not play a lot of tackle the year before in Detroit, and Bill Callahan a ton of credit. You know, we really studied that one carefully because the market was way more than we wanted to pay, and I was concerned from a GM perspective that, gosh, like we're extending on a player that

really doesn't have a ton of experience a tackle. And to Damian's credit, he played exceptionally well, better than what you could have ever expected. Guy is an unbelievable athlete. And you know, to Sanchez's credit, he came in and you know took advantage of the opportunity. You know, I'm you mentioned d would. I'm just curious a lot of this time year. There's a lot of projections in terms of draft prospects. Where will this person play at the

next level? If you play tackle, is you're gonna kick inside? And you know, through all different positions. So in terms of the old line in particular, how difficult is a positional jump from the college level to the pro level if you have minor experience. Let's say, if you play tackle. I'm thinking of a guy like Keevin Jenkins started a guard and tackle at Oklahoma State. Just how difficult is that switch? And I know it's a player by player determination,

but what is that conversation like behind closed doors? Yeah, you know, it's a great question. You know, context is really important. You know, you take a projection in the third or fourth round, you can live to fight another day. You take a projection in the first round, Like, that's just not smart. And I made some mistakes with that. So, um, you know, jenkings to me, I like him a lot. I like his play tempo. I think he's gonna be a really good professional. Um, but I think where you

take projections is consequential. Yeah, I want you to take her with the big board, Donna Strutch. Here, we're two weeks out from the draft or the time this air is gonna be about one week out from the draft. What happens? What are those final stops for you? Um? You have critics come in and and critique everything you do, like my uh, my fourteen year old just did. Um he had more concerns about my mock draft than anybody.

So uh, you know that to be that's really like a really fun part of the process, guys is breaking ties and usually it's not ties that ever get to the surface. So hey, let's take the three wide receivers we have in the fourth round and really try to separate them. And that to me, you know, I really enjoyed those sort of nuances just to be as prepared as possible because I think what sometimes happens is you

have four thousand reports. And Zach Wilson, I mean we can only talk about his wrist surgery so many times, or how we heard a shoulder, or when he drove back from Provo to go work with John Beck, and I mean there's so much out there about him. It's really a great story in all seriousness. And he worked as a door daft driver and Mother's Day because he could get more tips because of the traffic there was

on that. I mean, he it's a great story. But the point is like at some point, like, Okay, we got Exac Wilson is a great kid, you know his history. Let's spend more time on the lower round picks to make sure that you know we're as thorough um in that part of the draft, because oftentimes, like that's could

be the difference between having great depth or not. Are there any players in this draft that you just like, like they're they're just your guys, whether that's potential first round talent or fifth round talent, just a couple of guys that you really like for any particular reason. Yeah, I mean I think sometimes we overcomplicate things. So you know, tell you guys like Patrick's or Tan, like, in my opinion, if we weren't talking about quarterbacks every ten seconds, it

seems like he's a great player. Like I don't see a hole in his game. I think he's a plug and play player and you need a starting corner. You're the Dallas Cowboys, like, go put him in and in ten years you'll be happy. Um. And I think sometimes like we over complicate things. He's a great player, he's a good person, he has great ball skill, he's a

great time to athlete. He's been coached by Nick Saban like that those are like to me, like, I don't think we've talked about those sort of like situations enough where like those are the players to me that those are foundational bed rock players at a premium position. Quickly, what's the ceiling for Kyle Pitts out of Florida. A lot of people are talking about him attering this draft, how unique a prospect and playmaker he is. So I'm

really fortunate. Um. You know, we started an organization called the thirty third Team, which is a lot of head coaches and gms, and we spend a lot a lot of time looking at guys like Kyle Pitts, and it's actually also a great way for us to help others get started. We have really really smart grad students and we put together stuff every week. And you know, so we asked that question to candidly. It was we have great defensive coaches, so John Fox, Wade Phillips, Eric Mingini,

guys that are really experienced in defending proof fences. And you know that they said, Hey, you know, Kyle Pitts, like to a man, was, we're gonna count him as a receiver, Like he's gonna have to prove that he could block. And what I mean by that is, even if he's in line with his hand down at three point stance, he's gonna be covered by a corner or safety.

No one's gonna put a linebacker on Kyle Pitts. And at some point Kyle Pitts is gonna have to move somebody off the ball or cut somebody off on the backside, uh in a meaningful way. Like one of the many reasons Rob Gronkowski is a great player or Hall of Famer was he was a good blocker, and therefore you couldn't cover him with a linebacker, and he was gonna overwhelm you, you know, in terms of capturing the edge.

And I think Pitts is a dynamic player. I like him a lot, but I don't think he's this mismatch that people think he is. From a standpoint of people are going to cover him and defend him like a receiver. And again, like to hear it through the lens of guys like John Fox and coach Vannginie and Wade Phillips like, don't get me wrong, I think he's a great player, but I think there's gonna be answers for him at

our level. Now if you sit there and cover two and let him run right down the middle, Yeah, he's gonna put up some real tremendous highlight plays. But for him to be a great pro, at some point he's gonna have to make a block as a tight end. They're jumping back and forth here, and you've been really

gracious with your time. We appreciate you. Mike, your favorite story as far as you moving up to get to role Reavis, when did you know that, Hey, this guy was not just good, he's ridiculously special and um, can you just talk about the process of the trade itself. Yeah, so, um, you're a guy that had the pro to working with

for a long time. Terry Bradway, Terry was actually at Durrell's pro day, and going back in the number of years Durrell played at pitt it was the old Big East and that year there just weren't very good receivers in the Big East. So the roll was a late declaring jr. So there's just wasn't a lot of information on the period and then when you watch the tape, you just couldn't see him playing against great competition. And Terry called me from the airport in Pittsburgh after Durrell's workout.

He's like, Mike, I'm just telling you, and we needed a corner desperately and Aaron Ross from Texas Leon Hall were the other two corners. We had a first round pick and we felt like we had to come out of this with one of those three players. And he's like, I'm just telling you. This workout was phenomenal. We watched the tape of it and Durrell was the thing that may Durrell really special, guys, was people don't realize how strong he was. But in addition he had his unbelievable workout.

His change of direction was crazy. So now you marry strength and quickness, and now you have a Hall of Famer obviously, and we made what I was able to do on that trade was the night before UM, good friend of mine GM of the then Panthers, Marty Herny, who's out with Washington, I reached an agreement principle with him for us to move up. Um. It was for a second, I think like a fourth round pick, and I think it was elemon spots And basically I'm like, Marty,

we're coming up for one player. And I'm just telling you, like right now, like if we're coming up, here's exactly what I can do. Do not ask me for more on the clock. This is it. He's like, we'll make a deal, but on the clock, don't expect to do it for a lesson that. I'm like, no, we've done a hundred deals. We have a deal. It's one player. If it's done, if he's there, they wanted to move back, we want to move up. So as soon as the third te pick was turned in, I knew Rivas was

a jet because I could trust Marty. The compensation was locked in, and it was like, you know, it was much harder to train for Sanchez than it was for Rivas for for reasons that has to do with lead rules that we could talk about, but the Rivas thing was really locked in the night before. Alright, Mike, as he said, you've been so gracious with your time, I have one five question for you, going back to your

mock draft. You have Zach Wilson that too. We've talked about the importance of offensive line, you have the Jets taking Xavin Collins at twenty three, Why is he the right pick for the Jets at twenty three? And could you give us a name potentially that you like for the Jets at thirty four? Yeah, So, look, mccollins. I love his length, I love his versatility. Um, he's a good athlete. He's a little bit longer. You know, there's a couple of other edge rushers. I like ziz Asulari

from Georgia. I kind of like those athletic types. I think Quitty Pay from Michigan is a great up the field pass rusher. I just think Collins and o Lowry are those three. Those two guys to me have much better movement space. I think I'm really interested to see how coach Sala evolves this defense. I think Collins is a good fit. And again I liked a little bit

of a longer guy there, you know, three y four. Look, I think at some point the Jets can use it back and you know, those guys are kind of clumped up there, like Naji Harris. I don't know if like at the end makes it there, but like Travis at the End from Clemson. What I love about his game, guys is he's a great not good. He's a great pass receiver. So what I like about that is, like, we gotta get Zach Wilson off to a good start. If I'm the Jets, just get him the long handoffs,

like just check the ball down. Let at the end make plays in space. And I think if they could come out with either like Javonte Williams and North Carolina, Naji Harris from Alabama or at the end from Clemson, you know, and they're one of those players are there at the top of the second, I think that would be again through the lens of putting this quarterback in the best position possible to be successful, would be something

to consider. You lad this franchise to a SC championship game appearances after the two thousand nine and two thousand and ten seasons. We talked a little bit about your history today as far as putting a team together just from your view watching it from afar, because you're very much involved football with ESPN and the thirty third team. Uh, do you like the way Joe has gone about trying

to construct this thing? Yeah? Absolutely, I don't you know, I don't think you'd really quible a bunch of what he's done. You know, you certainly can have the discussion of, hey, should we hold on to Sam Donald and pair him with Zach Wilson. You you can certainly say, hey, we're not gonna play Zack Wilson and you're one much of the way Mahomes didn't, or going back a wild Chad Pennington sat for two years behind viding Testimy and not

really worked out well. It just seems like in this day and age, rookie quarterbacks are just being put on the field. You know, we saw that with Joe Burrow obviously with two uh Justin Herbert played early last year. Um so, but beyond that, I would just you know, I know Joe's background Baltimore, how much he puts value on the lines. I know he's trying to address that to a certain extent with George Fan and some of the other moves last year. But having all those picks

is obviously a great place to be. And now it's you know about execution and knowing Joe, I'm sure they would be very well prepared. What I said, fascinating interview, great insight. Was there anything that stood out to you in particular? Build it up front, and that's something that we're talking about throughout this draft process is how do you handle using the tent picks? Um what areas do

you have to target? Where are your needs? If you're bringing a young quarterback, which the Jets are doing, you got to build it up front. And that's something that Joe Douglas has continued to stress since day one of him getting here. His first pick was McKay Beckton, of course, and then I think back to two thousand nine, Mike moved up a couple of times in order to get Mark Sanchez. Mark Sanchez walked into a historically good situation because of what Tannon Bomb had done building that roster

to get to that point. That oh six draft Greens, Brickshaw, Furgus and the glasses are coming on round one, number four overall overall, excuse me, might just discuss the trade, the Man Gold Abraham trade. He gets back in the first round, number twenty nine overall. He got Eric Smith in the third round, Brad Smith in the fourth round, Leon and Washington in the fourth round, Drew Coleman in the sixth round, who was a very good reserved in

the defensive backfield. But what he did with that young quarterback. I can't point to a rookie quarterback whoever walked into a better situation. Well, so I think that it's a great point. And from hearing Mike talked about the O eight team, it seemed like a lot of pieces were in place. This is a different situation where Joe and coach Sala are building this up. But we know that

Joe's emphasis has always been on the offensive line. And maybe this is wrong of me to think, but it just feels like there's an offensive lineman or to who will be a New York Jet at the end of the April twenty nine to make first draft, because when you look at what the Jets did in free agency, they signed Dan Feeney, but Joe Douglas consistently talks about the his will to add through the draft, and it just feels like when you marry that up with what

we know about his vision of the offensive line, it feels like there's a move to be made there. I agree with that. I think to probably in a low one as far as offensive alignment here out of these time pics, and then you're gonna look at your undrafted free agents, are gonna get on the phones and try to sign up some guys and create more competition and depth along the line. But yeah, I would agree with that. I think right now you have your foundational piece and

McKay beck. Then what a draft pick that wash Connor McGovern ret returns in the middle. He has played guard before if you ever went in the center direction. I'm just saying, as far as the draft is concerned, George Fan, I think is gonna be a good system fit just because they're gonna ask these guys to get out and move and take angles, and I think that works to fans advantage. But yeah, Joe Douglas is certainly not done adding to that line, and we saw him really fortify

I thought the wide receiver position. That doesn't mean they're not gonna get another receiver here in the draft, but bringing a Corey Davis and Keelan Cole uh put you in a better spot how you into the draft. Yeah, it'll be interesting to see how it all breaks down in a couple of weeks. By the time this posted, like you said, it might be one week before the NFL Draft right around the corner. That's all we have on this episode of the Official Jets Podcast, The Draft Podcast, presented by Pepsi