2021 NFL draft: Kiper, McShay release final mocks, including a Jets trade
It’s draft day.
Naturally, Todd McShay and Mel Kiper Jr. are out with their final projections for this weekend’s event. The two ESPN draft analysts agree upon New York’s No. 2 pick, as Zach Wilson has been the expected selection since the Jets parted ways with Sam Darnold earlier this month.
Here’s McShay’s explanation for pairing Wilson with Gang Green:
The Jets chose to move on from Sam Darnold earlier this month, and Wilson would provide them with an excellent replacement as a QB who can read the defense, make all the throws and create when pushed out of the pocket. But like the Jags, the Jets need to continue building on offense with five total picks on Days 1 and 2.
While McShay indicates that the Jets need to keep building on offense with the remainder of their high draft choices, he pairs New York with Northwestern’s Greg Newsome II to round out Gang Green’s first round.
Here’s his explanation for New York’s second first-round selection:
The Jets might look at offensive line here, but Newsome would give their defense a spark with his speed, versatility and strong press coverage. The Jets had the third-worst completion percentage allowed last season (69.1%), so the picks can’t all go to the offense.
As for Kiper, he has the Jets trading up to select an offensive lineman. He projects that New York will strike a trade with Arizona, moving up to No. 16 to select USC’s Alijah Vera-Tucker.
According to the NFL draft pick value chart, the 16th pick is worth 1,000 points, while the 23rd pick is worth 760. That means New York would likely have to come up with 240 points in additional draft compensation.
New York’s third-round pick (No. 66) is worth 260 points, so that would be more than enough for Gang Green to move up seven spots to select Vera-Tucker, who has the versatility to play guard or tackle at the next level.
Last week, Joe Douglas indicated that the Jets have laid the “groundwork” on moving up if a player they covet becomes available.
While New York can obviously go any which way with its second first-round pick, both Newsome and Vera-Tucker are names that have been linked to the Jets.
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Jets Wire's 2021 NFL Mock Draft 10.0: The final 7-round projection
