The New York Jets have an arsenal of picks to open the 2022 NFL Draft. In fact, they opened the event with four picks inside the top 38 selections. With that many picks, it’s no wonder why so much optimism surrounding the franchise could soon follow. Here, we take a look at the haul of picks made by the Jets in the 2022 NFL Draft ahead, during, and after the draft.
New York Jets draft picks in 2022
- Round 1 | Pick 4
Ahmad Gardner, CB, Cincinnati - Round 1 | Pick 10
Garrett Wilson, WR, Ohio State - Round 1 | Pick 26
Jermaine Johnson II, EDGE, Florida State - Round 2 | Pick 36 (from NYG)
Breece Hall, RB, Iowa State - Round 3 | Pick 101 (from TEN and PHI via NO)
Jeremy Ruckert, TE, Ohio State - Round 4 | Pick 110 (from CAR)
Max Mitchell, OT, Louisiana - Round 4 | Pick 117 (from MIN)
Micheal Clemons, EDGE, Texas A&M
The Jets opened the draft with two picks to open each of the first and second rounds. New York obtained the 10th overall selection by trading Jamal Adams to the Seattle Seahawks. Then, New York earned the 38th overall pick in the trade with the Carolina Panthers for Sam Darnold.
New York utilized their first pick in the top 10 on CB Ahmad Gardner. A sticky cornerback with an incredible skill set, Gardner didn’t allow a single touchdown during his college career. The Jets then followed that up with arguably the draft’s best route runner in Garrett Wilson. Zach Wilson has a tremendous talent to find in the passing game with Wilson’s all-around skill set.
But the Jets weren’t done in Round 1, trading back up to select Jermaine Johnson II with pick No. 26. New York sent pick Nos. 35, 69, and 163 to the Titans in exchange for pick Nos. 26 and 101.
New York Jets 2022 NFL Draft Team Needs
Operation “Build Around Zach Wilson” has started for the New York Jets. They signed safety Jordan Whitehead, answering part of their biggest draft need listed here. The Jets re-signed WR Braxton Berrios to a longer deal while grabbing Tyler Conklin and C.J. Uzomah at tight end. This timing attack on offense got a whole lot better with an influx of short-area pass catchers.
The Berrios signing doesn’t move the needle much on the Jets’ high-end receiving need. They could be in a position to take the first one off the board in the draft with the 10th pick. Linebacker is another huge need, but there should be Day 2 options there.
Free safety is still a need, particularly in Robert Saleh’s defense. The departure of Marcus Maye creates a hole there. They have five picks in the top 69 of the 2022 NFL Draft, which is nice. They can address premium positions early and move on to great players at undervalued positions like safety and linebacker in Rounds 2 and 3.
- Safety
- Linebacker
- Cornerback
- Wide Receiver
- EDGE Defender
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