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Watch as the Jets GM predicts what would unfold ahead of the Jets at No. 14
Mock drafts are a necessary exercise, and not just for websites looking to boost traffic numbers during the NFL offseason. Teams also run through simulations of the draft, to game out different scenarios in preparation for the real thing.
Perhaps the New York Jets learned a lot from those exercises.
In the days and weeks following each NFL draft, the teams share behind-the-scenes videos from draft weekend. Most of the videos go a long way towards building excitement for the incoming crop of rookies, as fans get to see just how fired up the front office is for a given selection. In a video shared by the Jets as the first round of the draft unfolded, fans get to see how excited the Jets were to add pass rusher Will McDonald IV.
Fans also get to see Douglas predict exactly what would happen when Bill Belichick and the rival New England Patriots were on the clock right before them:
Here’s #Jets GM Joe Douglas in the war room laying out exactly how he ranked his top prospects coming into the team’s pick.
1. EDGE Will McDonald
2. TE Michael Mayer
3. OT Broderick Jones
Douglas also predicted the #Steelers would trade ahead of NY to get Jones. pic.twitter.com/ERnqk0Bwah
— Henry McKenna (@McKennAnalysis) May 26, 2023
As you know by now, the Patriots traded out of that spot with the Pittsburgh Steelers, allowing Pittsburgh to draft offensive tackle Broderick Jones. There was a lot of buzz around the Jets adding Jones, or another offensive lineman, with their pick at No. 15. Instead, the Steelers came away with Jones, and the Jets went in a different direction.
However, what the video also makes clear is that the Jets had McDonald ranked ahead of the offensive tackle in the moments leading up to the selection.
The video then ends with members of the Jets organization highlighting the things they loved about McDonald, including his size, athleticism, and ability to make “game-changing” plays.
Previously, the Jets shared the moment that McDonald learned he was headed to New York, and you can see the excitement in head coach Robert Saleh as he talks about getting McDonald out of that “4i” and into the “wide 9:”
At Iowa State, McDonald played inside in the Cyclones’ three-man defensive front, working on the inside of the offensive tackle. With the Jets, however, he’ll be used outside in the wide-9 alignment, lined up well outside the offensive tackle with the chance to win one-on-one and get to the QB.
And wreck some games, as the Jets hope.
