Draft guru says who he'd select with Jets' No. 10 NFL Draft pick

Mock drafts routinely link the New York Jets to Georgia Bulldogs star tight end Brock Bowers or a top-rated offensive lineman with the 10th pick of the 2024 NFL Draft.

ESPN NFL Draft guru Mel Kiper Jr. addressed that topic during a Zoom call with reporters on Thursday.

"If I’m taking Bowers, I’ll take him at 10," Kiper explained, as shared by Brian Costello of the New York Post. "If I really want Bowers, you take him there. If you want a lineman, I think you can move off of 10. The key there is getting a second-round pick back. Right now, the Jets don’t have one. They could move down and get that second-round pick back and still get a really good offensive lineman as the sixth man." 

While the Jets have already made noteworthy moves to bolster their offensive line this offseason, owner Woody Johnson mentioned this week that the club must do well to keep 40-year-old quarterback Aaron Rodgers "on his feet" after he suffered a torn Achilles four snaps into the 2023 regular season. 

That said, Audacy's Ryan Gilbert noted how ESPN NFL analyst Mina Kimes insisted on a recent edition of the "Take Command" podcast that coaches/offensive coordinators "will have to be physically restrained from drafting Bowers" because of what Bowers could offer an offense. 

"I just went with Bowers as a weapon," Kiper said. "[The Jets] need that. People say, 'Well they don’t have to have a tight end.' But he’s a guy that can do so many different things."

Johnson and company have done little this offseason to silence chatter, claiming that Rodgers has a significant say in personnel decisions made by the organization. One perception is that Rodgers will trust his ability to stay healthy and, thus, will want Bowers as part of his offense. 

"They’re such a unique team because their timeline is so obviously win-now," Kimes added about the Jets during the podcast. "But the thing is, offensive tackle for them you could argue is both a win-now and a win-long-term move for the Jets..."

It sounds like Kiper believes the Jets trading down would also be "a win-now and a win-long-term move" for Gang Green, but it's unclear what Rodgers would think about such a strategy at this point of his career.