Rams Trade for 1st Pick; What Does this Mean for the Jets?

St Louis Rams Robert Quinn - Tampa Bay Buccaneers Donald Penn
In the 2015 NFL draft, the New York Jets had the 6th overall pick and were going to miss out on the best 5 players available in the draft. Until, surprisingly, the Washington Redskins with the 5th overall pick selected the tackle Brandon Scherff instead of defensive tackle Leonard Williams (who many considered was the best player in the draft). With the 5 teams ahead of the Jets bypassing Williams for other players, a top tier player fell into the lap of the Jets. As many Jets fans know this was an ultimate win because Williams had a very productive rookie season for the Jets: 63 tackles, 3 sacks and multiple QB hurries.

Tennessee Titans trade No. 1 pick to Los Angeles Rams The Rams will pick No. 1 this year following a trade with the Titans. The Rams also received fourth- and sixth-round picks and are sending the Titans six selections over the next two years.

And so in this year’s draft, it was widely accepted that the Tennessee Titans were going to select the best tackle in the draft, Laremy Tunsil, with their No. 1 overall pick. However, now that the Titans traded their pick to the L.A. Rams who are looking for a QB (either Carson Wentz or Jared Goff, the two highly regarded quarterbacks in this year’s draft), Tunsil will fall down the draft slots. Before this transaction, the Jets held the 20th overall pick and were expected to get a 3rd tier position player such as Alabama’s linebacker Reggie Ragland or Eli Apple, the cornerback from Ohio State. With both Wentz and Goff drafted by the Rams and the Cleveland Browns (2nd overall pick), then that means that the other high prospects will slide down the draft.

Now a better player will be available to them such as DE Shaq Lawson from Clemson. Or they even have the option of trading up for an Ezekiel Elliot (RB), if they so choose, now that this type of top level player will be more within their reach. This Butterfly Effect forces the Jets to redo their draft board, knowing that a better player will await them. If they get someone even remotely as good as Leonard Williams, we can expect Gang Green will be doing cartwheels.

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