Jets 7-round NFL mock draft: Rome Odunze, Brandon Coleman fill offensive holes

It is here and it is spectacular.

Here is my final seven-round mock draft for the New York Jets ahead of this week’s NFL Draft — the only 100 percent accurate mock you’ll find on the internet.

And if I’m wrong, just forget you read it.

Round 1 (No. 7 overall): WR Rome Odunze, Washington

Trade: Jets send first-round pick (No. 10), fourth-round pick (No. 134) and 2025 fourth-round pick to the Titans for No. 7.

The Titans or Falcons feel like the teams to watch if the Jets are going to trade up to get one of the trio of stud wide receivers (Odunze, Marvin Harrison, Malik Nabers). I went with the Titans because I don’t think it can be ruled out that Atlanta might want to take a wide receiver after investing in Kirk Cousins. The Titans already have DeAndre Hopkins and Calvin Ridley and should still be able to get a top offensive tackle at No. 10.

As for the Jets: GM Joe Douglas has made it clear with all of his moves this offseason — and the structures of the contracts he has given out — that they are all-in on winning in 2024. So if the opportunity presents itself to go and get a wide receiver of this caliber (whether it’s Odunze, Nabers or Harrison), I don’t see why he wouldn’t pursue it. It shouldn’t take too much to move up a couple spots in the order and wide receiver is still a need, even after signing Mike Williams.

Williams is coming off a torn ACL and won’t even be ready for the start of training camp, so it’s unclear how he’ll look post-surgery relative to how he was playing before that. Getting Odunze (or even sticking at No. 10 and picking LSU’s Brian Thomas Jr., on whom the Jets have done a lot of pre-draft work) protects the Jets against the worst-case scenario for Williams as well as adds a potential Pro Bowl-caliber weapon to the offense even if Williams is completely healthy.

Odunze, Harrison and Nabers each offer different skill sets, which Douglas acknowledged Friday without naming them directly.

“There’s a lot of special players on the offensive side of the ball, guys that are playmakers, top-level blockers, top-level playmakers, dynamic playmakers,” Douglas said. “They’re all a different flavor. Whether you want a precision route runner that’s super productive or an explosive freak, or if you want a high-level route runner that can go up and get the ball but also run by people.”

Douglas was presumably speaking about Harrison as the “precision route runner,” Nabers as the “explosive freak” and Odunze as the “high-level route runner that can go up and get the ball but also run by people.”

Odunze might be the most complete package of the trio, to which Douglas alluded. He has good size (6-2, 212), speed (4.45 40) and agility, ranking third at the combine in short shuttle (4.03 seconds) and fourth in the three-cone (6.88). He’s considered a good route runner and adept at winning 50/50 balls. He was dominant at Washington the last two years (167 catches, 2,785 yards, 20 touchdowns) and he wouldn’t even have to step in and be the Jets’ No. 1 receiver with Garrett Wilson and Williams already in the fold.

Round 3 (No. 72): OT Brandon Coleman, TCU

The Jets could make offensive tackle less of an absolute necessity if they signed a reliable veteran swing tackle; David Bakhtiari remains an intriguing option. But until (or unless) that happens, we have to assume Douglas will be drafting a tackle early. Even if the team is as high on second-year pro Carter Warren as it claims, it’s too risky going into the season with Warren as the only real option if Tyron Smith or Morgan Moses gets injured.

Coleman played hurt in 2023, though he didn’t allow any sacks, per Pro Football Focus. The Athletic’s Dane Brugler wrote in “The Beast” that Coleman needs to work on his technical consistency but that his “ease of movement, spatial awareness and length are the building blocks that offensive line coaches covet.” Most of Coleman’s experience is at left tackle and left guard, though he also got snaps at right guard and right tackle. Douglas will always value versatility in offensive linemen.

Round 4 (No. 111): QB Michael Pratt, Tulane

Douglas’ last fourth-round pick at quarterback (James Morgan) didn’t work out. But the circumstances are different this time around, and Pratt is a better prospect than Morgan. The Jets have the oldest quarterback room in the NFL and if all goes according to plan (which it famously always does for the Jets), then Pratt would never actually have to see the field as a rookie.

Douglas also said Friday he’d like to become a “quarterback factory” like the Packers used to be with Brett Favre, drafting developmental quarterbacks and turning them into starting-caliber players.

Zach Wilson is still on the roster but probably not for long, especially if the Jets make this move to add a quarterback prospect to develop into a potential future starter or top backup. Pratt would have the ability to learn from Aaron Rodgers for the year without being thrown into the fire — unless both Rodgers and Tyrod Taylor were injured. Even if that did happen, Pratt might be better suited to handle it than the other mid-round quarterbacks available in this class.

Brugler wrote that Pratt is “very clean in his setup and delivers a quick, accurate stroke, showing the ability to feather passes in between levels of the defense” and that “you don’t see panic in his game, and he has natural sense for where to go with the football. He projects as a quality NFL backup with starting upside in the right role.”

I wouldn’t rule out a running back or a defensive player in this spot — a defensive back or defensive lineman would make the most sense — but Pratt is a good value here.

Round 6 (No. 185): S Dominique Hampton, Washington

Douglas — like his old boss Howie Roseman — generally doesn’t place significant value on the safety position. The Jets are perfectly fine rolling into the season with Chuck Clark–Tony Adams–Ashtyn Davis as their primary trio. It couldn’t hurt to add some talent to the defense’s weakest position, though, and Hampton could push 2023 sixth-round pick Jarrick Bernard-Converse for the fourth safety job.

Hampton is on the older end (24 in July) for a rookie, but that hasn’t stopped Douglas in the past. He had stellar testing numbers at the combine and is a high-caliber athlete with good size (6-2, 213) and long arms. He’s an experienced special teams contributor and projects as a third safety and core special teamer in the NFL.

Round 7 (No. 256): DL Jowon Briggs, Cincinnati

Briggs made Bruce Feldman’s “Freaks” list in 2023 because of his strength: He squatted 700 pounds in high school, per Feldman, and deadlift 655 pounds at Cincinnati last offseason, also hitting 31 reps of 225 pounds on the bench press. Feldman wrote that he has hit 18.6 mph and clocked 4.89 seconds in the pro shuttle.

The Jets have been shuffling through one-year stopgaps at defensive tackle next to Quinnen Williams, so it wouldn’t be the worst idea to draft and develop a lineman with one of these late picks. Only Williams is under contract beyond 2024 at the position.

Brugler wrote that Briggs “is compactly built with very dense muscle and terrific strength.” He also said Briggs should “appeal to multiple schemes” and that his “mix of one-gap quickness and power could earn him a depth spot,” though he lacks length and his pass-rushing oeuvre is a work in progress.

Southern Miss RB Frank Gore Jr. is a familiar name to Jets fans. (Jerome Miron / USA Today)

Round 7 (No. 257): RB Frank Gore Jr., Southern Miss

The Jets could use another running back. As an added bonus, they know this one pretty well already, since his father played for them in 2020. Gore would be a fun choice as “Mr. Irrelevant” considering his ties to the organization and he brings a different flavor at running back than Breece Hall or Israel Abanikanda. He rushed for more than 4,000 yards in college, topped by his 1,382-yard output in 2022.

Gore might never be a starter in the NFL but “vision and toughness are in his DNA and he has potential on passing downs,” Brugler wrote. “He also played on punt coverage in college, and his workhorse mentality might be a fit in the right offense.”

Final tally and final thoughts

It seems difficult to believe the Jets wouldn’t draft a defensive player until the sixth round, especially with a defensive head coach in Robert Saleh. But this is a roster with many more holes on offense than defense — both for the present and the future.

The Jets are in position to add a blue-chip offensive player in the first round if they stick in the top 10. I would argue they should if the goal is to add a player who can help right away.

The choice between getting someone like Odunze (or Bowers) who will start on Day 1 versus drafting an offensive lineman who will likely sit to start the year is a fascinating one. Neither would be the wrong answer, frankly. Douglas gave the Jets options when he filled out the starting lineup in trades and free agency. They should at least walk away from the first round with a high-quality player.

Trading back is also certainly on the table, though harder to execute if no desirable quarterbacks are on the board at No. 10.

(Top photo of Rome Odunze: Steph Chambers / Getty Images)