The Jets went with a protector for Aaron Rodgers instead of a playmaker in the first round of the NFL Draft.
Jets general manager Joe Douglas selected Penn State offensive tackle Olu Fashanu after trading back one pick to No. 11 on Thursday night.
Fashanu only played left tackle in college and did not allow a sack.
With the Jets, he will be sitting behind Tyron Smith as a rookie but projects as the team’s long-term starter.
“With Olu, him being a left tackle,” Douglas said, “just what he does in pass pro, his production in pass pro … he has very low pressure rates playing in one of the top conferences in the country. He’s just a really high-level, high-impact pass protector. I don’t think he gets enough credit for his run blocking, just a big, giant body — 6-6, 315 pounds, long arms. He’s a very tough, competitive young man.”
The Jets may have taken one of the top three receivers in this draft if one had reached them at No. 10, but Marvin Harrison Jr. went fourth to the Cardinals, Malik Nabers went sixth to the Giants and Rome Odunze was taken at No. 9 by the Bears.
That left the Jets with a decision of whether to draft a lineman or tight end Brock Bowers.
The Jets liked Bowers but Douglas decided to take the No. 2 left tackle on their board instead (Joe Alt went No. 5 to the Chargers).
“He was obviously a consideration throughout the process,” Douglas said of Bowers. “Again, one of the best players in the country, one of the best players in the draft. It was a tough decision really. We ultimately had nine non-quarterbacks that we felt were going to develop into really high-impact players. It was a tough choice. We felt like Olu was the right choice for us just with his production, his ability to play left tackle and his makeup.”
The Jets did trade back one spot with the Vikings — from 10 to 11 — before taking Fashanu.
Douglas played two quarterback-needy teams against each other.
The Broncos, who had the No. 12 pick, also wanted a quarterback.
The Jets got the No. 11 pick, a fourth-round pick (No. 129 overall) and a fifth-round pick (No. 157 overall) in exchange for No. 10 and a sixth-round pick (No. 203).
The Vikings used the No. 10 pick to take Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy.
The Broncos drafted Oregon quarterback Bo Nix at No. 12.
Fashanu is a large human being at 6-foot-6 and 312 pounds.
He started 21 games at Penn State and was the team captain and team MVP last season.
He played high school football with Caleb Williams, who was drafted No. 1 overall by the Bears.
There will be some who are unhappy with the Jets picking a player at No. 11 who does not have a clear path to start, but Smith is 33 years old as is right tackle Morgan Moses.
Both also have recent injury histories.
The Jets know all too well about managing offensive line injuries. They went through a different starting offensive line nearly every week last season.
“You can never have enough,” Jets coach Robert Saleh said of offensive linemen. “I’ll always argue between the offensive and defensive lines, they’re the only two positions that don’t need other positions to perform for them to do their jobs. Every other position kind of relies on them.”
Fashanu said he is excited to learn from Smith, the eight-time Pro Bowler the Jets signed in March.
“I feel like I’m kind of living like a fairytale or something like that,” Fashanu said. “He was the first player I ever watched watching film as a tackle. I didn’t start playing football until I was a freshman in high school. Him at the time, he was the absolute standard at left tackle. For me, getting the opportunity to watch years upon years of film of him and now having this great opportunity to learn with him, learn any bits of tips or advice that he has for me. What more could I ask for?”
The Jets have now taken an offensive lineman in the first round in three of Douglas’ five drafts as Jets GM (Mekhi Becton, Alijah Vera-Tucker).
In fact, the Jets selected Becton to be their left tackle of the future with the No. 11 overall pick in 2020.
He is now a free agent after a disappointing Jets career.
Douglas needs to hope this No. 11 pick works out better than that one.
