If Atlanta would have taken Wilson with the #8 pick, this is what I think would have reasonably happened.

[Maynard13]

15 hours ago, Alka said:

Ok, the Jets take Sauce at #4.  Wilson goes to Atlanta with the #8 pick, and the Jets have already said that they would have taken Jermaine Johnson with the #10 pick.

This means the Jets would have continued to have the #35 and #38 picks in the draft.  What did happen was that the Green Bay Packers moved up to #34 trading with the Vikings to select Christian Watson.  They gave up the #53 and #59 picks in order to take him.

The Jets would have been in conversation with the Vikings as well, and would have been able to offer a better deal to the Vikings.  They could have given up the #38 pick and traded the #69 pick with a lower third round pick to get Christian Watson.  In this scenario, they would have still taken Breece Hall at #35.

In effect, the Jets could have very conceivably had the exact same draft as they did with the exception being that they would have ended up with Christian Watson at wide receiver instead of Wilson.  Watson also would have been a great pick for the Jets.  At 6'4" and 205 pounds, he could stretch the field and be a big target.  His 4.36 speed eclipsed Wilson's 4.39 speed, so that is basically a wash.  Where Wilson is rated higher I think, is related to his ability to stop and move suddenly and separate from opposing defensive backs.  Watson it seems would have had the ability to develop into a #1 receiver, as is the hope of Wilson.

The Jets would have still drafted Ruckert, Max and Clemons when they got them, so the draft would have still ended up great for the Jets, but just not with their #1 perceived wide receiver, but a wide receiver who could still have translated into a "home run" pick.

Biter. I already came up with this thread right after the draft. Mods….please merge. ?

[Maynard13]

15 hours ago, Titan24 said:

Heard a podcast w Todd Mcshay who is close to JD, said would have been WR Jameson Williams or Jermaine Johnson 

JD would have taken J Williams. No doubt. So the fact he had G Wilson rated higher, and got his guy, makes my day. 

[Sperm Edwards]

12 hours ago, Alka said:

Well, there was no internet back then; no social media to discuss it, no instagram, no twitter.  But I remember it, and I was watching the draft on tv the same as you.  I also remember the Heidi game like it was yesterday, watching the Jets with like a 10 point lead with less than 2 1/2 minutes left in the game, and Heidi magically came on my tv screen.  I was so upset, and was so angry that I couldn't watch my Jets finish off the Raiders.  Of course, the Jets lost that game, and there was so many nasty calls to NBC at the time, that it will never happen again. My memories of the Jets are pretty vivid.  Not all of them, but certain memories are front and center, and the Jets passing on Dan Marino is one of those memories.

I was kidding