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The New York Jets are 3-10 heading into Week 15 of a season where many pundits picked them to not only win the AFC East but maybe even make the Super Bowl. While that record is both disappointing and embarrassing, it also means one positive thing: A high draft pick. Currently sitting in the neighborhood of pick No. 4 to pick No. 8, here are four way-too-early Jets 2025 NFL Draft targets.
QB Shedeur Sanders, Colorado
The Jets’ Aaron Rodgers experiment was an unqualified failure, which means New York could draft its third top-10 quarterback in the last seven years. If the franchise’s new general manager and head coach decide to go this way, there are likely just two college signal-callers in the mix at the top of Round 1.
Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders and Miami’s Cam Ward are likely the only two QBs who will come off the board in the first 32 picks of the 2025 NFL Draft. So, picking at No. 8 — or even No. 3 — may preclude the Jets from taking their next “franchise QB.”
However, if the Jets do land in a spot to take a QB, Sanders would be an interesting pick. As the son, and on-field protégé — of Hall of Famer Deion Sanders, Shedeur has the athleticism, arm talent, makeup, and attitude to become an NFL QB1.
What he needs help with is his decision-making. The ball needs to come out quicker and the younger Sanders needs to avoid the massive, game-changing mistake when under duress. Maybe an NFL coach can get that out of him.
Or, maybe his dad also becomes his NFL coach… and isn’t there a coaching opening in New Jersey right now?
DT Mason Graham, Michigan
The Jets must take a quarterback in the 2025 NFL Draft, but due to the lack of high-end prospects at the position in this class and the team’s likely selection spot, they are probably better off waiting until later in the proceedings.
If QB is off the table when the Jets are looking at draft targets, the best move may be adding to positions of strength to give Rodgers, another veteran, or a later-round rookie a chance to succeed without having to do it all themselves.
That means beefing up the defense even further.
Quinnen Williams is one of (if not) the best interior defensive linemen in the league and the Jets could be losing several of his supporting castmates on the line in free agency this offseason. To pair him with Mason Graham, the best interior DT prospect in the draft, makes a ton of sense.
Graham is versatile and incredibly athletic for a 6-foot-3, 320-pound human. He can fit multiple systems, and to pair him with Williams would make the already-tough Jets D arguably the hardest to scheme for in the league.
DE/LB Abdul Carter, Penn State
Staying on the versatile defensive lineman track, the Jets can also look at edge-rusher Abdul Carter. The Nittany lineman played mostly stand-up linebacker until this season. However, after a full-time switch to pass-rushing, he is now one of the most sought-after prospects in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Carter is 6-foot-3, 252 pounds, and has 10 sacks and 20 tackles for a loss this season on the edge. New York had Will MacDonald and Jermaine Johnson, when he returns from injury, but you can never have too many pass rushers. Plus, is versatility makes him a major asset for any NFL defensive coordinator.
The Penn State EDGE would be a perfect replacement for Haason Reddick, who hasn’t lived up to the hype after all the drama moving to New Jersey.
OL Will Campbell, LSU
The other route the Jets can go in the 2025 NFL Draft is offensive line. They already have a young and promising group, with last year’s first-round OT Olu Fashanu, center Joe Tippmann, and 2021 first-round selection Alijah Vera-Tucker. However, with 33-year-old Morgan Moses and 34-year-old Tyron Smith (out injured), the line could get younger at a few spots.
Enter LSU OT Will Campbell, who at 6-foot-6, 323 pounds, can be a perfect bookend with Fashanu for the next decade-plus. The Tigers’ blocker is also versatile enough that he can slide inside and play guard, replacing John Simpson if Moses or Smith stay for another season.
Building from the inside out is how good organizations become great. Are the Jets a good organization? You can answer that for yourself, but if they take one of these four players in the upcoming draft, they could be at least one step closer to being one.
