2020 NFL Mock Draft: First round projections after Week 1
Scouting Report. 5. player. Pick Analysis. EDGE. Iowa. A.J. Epenesa. 30
The Jets passed on arguably the best player in the draft last year, Josh Allen, to take another player who was also arguably the best in the draft, Quinnen Williams. There’s nothing wrong with doing that. Williams has looked awesome so far through training camp and the preseason. It’s just that Williams doesn’t play a position of as big of need that Allen plays.
Enter, A.J. Epenesa.
I’d like to quickly point out that I don’t think the Jets are going to be picking quite this high. I like the Jets to be closer to 8-8 this year, but the draft order wasn’t my call, as stated earlier. The Jets get a fun player to talk about here and somebody they can 100 percent use if the draft breaks this way in 2020.
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Epenesa produces, he’s massive, listed 6-6 and 280 pounds, and he was a five-star prospect coming out of high school. The only red flag is that he went to Iowa instead of Alabama or Florida State. But that’s not even a red flag. It’s just different.
Would the unruly Jets fans sign off on the pick? Does it really matter? Epenesa would be another home run pick here. Shockingly, the second time I’ve said that in this young mock so far is because a team took an elite edge rusher. It’s almost like it’s an extremely important position or something.
Adding Epenesa to the Jets defense would make them one of the best, young groups in the league with Williams and Jamal Adams already on board. The Jets have seen their most recent success when the defense was a monster for other teams to deal with. That’s the blueprint I think they should follow.