New York Jets: 2019 NFL Draft focus should be entirely on the offense

With the latest injury to Bilal Powell, the New York Jets face something new for 2019 — a draft that focuses on the offensive side of the ball.

Many have said that the New York Jets need to address their biggest need, edge rusher, in the 2019 NFL Draft. However, the free agent market in regards to edge rushers is much stronger than in many other areas. Thus, the Jets should instead focus on improving their offense come April’s draft.

Gang Green has an opportunity to potentially choose from Ezekiel Ansah, DeMarcus Lawrence, Dante Fowler and Jadeveon Clowney in free agency. The best case scenario would see two of them in green and white in 2019. They could also sign Le’Veon Bell.

That means they could use the top of their draft to focus on putting the pieces around Sam Darnold to help him take the next step in his growth as an NFL quarterback in the 2019 NFL Draft. They will need to address offensive line, the backfield, and wide receiver in the next draft class.

Those position groups isn’t very deep in either free agency or the draft. So, they will likely have to move back into the first round after they take whatever pick they end up with (which at the moment, according to Tankathon is No. 11 overall) to get two quality players.

That said, they may only be able to get one. They may also have to move up to get one of them just like they did for Sam Darnold. The offense needs to be able to move forward. Chris Herdon is coming into his own, and Darnold seems to be having the roller coaster season most rookies do, but he’s shown some things that prove the Jets right for moving up to get him.

This offseason is all about Darnold. Most specifically, it’s about putting the right pieces around Darnold to get the best out of him in 2019 and beyond. This could be a defining offseason for the future of their franchise quarterback. This combined with 2020 will be either the catalyst of greatness or the breaking point that makes Darnold a “bust.”