Recap: NY Jets Draft Class

 

After almost a week since the 2025 NFL Draft, it is time to recap the New York Jets draft class. First year general manager, Darren Mougey, and head coach, Aaron Glenn, made quite a first impression over this past weekend. 

The Jets were rewarded the 7th overall pick after a subpar 2024 season. They addressed their biggest need taking Armand Membou, an offensive tackle from Missouri. New York had one glaring gap in the offensive line, and Membou will fill that gap with his large presence.

Gang Green's last two first round picks will make up the left and right tackle positions of the offensive line this upcoming season. Membou is a huge boost for the success of Justin Fields in New York and takes the run game to a new level as well. 

New York was looking for either a tackle or a tight end at #7, so since they passed on a tight end in Round 1, they made up for it in Round 2. The Jets selected Mason Taylor, tight end out of LSU and the son of NFL legend Jason Taylor. 

Taylor gives the Jets the full package as a tight end as a great pass catcher and blocker as well. Behind the unanimous top 2 tight ends in this draft class, Taylor is the undisputed 3rd best player out of this position class. 

The Jets have been looking for a franchise tight end for some time now and believe Taylor can be that missing guy. He not only gives Justin Fields another weapon, but he is also another big blocker up front for New York. Taylor will enter a tight end room comprised of Jeremy Ruckert and Stone Smartt. 

After addressing offense in the first two rounds, the Jets transitioned to their secondary and drafted cornerback Azareye'h Thomas out of Florida State. After the loss of DJ Reed this offseason, the Jets needed to find talent to replace one of the top corners in the NFL. 

Thomas had a great career at Florida State and was regarded as a top 10 cornerback in this draft. After falling to the 3rd round, the Jets felt Thomas was a steal of a pick. Thomas will most likely not pair with Sauce Gardner to start the season, but he will provide valuable depth and possibly some help on special teams as well. 

New York made 4 other picks, but the one that stood out the most was safety Malachi Moore out of Alabama. Mougey made his first trade as the Jets general manager after trading up to select Moore. After playing a couple years under Nick Saban, Moore showed a ton of potential during his time in Alabama. 

The Jets have been desperate for safety help and are hoping Moore can eventually help them out. Besides Andre Cisco, the safeties room is wide open and Moore could definitely see himself paired with Cisco throughout the season. 

Overall, the Jets had a pretty solid draft class. With the seven picks the Jets had, the only players selected were from either the SEC or the ACC. The real question is can the talent translate to the field and then translate into wins? 

From 1st to 144th

Just a couple of months ago, highly touted prospect Shedeur Sanders was projected to be selected with the top overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, and at worst in the top 3. Fast forward to present day, Sanders was taken with the 144th pick to the Cleveland Browns in one of the most stunning draft falls of all time.

Out of the University of Colorado and a transfer from Jackson State, Sanders had a great college career while playing under his dad as the head coach all of those years. He was regarded by many as the best quarterback in this draft. 

So why did Sanders wait so long for his name to be called? Five quarterbacks went ahead of him, including Dillon Gabriel who was also selected by Cleveland, making the Sanders pick very questionable for the Browns. 

There is lots of speculation that Sanders was chosen so late because his pre-draft meetings went poorly with multiple teams. He has always had a very high ego, stemming from his dad, so potentially this played a big factor in these meetings. 

Speaking of his dad, many NFL teams don't want to deal with Deion. Deion has coached Shedeur his entire life, from when he was a kid to college. There had been rumors before the draft that Deion may follow his son to whatever team he goes to in the NFL.

The unwanted media and theatrics that Deion brings is not something any NFL team really desires to have, creating another red flag for Shedeur. It will be interesting to see how Shedeur plays without his father watching from the sideline for the first time in his life.

Another thing that makes this selection so interesting is that Sanders becomes the fifth quarterback on the Browns roster. Cleveland's original starter, Deshaun Watson, will most likely not be ready to go come Week 1 due to injury. 

Joe Flacco was just signed by the Browns and Kenny Pickett was an earlier offseason transaction. And like I said before, Dillon Gabriel was selected ahead of Sanders in this draft. Nowadays rarely do any teams carry three quarterbacks during games, so the Browns will have some key decisions to make.

A lot of questions and interest have and will continue to surround Shedeur Sanders. This has officially become the NFL's latest mystery that should begin to unravel shortly.  

The Thunder are Unbelievable

 

Following a 68 win regular season, the Thunder have started the playoffs scorching hot as they are currently sitting on a 3-0 lead in their first round matchup with the Memphis Grizzlies. 

Oklahoma City cruised past almost every team they played this season and they are continuing to dominate in the postseason. The Thunder finished 16 games ahead of the #2 seeded Rockets in the West and had the best overall record in the NBA this season. 

Shai-Gilgeous Alexander is the leader of this team and the frontrunner for his first MVP after leading the league in points per game, shooting over 51% from the field. Accompanied by Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren, Oklahoma City has arguably the best depth and rotation in the NBA. 

After falling down at one point by 29 points last night to Memphis, OKC stormed back with a controlling second half, outscoring the Grizzlies by 35 points and taking Game 3 on the road. 

No matter the differential, the Thunder can never be counted out. Lots of critics across the association have a main critique about this team: they are too young. Their youth and inexperience hasn't seemed to bother them so far and I don't think it will play a big role for the next rounds to come. 

Disregarding a potential playoff run or exit in the upcoming rounds, the question this offseason for the Thunder will be how they can possibly get any better? OKC has a ton of draft capital and depth to spend this offseason to acquire a superstar that can pair well with SGA. 

Their flexibility is remarkable and has been on the rise for some time now with Sam Presti as the General Manager. Oklahoma City really has the resources to acquire almost any player in the NBA, and even after a trade they will still have other available assets. 

All in all, OKC is in a phenomenal position to be in. Yes, they are going for a championship this year and have a great opportunity to capture the title, but if this year fails, the plan for this offseason is clear: pair Shai Gilgeous-Alexander with another superstar. 

An Unprecedented Final Four

As the field of 68 teams has shrunk down to 4, we now await the Final Four which will kick off this weekend. For the first time since 2008 and only the second time ever, the final two rounds will be compromised of solely number one seeds.

The games will be between the Auburn Tigers and the Florida Gators, an all SEC matchup, and the Houston Cougars and the Duke Blue Devils. These four squads have been the most consistently dominant teams all season and will look to top off their magical seasons with a championship trophy. 

Duke eased their way to their matchup with Houston after defeating #2 seed Alabama by 20 points in the Elite 8. Featuring five of the top 50 NBA Draft prospects, Duke has looked absolutely unstoppable and is the favorite out of the four teams to take home the hardwood this season. 

They will definitely be in the conversation for one of the best teams ever if they can win their next two games. The Blue Devils are back in the Final Four for the first time since 2022 and are looking for their first national championship since 2015. 

Their opponent, the Houston Cougars, are similarly coming off a dominant victory against another #2 seed, the Tennessee Volunteers. The Cougars, unlike the other three teams, thrive defensively after limiting the Volunteers to just 50 points and just 15 in the first half alone. 

Lead by legendary head coach Kelvin Sampson, Houston is back in the Final Four for the first time since 2021. They will look to capture their first ever national championship after falling short in their seven previous Final Four runs. 

Going to the other matchup, the Auburn Tigers entered the tournament as the #1 overall seed and carried that title for most of the regular season as well. Lead by potential Player of the Year Johni Broome, the Tigers will look to do what they could not do in the regular season: beat the Florida Gators. 

After getting hurt late in the second half of the Tigers victory over Michigan State, Broome may not be 100 percent healthy for their matchup against the Gators. The Tigers are back in the Final Four for their first time since 2019 and only their second time ever, looking to win their first national championship. 

Finally, the Florida Gators come into their matchup against Auburn after a thrilling victory over Texas Tech in the Elite 8. After going down by a sizable margin with just around 2 minutes remaining, Walter Clayton Jr. put the team on his back and powered the Gators to the win. 

After dominating the SEC and winning the SEC Conference Championship, the Gators find themselves in yet another SEC matchup against the Auburn Tigers. This will be the Gators first time back in the Final Four since 2014 and they'll be looking to win their third national championship and their first since 2007.

With the four #1 seeds remaining, it's hard to predict who will end out on top come Monday night. My pick is the Duke Blue Devils as I think they will beat Houston in a tightly contested game, and win their rematch against Auburn from earlier in the season for the national title.