The New York Jets made another splash in free agency, signing wide receiver Mike Williams to pair with Garrett Wilson. However, the addition should not change how the team approaches the draft at the receiver position.
The 29-year-old Williams and Wilson will certainly form a formidable one-two punch at receiver for the Jets. As ESPN’s Rich Cimini noted, since 2018, Williams has led all receivers with at least 200 catches during that span in yards per catch with 15.8.
In 2022, Williams ranked 25th out of 130 receivers in ESPN’s “open” metric, and his 2.3 yards per route ran was tied for 25th. Williams brings big-play potential to the Jets offense, provides Aaron Rodgers with a big red zone target, and will take some of the eyes off of Wilson, creating more one-on-one opportunities for him.
However, there are a few reasons why, even with Williams in the mix, the Jets shouldn’t hesitate to take a receiver with either of their two top-100 selections.
The first is that while teams try to address current positional needs, the draft is about planning ahead. One year from now, with Williams only signed a one-year contract, the Jets could be right back in the same position that they began this offseason with, which is needing to find a running mate for Wilson.
On top of that, Williams has dealt with various injuries in recent years and receiver depth beyond him and Wilson is still a bit of a question mark.
Connor Hughes of SNY mentioned that Williams is currently coming off an ACL injury that limited him to only three games in 2023. Hughes also pointed out that Williams had a hamstring injury in 2020, an AC joint injury in 2021, and high ankle/fractured back injuries in 2022.
This also happens to be a loaded wide receiver class, and just about any time a team has the opportunity to add a potentially high-impact player through the draft, they should capitalize on the chance to do so–almost regardless of the position.
Now, what the addition of Williams does provide Joe Douglas with is more flexibility to allow the board to come to him, much like he did with the offensive line by reshaping that unit during free agency.
The Jets should no longer feel like they have to add a receiver at 10. Or they have to take a tackle at that point because of how the roster is currently constructed. With that said, both positions should still be addressed, but the Jets are also now in a much more advantageous spot to take the best player available.
At pick 10, that likely means taking a tackle or a receiver. However, perhaps these free agent signings free Douglas up to take top tight end Brock Bowers, who can impact the game in a variety of ways. Or maybe Douglas decides to trade back and acquire an additional top-100 pick. Maybe at pick 72 Douglas is now able to take a safety, a position that still needs more depth.
All general managers love having options in the draft, and signing Mike Williams gives Douglas even more of that. But it also shouldn’t drastically shift his approach to this year’s draft either. The receiver position should still be addressed.
