The New York Jets selected Quinnen Williams with the third-overall pick at the 2019 NFL draft.
Williams has provided some promising play in his career-to-date. However, Pro Football Focus changed things up for the Jets.
The football analytics outlet looked back at that year’s draft and did a redo. Using hindsight, New York passes on Williams.
Instead, the pick is a former Tennessee Titans wide receiver…
No, not Corey Davis. Rather, AJ Brown is selected by New York.
First, here’s how PFF explains the switch:
Though I don’t hate the original Quinnen Williams pick, and believe his best football is still ahead of him, with the benefit of hindsight, one of the elite receivers in this class would have been a better choice for the Jets. We’ve seen recently how aggressive the team has been in attempts to improve its passing weapons. Brown may have missed some time over the past three seasons due to injury, but his cumulative 91.7 offensive grade over the past three years is the highest of any receiver in this class.
In Brown, the Jets would’ve added an impressive playmaker that several overlooked at that year’s draft. While he goes third in the redo, in reality, Brown was not selected until the 51st selection in Round 2.
What Brown to New York brings to mind is just how different things might’ve looked in this past offseason. The Jets have high hopes for first-round rookie Garrett Wilson, but had the club selected Brown, things likely would have been different.
Now for the other end of the ledger.
PFF does stick to their guns. In their analysis, Williams is not knocked at all. He’s still a first-round selection at No. 14 overall to the Atlanta Falcons.
For those wondering, here’s how PFF explains Williams to the Falcons:
Chris Lindstrom is one of the few steady offensive linemen left for the Falcons, so it feels odd replacing him. But for the sake of mixing it up in this re-draft, let’s go with Quinnen Williams to Atlanta. The former No. 3 overall pick still has yet to truly break out in the NFL, but he’s now had two straight years with 70.0-plus pass-rushing grades, and with seven and six sacks in the past two seasons, respectively, his big break could be coming in 2022.
