New York Jets Mocked to Take Combine Red Flag WR in First Round

This offseason for the New York Jets feels like it could be the most important offseason for the organization in some time. By trading away Sauce Gardner and Quinnen Williams, they signaled that they're officially entering a rebuilding stage. 

They landed a haul of picks and will have two first-round picks in back-to-back seasons. Many have them taking their quarterback of the future this upcoming draft, with Alabama's Ty Simpson being the name floated around.

I think it would behoove the Jets to pick up a bridge QB like Kyler Murray to serve as a stopgap, and to use the wealth of picks they've acquired to build the remainder of their team around a future QB. 

The latest mock drafts from both ESPN's Matt Miller and PFF predict the Jets will do just that. The selection that both mocks have New York making with the 16th pick they acquired from Indianapolis is raising some questions. 

Based on talent alone, this selection would be a homerun for New York. During his final season at USC, Lemon dominated. He finished the year with 79 catches (11th) for 1,156 yards (8th), and 11 TDs (T-9th). 

Pairing him with Garrett Wilson and Adonai Mitchell, who showed flashes after arriving in New York, could create a fairly formidable WR room. That is, unless everything that came out of the combine was true.

Over the course of the weekend, there was possibly no one who had worse PR than Makai Lemon.  

It was reported by multiple sources that Lemon absolutely tanked his pre-draft interviews at the combine. Phrases that came out about his interviews were "turn off, "absolutely bombed it", and "disaster."

He didn't participate in any of the typical combine drills like the forty-yard dash or vertical leap, but he did run routes with the other WRs. That portion of the day also ended poorly for Lemon. 

In a drill where the WRs were instructed to run 3/4 speed from one cone to the other at the top of the fade, Lemon was not paying attention. Because of this, when it was his time to run through the drill, he ran about 1/2 speed through the entirety of the drill, causing the ball to go soaring 10+ yards over his head. 

Now, are draft interviews a clear indication of how a player will perform on the field? Absolutely not. Is that the type of player, however, you want to begin to build a culture around from the ground up? Not likely. 

With the draft assets New York has, they have many possibilities they could explore on draft day. It will be interesting to see if Lemon is part of their plans for the future. 

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