The New York Jets have a new sheriff in town, and Aaron Glenn flying Aaron Rodgers out to tell him to screw off in person is enough to make me like the guy. But the Jets aren’t a great football team. That guy above who is currently screwing off helped guide them to the heights of the #7 pick last year, and the Jets replaced him with Justin Fields, who hasn’t had the best go of it in his NFL career, at least not yet. They only added two fantasy football-relevant players in the draft: a second-round tight end and a fourth-round wide receiver. The Jets aren’t going to be a team that generates beaucoup fantasy points, but can Mason Taylor or Arian Smith carve out fruitful roles? Let’s find out!
| Rd | Pick | Player | Pos | College |
| 1 | 7 | Armand Membou | OT | Missouri |
| 2 | 42 | Mason Taylor | TE | LSU |
| 3 | 73 | Azareye’h Thomas | CB | Florida State |
| 4 | 110 | Arian Smith | WR | Georgia |
| 4 | 130 | Malachi Moore | S | Alabama |
| 5 | 162 | Francisco Mauigoa | LB | Miami (FL) |
| 5 | 176 | Tyler Baron | EDGE | Miami (FL) |
Round 2, Pick 42: Mason Taylor, Tight End, LSU (6’5″, 251 lbs)
TALENT
Mason Taylor, the son of Hall of Famer Jason Taylor (and potential father of future Clemson standout Bason Taylor), is fine. He’s a decent athlete with a nose for finding contact, which makes his toughness not in doubt. Taylor has decent boogie with the ball in his hands and shows good ball skills insofar as he can adjust to poorly thrown balls away from his body.
Unfortunately, he’s a drop machine, something he will need to rein in in the NFL. He struggles with physicality, and he has one gear, making it easy to defend him. Taylor also turns upfield before securing the ball, leading to at least one drop. He has a frustrating move to secure the ball that could turn into throwing it directly at the ground mid-play (he stabs at low passes, which puts the ball in a precarious position when he moves it back toward his body).
Taylor isn’t a plus blocker but seems to be growing into the position. He is a projection, albeit one with a moderately high-end ceiling. We aren’t talking about George Kittle or Travis Kelce, but he could develop into a Dallas Goedert-type, above-the-blob tight end in the league.
NFL Comparison: Dallas Goedert
Pre-Draft Grade: 3rd Round
2025 OPPORTUNITY
Depth Chart:
TE1 Mason Taylor
TE2 Jeremy Ruckert
TE3 Stone Smartt
TE4 Zack Kuntz
Taylor takes over the top spot in this tight end room, something I couldn’t confidently say if Tyler Conklin didn’t abscond to the Chargers. The Jets’ tight end situation will not produce many fantasy football opportunities. The wide receiver room is a mess outside Garrett Wilson, and the running back room is outside Breece Hall. That indicates that this offense will struggle to score many real-life points, which means that they will struggle to generate fantasy points.
That said, Taylor will garner the most targets in this room, but I still feel like he is a developmental prospect. He could be something in a few years, but his rookie season will be for learning and growth.
2025 FANTASY FOOTBALL OUTLOOK
Like Aaron Glenn said to Aaron Rodgers, “get out of my face.”
Round 4, Pick 110: Arian Smith, Wide Receiver, Georgia (6’0″, 179 lbs)
TALENT
Smith is a one-trick pony: be fast, push the issue down the seam, and find space downfield. When it worked, it worked. He was frequently wide open downfield, primarily because of busted coverage or straight-up outrunning the defense. He has below-average ball skills, doesn’t fight for the football, and can’t make a contested catch to save his life. His frame also precludes him from fighting off press coverage.
NFL Comparison: Jacob Cowing
Pre-Draft Grade: UDFA
2025 OPPORTUNITY
Depth Chart:
WR1 Garrett Wilson
WR2 Josh Reynolds
WR3 Allen Lazard
WR4 Malachi Corley
WR5 Arian Smith
WR6 Tyler Johnson
Despite this depth chart looking like a dynasty roster abandoned in 2021, Arian Smith has zero chance to garner more than 30 or so targets this season.
2025 FANTASY FOOTBALL OUTLOOK
Maybe you can take him in a ten-round dynasty rookie draft.
