The 2023 NFL Draft possessed four consensus first-round offensive tackles: Northwestern's Peter Skoronski, Ohio State's Paris Johnson Jr., Tennessee's Darnell Wright, and Georgia's Broderick Jones. Johnson went first at No. 6 overall to the Arizona Cardinals following a trade-up to grant quarterback Kyler Murray's reported request. Then, Wright and Skoronski went back-to-back at 10 and 11 to the Chicago Bears and Tennessee Titans respectively, leaving Jones as the last tier-one offensive lineman in Round 1.
After the Detroit Lions opted to select Alabama running back Jahmyr Gibbs 12th overall, Jones was still on the board at pick 13. The New York Jets, a team who could've used Jones given offensive tackle Duane Brown turns 38 in August and 2020 first-round offensive tackle Mekhi Becton has struggled to stay healthy, were the original owners of the draft's 13th pick before flipping it to the Green Bay Packers in order to acquire future Hall of Fame quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Gang Green ended up with the Packers' 15th pick and had to watch another offensive line-needy team, the Pittsburgh Steelers, trade up to 14 to grab Jones one pick before the Jets after the Packers selected Iowa pass-rusher Lukas Van Ness at 13.
After that move, the Jets went defense and took Iowa State defensive end Will McDonald IV 15th overall, a move head coach Robert Saleh surprisingly said they were going to execute if they had held onto the 13th pick after trading for Rodgers.
"The difference between 13 and 15 in the way everything shook out made no difference to us," Saleh said Monday on "The Rich Eisen Show."
Saleh maintaining McDonald was the pick all along appears to be suspect since the Jets spent their next two draft choices -- their second- and fourth-round picks -- addressing their offensive line. They selected Wisconsin center Joe Tippmann (43rd overall) and Pittsburgh offensive tackle Carter Warren (120th overall) the next two times they were on the clock. Entering the 2023 season, the Jets will likely be relying on two injury risks in Brown and/or Becton at left tackle to protect Rodgers, a set-up that could come back to bite them.
