USAT: Jets Wire audio clip

USAT: Jets Wire

Mar 13, 2022

It’s impossible to predict how the NFL draft board will shake out before the Jets pick fourth overall. But if N.C. State’s Ikem Ekwonu is sitting there when New York is on the clock, Joe Douglas could add another young offensive lineman to the roster. - Ekwonu offers a lot for a team in desperate need of help along the line. He’s big, fast and fundamentally sound. Ekwonu would also give the Jets something they might covet even more: positional flexibility. - The 6-foot-5, 310-pound Ekwonu exclusively played left tackle in college last season. However, he also has experience playing guard; he played 239 snaps on the left side in 2020. While the Jets already have two players jockeying for the left tackle job in Mekhi Becton and George Fant, as well as a locked-in starting left guard in Alijah Vera-Tucker, Ekwonu proved in college that he’s movable. - If the Jets really want him, they could stick him on the right side. - Ekwonu could be a player who solves a couple of big question marks for the Jets offensive line in 2022. The Jets don’t know who their right guard or right tackle will be yet with Laurent Duvernay-Tardif and Morgan Moses likely hitting free agency, and it’s hard to tell what the plan is at left tackle with Becton’s injury history and Fant’s value after a breakout season. - It’s also wouldn’t be uncommon or impossible for Ekwonu to seamlessly make the switch to guard if called upon. Alijah Vera-Tucker did it after playing tackle in 2020 at USC and he excelled for New York as a rookie. Ekwonu had a much better run-blocking grade in 2021 – 93.8 – than Vera-Tucker did in 2020. - Regardless of position, Ekwonu would be an ideal fit for New York’s wide-zone blocking scheme. He finished with a 95.9 zone-blocking grade, according to Pro Football Focus, and his 4.93 40-yard dash time ranked seventh among the 2022 class. Becton, for reference, ran the 40 in 5.10 seconds with an extra inch and 54 pounds on his frame. Ekwonu has improvements to make in pass protection, but overall he’s a great fit for a Mike LaFleur offense that likes to run a lot. - The only issue with Ekwonu is that he might not be available when Jets are up. It’s possible he goes No. 1 overall to the Jaguars, and he could easily be snagged by the Lions or Texans with the next two picks. - But if he’s there at No. 4, the Jets should be very interested. - - List - - 2022 NFL draft: Is Ahmad Gardner or Derek Stingley Jr. better fit for Jets? - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Email - - - - - Sign up - - - - - - - - Like this article? - Sign up for the Jets Wire email newsletter to get our top stories in your inbox every morning - - - - An error has occured - - - Please re-enter your email address. - - - - - - Thanks for signing up! - - - You'll now receive the top Jets Wire stories each day directly in your inbox.

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