The stars don’t always align when it comes to football and the New York Jets, but after a frustrating season there may be some light at the end of the tunnel.

It’s no secret that the Jets will be looking for offensive help this offseason. When you finish in the bottom third of nearly every statistical category, your route to improvement is pretty clear.

In my last article, we looked at free agency and some positions where the Jets will look to improve; this week we turn our attention to the NFL Draft.

Fortunately for the Jets, the stars are aligning when it comes to areas of need and strengths of the upcoming Draft.

The 2024 class not only has elite top-level talent in round one, but it has plenty of strength in depth throughout, especially when it comes to two positions the Jets will almost certainly be looking to strengthen…

Offensive Tackle

This is arguably one of the best offensive tackle classes in recent memory. Three names are starting to dominate when it comes to the top of class with Notre Dame’s fine technician Joe Alt leading the way. Oregon State’s Taliese Fuaga and high-upside Penn State standout Olumuyiwa Fashanu are also generating top-10 buzz.

But the talent at the position doesn’t stop there.

Alabama’s mammoth tackle JC Latham is slated to go in the first-round, although he may be restricted to playing on the right side. Washington State’s Troy Fautanu is picking up steam with his plus movement skills, Oklahoma’s Tyler Guyton will continue to move up draft boards after some strong reviews at the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama, and Amarius Mims will be a first round option as long as teams are happy with his medical report.

Those are just the tackles being spoken about with the first 32 picks. If you continue down the board, you’ll see a number of other talented tackles who could slip into the later rounds.

One under-the-radar name to watch is Kiran Amegadjie from Yale, a player who improved every single year and who will start generating buzz during the pre-draft process.

Needless to say, if you need a starting offensive tackle or two, the 2024 NFL Draft is for you.

Wide Receiver

For as good as the offensive tackle position is, there are plenty of wide receivers to get excited about too, with star receivers at the top of the Draft and plenty of strength in depth.

The class is headlined by Marvin Harrison Jr, a player many have at the top of their Draft boards. Not only does he have the obvious pedigree (his father Marvin Harrison Sr. played for the Indianapolis Colts for 13 years), but he has that ideal speed/size combination with the explosiveness to punish teams consistently. Don’t get excited though Jets fans, this man won’t escape the top five… in fact I’d be surprised if he dropped below the top three picks.

Behind Marvin there are a host of players worthy of a first-round selection, and the idea of adding one of these guys to an Aaron Rodgers-led offence alongside Garrett Wilson is certainly an exciting prospect.

Leading that chasing pack is Washington’s Rome Odunze, who may be my favourite prospect in this entire draft. As refined a route-runner as you’ll find in college football, Odunze plays inside and out and has excellent hands, athleticism and size. In any other year, he’d be the clear #1 receiver, and there may even be teams who have him above Marvin Harrison Jr. I’d be shocked if he made it to the Jets at #10.

If he doesn’t, you start looking at the next tier and that’s dominated by the boys from Louisiana: Malik Nabers and Brian Thomas Jr. I’m a big fan of Thomas Jr and his explosiveness; he’s also coming off a season where he torched college defences for 17 touchdowns. For me, those two guys are in a tier of their own.

Then you start looking a little further down at receivers who could be available at the end of the first round and the top of the second. You find guys like Devontez Walker from North Carolina, Adonai Mitchell and Xavier Worthy from Texas, Keon Coleman from Florida State, Troy Franklin from Oregon and Ladd McConkey from Georgia; a player who’s already won the title for my favourite name in the draft.

If you keep going you’ll come across plenty of talent through the middle rounds and word out of the Senior Bowl is that Michigan man Roman Wilson impressed anyone and everyone in attendance.

The draft process is just getting started; there is plenty of evaluation left. But if you want to find offensive tackles and wide receivers – and the Jets likely want to find offensive tackles and wide receivers – the 2024 NFL Draft looks as though it may be very fruitful.