2025 NFL mock draft: Jets draft WR with familiar ties | Sporting News

The 2024 NFL season is still four months away, but there will still be those already looking ahead to the 2025 draft as the college season approaches as well.

It’s impossible to predict where a team will pick or who they will select, but USA Today Sports’ Doug Farrar took a shot a looking at team needs and potential draft positions given how the 2024 season could shake out.

The Jets landed Ohio State wide receiver Emeka Egbuka with the No. 21 overall pick in Farrar’s most recent mock draft. This would pair Garrett Wilson with his former Buckeyes teammate — Egbuka was a freshman during Wilson’s final year at OSU.

Ohio State wideouts have been very successful recently. Wilson won Offensive Rookie of the Year, while fellow 2021 classmate Chris Olave is already a perennial 1,000-yard receiver. Jaxon Smith-Njigba has been a solid third wide receiver for the Seahawks, while Marvin Harrison Jr. just went No. 4 overall the to Cardinals.

Taking a wide receiver in the first round also means the Mike Williams experiment likely failed, didn’t live up to the necessary expectations for a contract extension or meant another team coveted Williams more than the Jets. Either way, Egbuka would give New York a solid young trio of wide receivers alongside Wilson and 2024 third-round pick Malachi Corley. The Jets would inevitably have to begin looking at a contract extension for Wilson head into his fourth season.

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Egbuka had a sensational sophomore season in Columbus before he had a down year in 2023. He caught 74 receptions for 1,151 yards and 10 touchdowns with C.J. Stroud under center with Harrison Jr. by his side. Smith-Njigba was also on this team but played in just five games due to injury.

Inconsistent quarterback play and a severe left ankle sprain limited Egbuka’s effectiveness this past season. He suffered the injury in Week 6 and missed three games after he underwent tightrope surgery. Egbuka finished the year with 41 receptions for 515 yards and four touchdowns as Ohio State finished No. 10 in the AP poll.

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No one would be more happy about this pick than Aaron Rodgers. While there is a chance he’s no longer on the team in 2025 (his cap hit rises to $23.5 million and he has no guaranteed money left on his deal), all signs indicate Rodgers plans to play out his contract. If the Jets drafted Egbuka, it would make one of the only times Rodgers’ team drafted a receiver in the first round. He’ll be playing with two former first-round wideouts this year with Wilson and Williams.

There’s a long season to go, though, before Jets fans can even think about Egbuka — or any 2025 draft prospect.