As part of the Aaron Rodgers trade, the Jets moved down from the 13th pick to the 15th pick in the first round of the 2023 NFL draft. Jets head coach Robert Saleh says that didn’t matter.
The Jets took defensive end Will McDonald at No. 15, and Saleh told Rich Eisen that McDonald would have been their pick at No. 13.
“The difference between 13 and 15 in the way everything shook out made no difference to us,” Saleh said.
That flies in the face of the widespread belief that the player the Jets wanted was offensive tackle Broderick Jones, who went No. 14 when the Steelers traded up with the Patriots to get him. But if Saleh is to be believed, McDonald was the guy they wanted all along.
