Round 3: Ashtyn Davis & Jabari Zuniga

Based off of the picks of Mekhi Becton and Denzel Mims, it was clear that the Jets drafted these players based on their supreme athleticism, and the same can be said for the Jets 3rd round picks, Ashtyn Davis and Jabari Zuniga.

With numerous rumors surrounding Jamal Adams possibly leaving, it was clear that New York knew that Adams was likely on his way out, sooner rather than later, and with that, the Jets drafted Ashtyn Davis

Davis played his entire college career with the California Golden Bears, and while at Cal, Davis proved to be one of the best safeties in the National, and like the draft picks before him, he is extremely athletic.

Davis mainly played in a free safety or single high safety role while at Cal, and from this role is where Davis showed his extreme talent and athleticism. Davis would often lock down the seems from the single high role and was able to cover an immense amount of ground.

Davis is at his best as a free safety due to his range and speed, but he can also play the slot. Davis has very smooth hips and is great at changing direction which allows him to be quality from the slot. The Jets would be wise to mainly use Davis as a free safety, but if the Jets decide on using him from the slot, Davis will be able to be a quality slot safety when used as one

Davis was an absolute steal for the Jets, but when he enters the NFL, Davis will likely, and unfairly, be compared to Adams due to that he is replacing Adams on the Jets roster. Davis will undoubtedly not be as talented as Adams in his rookie year, nor ever in his career because he doesn’t nearly have the versatility of Adams, but he can still offer the Jets a high-end coverage safety.

While Davis was a freaky athlete who was also skilled and the Jets managed to get great value with, the same can not be said for Jabari Zuniga.

Zuniga is similar to Davis in the fact that both are extremely athletic. At the combine, Zuniga showed off his speed, strength, and explosiveness as he finished with a 4.64 40-yard dash, a 10 foot 7-inch broad jump, and 29 bench press reps. While both Davis and Zuniga are both extremely athletic players, Zuniga severely lacks any skill

Zuniga can challenge some offensive tackles due to his athleticism, but besides that, he doesn’t have much else. Most quality edge rushers are smooth or natural-looking when approaching offensive tackles and using their pass-rushing moves, but the same can not be said for Zuniga as he looks like he’s using his moves out of a manual.

While Zuniga is certainly not a quality edge rusher, the selection of him is not shocking. The edge rushers that the Jets had on their team heading into this season before the draft was okay at best as they had, Jordan Jenkins, Tarrell Basham, and Jordan Lewis.

Zuniga will likely struggle greatly when it comes to the NFL, especially in his rookie year, as the only offensive tackles Zuniga did well against were offensive tackles who could not match his athleticism, and in the NFL, Zuniga will find that nearly everybody is up to his athleticism level.