The NFL Draft is in two weeks, and it will provide Jets general manager Joe Douglas another crack at building the foundation of his team.

This will be Douglas’ fourth draft as the Jets’ GM. His first two drafts do not look good at the moment. His third draft could go down as one of the best in the team’s history. It’s been a mixed bag.

For the next three newsletters, we’ll take a look at each of Douglas’ drafts.

In considering the choices, you need to know my outlook on how I judge a pick. First-round and second-round picks should be immediate starters or major contributors. Third-round picks should at least play special teams as rookies and become starters by Year 2 or 3. The fourth round and later is a total crapshoot.

I don’t want to give out letter grades for each pick. It is too soon for some of them. Let’s do pass/fail for their careers so far.

Let’s start with a look at the 2020 draft, which came during Douglas’ first year at the helm. This was the COVID draft when he ran things from his home:

OT Mekhi Becton, first round, No. 11 overall

Douglas went for a franchise left tackle in his first pick, but Becton has barely seen the field during his time with the Jets. He has appeared in just 15 of a possible 50 games — including all but one game the past two years — while battling knee injuries. Becton looks motivated, and has gotten himself into better shape. Can he rewrite his Jets legacy in 2023?

Pass/fail: FAIL

WR Denzel Mims, second round, No. 59 overall

I don’t think any player lost more when the Jets changed coaches in 2021. Adam Gase and his staff were believers in Mims. Robert Saleh and his staff have no belief in Mims. He has 42 total catches for 676 yards, but has yet to score a touchdown since his arrival. Mims asked for a trade last summer, and could use a change of scenery. He is a long shot to make the roster this year.

Pass/fail: FAIL

S Ashtyn Davis, third round, No.  68 overall

This was one of the picks the Jets received from the Giants in exchange for Leonard Williams. Davis was touted as an uber-athletic player who could be a weapon for the Jets. He has become mainly a special teams player who only sees time on defense sparingly. He made the game-sealing interception against the Browns last season.

Pass/fail: FAIL

DE Jabari Zuniga, third round, No.  79 overall

This pick never seemed to fit. Zuniga could not get on the field with the previous coaching staff or the current one. The Jets moved on from him at the end of training camp last year. He played one game for the Saints last season, and has only one career sack through three NFL seasons.

Pass/fail: FAIL

RB La’Mical Perine, fourth round, No. 120 overall

Perine showed promise as a rookie, but fell out of favor with the new coaching staff. Released at the end of training camp last year, Perine, who had registered two rushing touchdowns with the Jets, got a Super Bowl ring as a member of the Chiefs practice squad.

Pass/fail: FAIL

QB James Morgan, fourth round, No. 125 overall

This pick was a head-scratcher from the start because the Jets had a young quarterback in Sam Darnold and tons of holes on the roster. Morgan did not last long with the Jets, getting cut after the 2021 training camp. He is now a member of the Pittsburgh Maulers in the USFL.

Pass/fail: FAIL

OL Cameron Clark, fourth round, No. 129 overall

Clark’s career was derailed by a serious neck injury suffered during training camp in 2021 that forced him to retire.

Pass/fail: INCOMPLETE

CB Bryce Hall, fifth round, No. 158 overall

Hall was a starter in 2020 and 2021, and he fared OK. He was replaced last year when the Jets drafted Sauce Gardner and signed D.J. Reed. Hall is now mainly a special teams player. Still, this was a good pick. Hall was coming off of a serious leg injury in college, and Douglas took a chance on him. He has played a lot for a fifth-round pick.

Pass/fail: PASS

P Braden Mann, sixth round, No. 191 overall

Mann has been the primary punter for the Jets since he was drafted. It looks as if he will be replaced this season by the recently signed Thomas Morstead, but Mann has had some good moments while struggling with consistency. For many Jets fans, the biggest memory of Mann will be a painful one — the tackle he made against the Rams in late December for the Jets’ first win in 2020.

Pass/fail: PASS

Overall assessment: This draft was ugly any way you slice it. The Jets have gotten little production from their top two picks, who should be foundational pieces right now. They did not really hit on any mid- or late-round picks in the sense that they are now entrenched as starters. When your best pick is an average punter, that’s rough.

Want to catch a game? The Jets schedule with links to buy tickets can be found here.

Odell Beckham Jr. chose the Ravens and $15 million over the Jets this past weekend. That leaves the Jets with a question of what they need to do at wide receiver.

They have a solid wide receiver room with Garrett Wilson, Allen Lazard and Mecole Hardman at the top. Corey Davis seems to be sticking around, as well.

But the Beckham flirtation shows the Jets still feel as if they are missing something.

I think they’d like someone to take the top off of defenses and free things up more for Wilson.

Can they find that now? Not in free agency.

And I would be leery of drafting a wide receiver high if I were Douglas. There are other, more important holes for him to fill, namely on the offensive and defensive lines.

There has been talk of the Broncos trading Jerry Jeudy or Courtland Sutton, but I’m not sure those players are the answer either.

The Jets might have to roll with what they have right now and take a flyer on a receiver later in the draft in the hopes they can land a sleeper.

There is always a lot of talk about how the Jets have never beaten the Eagles (0-12) when they are on the schedule. But we decided to flip it today and take a look at the five teams the Jets have the best winning percentages against:

1. Buccaneers — record against: 10-3 (.769 win pct.)
   2. Texans — record against: 6-3 (.667)
   2. Vikings — record against: 8-4 (.667)
   4. Packers — record against: 9-5 (.643)
   5. Cardinals — record against: 6-4 (.600)

Source: Pro Football Reference