Bill Belichick wasted little time conspiring against Aaron Rodgers.
After last year’s draft, In Joe Douglas You Trust, but you could understand if there were groans in the Jets’ war room when the last elite offensive tackle went off the board right in front of them.
And you could understand if Rodgers himself might have let out a small groan wherever he was when the Jets used the 15th pick on pass rusher Will McDonald IV instead of a new toy such as Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
It was the swap of picks in the Rodgers trade — No. 13 to the Packers, No. 15 to the Jets — that cost Douglas the chance to buy insurance for offensive tackle Mekhi Becton with Georgia’s Broderick Jones.
Because that swap of picks enabled Belichick, scheduled to pick 14th overall, to allow the Steelers to leapfrog the Jets so Jones can be a bodyguard for Kenny Pickett.
Douglas, with only five picks in this draft, worked the phones seeking a trade partner, but quarterback Will Levis didn’t move the needle for anyone looking to move up.
We’ll learn much later on whether McDonald was the better play over Georgia edge Nolan Smith and Pitt defensive tackle Calijah Kancey.
Jets fans can at least be comforted by the fact that Douglas didn’t panic. Douglas did what Douglas always does, what the better GMs always do:
“We let the board come to us,” Douglas said.
The board gave the Jets a 6-foot-4, 236-pound freak with length and athleticism who has made jumping over cars a hobby at Iowa State.
The good news for Rodgers is he won’t have to worry about McDonald sacking him.
Robert Saleh was happy because he subscribes to the theory that you can never have enough pass rushers.
“We come at you in waves,” Saleh said.
And the hope is that those waves will wash over opposing quarterbacks once Rodgers forces them to play catch-up.
“We got a guy that can close the door on some offenses and get to the quarterback,” Saleh said.
NFL Network ace Daniel Jeremiah: “Will McDonald has the best bend ability of any edge rusher.”
McDonald didn’t start playing football until his junior year of high school. He grew up in Milwaukee, so here comes a Rodgers tribute.
“I wasn’t a Packer fan,” McDonald said, “but I was an Aaron Rodgers fan.”
No rush to judgment is in order. Not after Sauce Gardner, Garrett Wilson, Jermaine Johnson and Breece Hall, who played with McDonald.
“We’re not gonna force anything,” Douglas said. “We’re hopeful to have double-digit leads late, and we can have different waves of pass rushers to attack offensive linemen. Fresh legs, fresh pass rushers can really help us.”
So Rodgers being Rodgers will enhance McDonald’s value. If Rodgers is indeed Rodgers, it could make Belichick pay for haunting the Jets.
“This kid has elite ability to get after the quarterback,” Saleh said.
If the Jets are right, maybe Belichick better worry about keeping Mac Jones safe.