Jets finally land tackle, select Pitt’s Warren in fourth round
NEW YORK — Entering the 2023 NFL Draft, many expected the Jets to address their need at tackle in the first two days.
But that wasn’t the case. The team waited until Round 4 to select one.
With the 120th selection, the Jets drafted tackle Carter Warren from Pittsburgh. Earlier this month, the Jets hosted Warren at their annual Pro Day for local prospects and he apparently made a good impression on coaches and draft scouts.
“I felt like I did really good,” Warren said about his performance at the local Pro Day. “I had a great workout, I was able to meet with a bunch of coaches and get to see the facility and meet a lot of the players. “So it was really good.”
At 6 feet 5, 311 pounds, there’s a lot to like about Warren. After he didn’t receive any playing time for the Panthers in 2017 and 2018, he became a four-year starter at left tackle beginning in 2019 when he started all 13 games.
Following the 2020 season, in which he started nine games in a COVID-shortened campaign, Warren was an All-ACC selection in 2021. He started 14 games en route to helping Pitt win its first ACC Championship. He anchored an offense that averaged a school-record 41.4 points and 486.6 yards per game as the Panthers ranked third in the nation in scoring and eighth in total offense. Warren was named ACC offensive lineman of the week following a 27-17 win over Clemson that year after he didn’t allow a sack against one of the toughest defenses in the country.
From 2020 to 2021, Warren started in 22 games for the Panthers at left tackle. However, he likely slipped to the fourth round because his 2022 season was cut short after four games due to a meniscus tear he suffered last October. Warren says he is now completely healthy.
“I’m 100%,” Warren said. “I’m ready to go.”
While there are some injury concerns, Warren fits the mold of what every NFL coach and scout is looking for when evaluating tackles. Warren’s best work as a blocker comes during pass-protection situations. Because of his long arms, Warren can keep defensive linemen at bay with his punching ability and power at the line of scrimmage.
As good of a pass protector as he is, Warren needs to improve when it comes to run blocking. Warren needs more consistency to sustain blocks for players coming out of the backfield. Pro Football Focus gave Warren an 81.5 pass block grade and a 60.3 run block grade.
The Jets grabbed a teammate of Warren’s in the fifth round. With the 143rd overall selection, they selected Pitt running back Israel Abanikanda, who grew up in Brooklyn. Abanikanda learned he was being chosen by the Jets while watching the draft news at Abraham Lincoln High School, his alma mater, with his friends and family.
Abanikanda ended his career at Pitt with 2,177 yards and 28 touchdowns on 390 carries (5.6 avg.) while catching 38 passes for 354 yards (9.3 avg.) and three TDs.
In the sixth round, New York selected Western Michigan linebacker Zaire Barnes with the 184th overall pick after trading their Round 5 pick to the Raiders for a pair of late-round picks.
Friday night recap
Meanwhile, New York got another protector for Aaron Rodgers on Friday night — someone who could anchor their offensive line for years to come.
Wisconsin center Joe Tippmann was selected by the Jets in the second round with the 43rd overall pick helps bolster an O-line that will have the recently acquired Rodgers behind it this season.
The Jets also initially held the 42nd pick in the draft, but traded it to Green Bay in the deal to acquire Rodgers this week.
“He’s a diligent worker who is extremely smart and extremely bright … hard-wired and tough.
“Will is here, and our coaches are going to work their [butts] off to help him improve, and we think that he will improve.”
Levis, a three-star recruit out of Xavier, where he followed Tim Boyle, now the Jets’ backup, never became QB1 at Penn State. After transferring to Kentucky, he exploded, leading the Wildcats to 10 wins and a bowl victory in 2021.
A toe injury, a change in coordinators and a diminished supporting cast made for a more difficult 2022. But the 6-foot-3, 231-pound Levis, with his powerful running and powerful arm, 5,232 yards and 43 touchdown passes in two seasons, made himself a darling of the draft analysts, some of whom had him going at the very top of the draft.
Mel Kiper Jr., the daddy of Draftniks, had Levis as his second-rated quarterback and was incredulous as, after Bryce Young went No.1 to Carolina, C.J. Stroud went No. 2 to Houston and Anthony Richardson No. 4 to Indianapolis, he was still sitting there. The Titans, picking 11th and mentioned as a suitor, then went for the top-shelf offensive lineman, Peter Skoronski, to protect their quarterbacks.
Levis slipped all the way out of the first round.
“I’m going to share something with you: I saw your face last night,” Carthon told Levis during the call. “And I know that means something. I know you’re driven.”
Maybe Levis was a just another victim of the draft’s hype machine, which built him up and knocked him down with characteristic glibness and ultimately misfired.
If Levis left Kansas City humbled, he returned home with his pride and dignity intact. Once the second round started, the Titans, one of the teams Levis visited, traded up eight spots to get the him. Coach Mike Vrabel reminded Levis, as his family had, that “everything happens for a reason.”
“I heard from Mr. Carthon and Coach and I knew I was going to cry, and the tears came immediately,” Levis said. “I didn’t know how the conversation was going to go. You feel like you’re going to handle yourself and be composed, but the waterworks started flowing and emotions overwhelmed me.”
So it didn’t go the way Levis had expected, or was led to expect it. It went the way it went, and there are many examples of quarterbacks left waiting in the Green Room later becoming successful in the NFL.
Aaron Rodgers slipped to No. 24 in 2005, and he’s bound for Canton. Tom Brady waited until the sixth round, then became the greatest of all time. Since 2000 Drew Brees, Colin Kaepernick, Geno Smith, Jimmy Garoppolo and Derek Carr are among the quarterbacks taken in the second round.
“Regardless of where I got picked it was not going to change my work ethic, whether I went first overall or 33rd,” Levis said. “You can’t let the circumstances dictate your preparation or the level of intensity you bring to every day practice. A little bit of a chip [on my shoulder], but I was going to work hard regardless of where I got picked.
“I ended up where I was meant to be.”