The New York Giants struck gold with Malik Nabers in the 2024 NFL Draft, but in a recent re-draft by The 33rd Team, he doesn’t hear his name called at No. 6. Instead, he falls to the New York Jets, completely altering their season and potentially keeping Aaron Rodgers in town for another year.
The Jets entered the 2024 season with sky-high expectations. Rodgers was back from injury, they had an elite defense, and the offense was expected to take a major leap. Instead, it was a disaster.
Rodgers never looked like himself, the offensive line crumbled, and the supporting cast—outside of Garrett Wilson—was nowhere near good enough. By season’s end, the Jets had missed the playoffs again, and Rodgers was on his way out.
But what if they had made a different decision on draft night? In a recent 2024 re-draft by Marcus Mosher of The 33rd Team, the Jets land the most electrifying rookie playmaker in the class: Malik Nabers. Instead of drafting offensive tackle Olumuyiwa Fashanu, Mosher has the Jets pairing Nabers with Wilson to create one of the most lethal young receiver duos in the NFL.
"The New York Jets picked Olumuyiwa Fashanu with the idea that protecting Aaron Rodgers would extend his career. But Rodgers just wasn’t good enough, and Fashanu didn't see the field until late into his rookie season. Instead, the Jets pair Garrett Wilson with Malik Nabers, giving them the best young wide receiver duo in the league." — Marcus Mosher, The 33rd Team
The New York Jets land Malik Nabers in 2024 re-draft
There’s no denying how much of a difference Nabers would have made. The former LSU star shattered records as a rookie, putting up 109 catches for 1,204 yards and seven touchdowns—despite catching passes from Daniel Jones, Drew Lock, and Tommy DeVito. If he made those guys look competent at times, imagine what he could have done for Rodgers.
Had Nabers been in New York, the Jets' entire season might have played out differently. Maybe Rodgers wouldn’t have looked so washed if he had a dynamic second weapon to take pressure off Wilson. Maybe the offense wouldn’t have ranked 24th in scoring. And maybe, just maybe, the Jets wouldn’t have been forced to move on from Rodgers so quickly.
Instead, they took Fashanu, who barely saw the field as a rookie. The logic behind the pick was sound—protect Rodgers at all costs—but the reality was that the offensive line issues weren’t going to be fixed by one rookie. Meanwhile, the passing offense remained painfully one-dimensional (even with the mid-season trade for Davante Adams), and the Jets were once again irrelevant by December.
Now, heading into 2025, the Jets are hitting the reset button at quarterback. But if they had drafted Nabers, maybe they wouldn’t have to. Maybe they would have finally ended their playoff drought instead of resetting the clock once again.