The New York Jets selected seven players during the 2025 NFL Draft. However, one pick is receiving more praise than the others.
With the No. 73 overall pick in the third round, the Jets selected Florida State cornerback Azareye’h Thomas.
“This is one of my favorite picks of the entire draft period. Taking him at [pick] 73? He is [the] 25th [ranked] player on my board. He was my corner [No.] 2 behind Travis Hunter. So really, corner [No.] 1, if you see Travis Hunter as a wide receiver. I love Azareye’h Thomas, I think his tape is outstanding,” NFL draft analyst Drew Beatty of Draft Professor dot com told me on “Boy Green Daily.”
“In my opinion, the best true corner in this draft fell to them at No. 73 overall. He is such a good press corner. [Thomas] is awesome in press-man coverage, and you see it in the frame. He looks like he has 30-inch arms; he can scratch his ankles standing up. So lanky, massive frame, he is an incredible athlete, [and is] super twitchy.”
“I think he is going to be an outstanding boundary corner for a long time. This is obviously an A [grade] for me, being 25th on my board. One of my favorite picks of the entire draft,” Beatty added.
WOAH MAMA!
The #Jets made one of the BEST picks in the entire 2025 #NFLDraft according to draft expert @IronCityFilm of @nfldraftfanatc: @FSUFootball CB @Azareyehthomas was the No. 73 overall pick in the 3rd round.
He was the 25th ranked player on his board + best corner in… pic.twitter.com/DCxl2FRdW0
— Paul Andrew Esden Jr (@BoyGreen25) April 29, 2025
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
The Reason Thomas Took a Tumble on Draft Weekend
ESPN NFL draft analyst Matt Miller said he thought Thomas would be “a first-rounder after a great Senior Bowl week, but poor testing at his pro day pushed his stock down to Round 2. The Jets were able to get him a round later. Yes, Thomas’ long speed isn’t great, but his toughness and ability to win at the line of scrimmage make him a potential D.J. Reed replacement.”
Thomas ran a 4.58 40-yard dash at his Florida State Pro Day, per Dane Brugler in “The Beast.” That would have been the second slowest 40-yard dash of any cornerback at the 2025 NFL combine.
That lack of speed seemed to scare a lot of teams off. The Jets weren’t one of them.
Following day two of the 2025 NFL draft, head coach Aaron Glenn spoke with the media and explained why the speed questions don’t bother him.
“How they play on the field like that is more enticing to me than watching a guy run in underwear at the combine,” Glenn said.
Jets’ First 3 Picks Earn National Praise
Matt Miller of ESPN ranked the best 100 selections that were made during the 2025 NFL draft.
“This list isn’t based purely on talent — that’s why we had predraft prospect rankings. Here, we factored in value (where a player was drafted vs. where he was ranked predraft), scheme fit, how the selection addressed a need, what the prospect brings on the field, and whether additional assets were gained or lost in draft-day trades to acquire him,” Miller explained.
The Jets finished with three players inside the top-24.
LSU tight end Mason Taylor was ranked No. 16 on Miller’s list.
“Taylor is a safe pick because of his natural receiving skills and ability as a route runner. He might be too lean to be an accomplished blocker right away, but Taylor is a high-effort player who could quickly become the Jets’ No. 2 receiving option,” Miller said.
Missouri offensive tackle Armand Membou was ranked No. 19 on Miller’s list.
“The Jets drafted an offensive tackle in the first round for the second year in a row and got an ascending player with elite physical tools. Membou is a force in the run game with the agility to recover well as a pass blocker. His best football is ahead of him, and the Jets now have two exciting young tackles in Membou and Olu Fashanu,” Miller said.
Thomas also cracked the list out of FSU as the No. 24-ranked player.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Jets Praised for Making One of the Best Picks of the Entire NFL Draft appeared first on Heavy Sports.