New York Jets Reportedly Tried to Trade Up for Laremy Tunsil During Draft Slide

The New York Jets reportedly had their eye on offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil on Thursday night, as they reportedly made an attempt to trade up in the first round of the 2016 NFL draft in order to land him. 

Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News was the first to report Gang Green's interest in Tunsil, but he revealed they were unwilling to pay the high asking price needed to move up from No. 20.

Tunsil ultimately landed with the AFC East rival Miami Dolphins at No. 13, while the Jets may have netted a steal of their own with the 20th pick in the form of Ohio State linebacker Darron Lee.

Tunsil was considered the early favorite to be selected No. 1 overall before the Tennessee Titans dealt the top pick to the Los Angeles Rams. Even after that, though, he was viewed as the top offensive lineman in the draft by most and considered a likely top-five selection.

That changed just prior to the draft when his social media accounts were reportedly hacked. That resulted in a video of Tunsil allegedly smoking marijuana through a gas mask emerging on Twitter. ESPN's Russillo and Kanell captured a screenshot of the video:

Also, alleged text messages between Tunsil and Ole Miss assistant athletic director John Miller showed up on Tunsil's Instagram account. As seen in this screenshot, courtesy of 120 Sports' Chelsea Gates, the discussion focused on the receipt of improper benefits:

Per Hugh Kellenberger of the Clarion-Ledger, Tunsil admitted to taking money at Ole Miss and also said he was in the video, which was made "several years ago."

Despite the baggage, the Jets' reported interest in Tunsil makes sense considered their offensive line situation.

Longtime starting left tackle D'Brickashaw Ferguson retired this offseason, which prompted New York to acquire Ryan Clady in a trade with the Denver Broncos. Clady missed all of 2015 with a torn ACL, though, and it isn't known how effective he will be.

Even if Clady is great, the Jets have question marks at right tackle with the shaky Breno Giacomini currently in line to start.

Landing a player of Tunsil's caliber would have been a major coup for the Jets, assuming he puts his off-field issues behind him, but they still did extremely well by staying at No. 20, and they got to retain their other picks in the process.

New York may come to regret not moving up if Tunsil becomes a cornerstone tackle for the Dolphins, however, Lee may prove to be an even better pick within head coach Todd Bowles' aggressive defense.

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