One of the most exciting weekends of the NFL calendar is here – it’s time for the 2023 NFL Draft! Ocean Township quarterback Kenny Pickett stole the show last season as the 20th overall pick to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Who from New Jersey is headed to the NFL this year? Find out below!
Safety Ji’Aiyr Brown, San Francisco 49ers (3rd Round, 87th Overall) | Penn State | Trenton HS Graduate
From no Division I offers to being a third round draft pick, Ji’Ayir Brown’s story continues to amaze. During his senior year, the former Trenton Central standout won a Central Group 4 Boys Basketball Sectional Title with the Tornadoes in 2018. After high school Brown entered the workforce and later played for Lackawanna College, he would go on to earn a scholarship and captain honors at Penn State where he racked up 10 interceptions during his three seasons with the Nittany Lions. Congratulations to Brown on becoming the latest JSZ athlete to receive the honor of being drafted to the NFL.
Learn more about Ji’Ayir Brown:
OT Carter Warren, New York Jets (4th Round, 120th overall) | University of Pittsburgh | Passaic Tech Graduate
Paterson native Carter Warren is staying close to home as he makes the jump to the NFL. Warren missed the vast majority of his senior season following an injury, but landed on the Jets’ radar after great workouts in the pre-draft process. He was the Jets’ lone selection in the fourth round.
WR Justin Shorter, Buffalo Bills (5th Round, 150th overall) | University of Florida | South Brunswick Graduate
Shorter was a five-star ranked prospect coming out of South Brunswick High School and is now headed to the AFC East to catch passes from Josh Allen. Shorter was a valuable piece to the Vikings’ sectional championship run back in 2017 as they finished the year at 11-1. He enrolled originally at Penn State played two seasons with the Nittany Lions before finishing out his college career with three years with the Gators.
Watch highlights from his stellar senior season:
C Luke Wypler, Cleveland Browns (6th Round, 190th overall) | Ohio State | St. Joe’s Mont. Graduate
Lukę Wypler had to wait longer than he may have anticipated, but the Bergen County native NFL-bound. Wypler was among the nation’s highest-ranked centers coming out of high school at St. Joe’s Mont., where he was an All-American as a senior. Wypler was the starting center at Ohio State in 2021 and 2022 and was a third-team all Big 10 conference selection this fall.
Back in 2019, Wypler spoke about the hard work to become great at his craft:
