NFL Draft: New York Jets Team Draft Retrospective

This article is part of a series that looks at each NFL team’s recent draft history, with the hope of extracting information about the way they think and the players they value.

The analysis is limited to the past five drafts in the interest of relevance, and the first three rounds because that’s where most impact players are taken.

This entry will focus on the New York Jets.

Draft History

In the past five years, the Jets have taken the following players in the early rounds. Their positions and the rounds in which they were drafted are listed next to their names.

2006:   D’Brickashaw Ferguson, OT (1)

            Nick Mangold, C (1)

            Kellen Clemens, QB (2)

            Anthony Schlegel, LB (3)

            Eric Smith, S (3)

2007:   Darrelle Revis, CB (1)

            David Harris, LB (2)

2008:   Vernon Gholston, DE (1)

            Dustin Keller, TE (1)

2009:   Mark Sanchez, QB (1)

            Shonn Greene, RB (3)

2010:   Kyle Wilson, CB (1)

            Vladimir Ducasse, OT (2)

Breakdown by Position

Here is the number of players the Jets have drafted for each position:

Cornerback: 2

Linebacker: 2

Offensive tackle: 2

Quarterback: 2

Center: 1

Defensive end: 1

Running back: 1

Safety: 1

Tight end: 1

Impact

D’Brickashaw Ferguson is one of the league’s top blind side protectors. Nick Mangold is possibly the best center in the league. Eric Smith is a solid safety. Darrelle Revis is probably the best cover corner in the game. David Harris is an elite inside linebacker. Dustin Keller is one of the best pass catching tight ends, though his blocking isn’t anything to write home about. Shonn Greene has been a pretty good rotational running back.

Mark Sanchez is one of the league’s most schizophrenic quarterbacks. On any given week, he’s capable of throwing three touchdowns or three picks. However, when he’s on, he can carry this offense on his back. To his credit, he seems to save his best for when it matters most, as he has been instrumental in both of their playoff runs with him.

Overall, the Jets have gradually turned themselves into a legitimate contender, reaching the last two AFC Championship Games. Now they must figure out how to get over that hump, but the future certainly looks bright under coach Rex Ryan.

Trends

Two trends stand out with the Jets. The first is that after drafting five players in the first three rounds in 2006, they’ve taken just two players in the early rounds in each of the past four drafts.

The second, which explains the first, is that the Jets have shown a willingness to trade up and secure a player they really like. They traded up into the top ten to secure both Darrelle Revis and Mark Sanchez, and into the first round to take Nick Mangold and Dustin Keller. To their credit, these gambles have all paid off tremendously and set them up with some of their cornerstone players.

The Jets don’t really seem to favor any particular position in the draft. They simply take the best available players to fill out their roster.

2011 Outlook

After two straight Championship Game appearances, the Jets must now look for the pieces to help put them over the top. However, free agency looms like a dark cloud over the Jets, as several key players are slated to hit the open market. They’ve secured LB David Harris for at least one more year with the franchise tag, but the fates of WRs Santonio Holmes and Braylon Edwards, DE Shaun Ellis, CB Antonio Cromartie and S Brodney Pool are all up in the air. Inevitably, at least a few of them will need to be replaced in the draft.

Even if Ellis is brought back, he’s into his thirties and won’t be playing for much longer. The same is true of nose tackle Sione Pouha, so New York will definitely look for an infusion of youth on the defensive line. Given the depth of this year’s class, they can afford to stay put at the end of the first round (or possibly even move down a few spots) and still come away with a productive lineman like Muhammad Wilkerson (Temple), Cameron Heyward (Ohio State) or Stephen Paea (Oregon State).

Unfortunately, the team traded away its second rounder last year in exchange for Antonio Cromartie. Luckily, they took Kyle Wilson last year, so they have a contingency plan if Cromartie leaves via free agency.

The third rounder could be spent on a receiver to recoup the possible loss of Santonio Holmes and/or Braylon Edwards. Someone like Jerrel Jernigan (Troy), Greg Little (North Carolina), or Edmond Gates (Abilene Christian) could fall to them here.

The guard position could also be addressed, as the run blocking suffered with the departure of Alan Faneca last year. However, quality guards can probably be found later in the draft.