2012 NFL Draft: Which Prospects Are the New York Jets Learning About?

The New York Jets have 10 draft picks in the 2012 NFL draft, which is only three short of the number of picks they've had in the past three years combined.

You'd think a team with that few selections wouldn't even know what to do with them when they got them. On the contrary, the Jets are hot on the "scouting trail," getting a closer look at several key prospects they might be interested in.

Evan Silva of Pro Football Talk has been maintaining a running list of all the pre-draft visits that every team, including the Jets, have held thus far.

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* = private workout only; not a visit to team facility.

+ = BOTH private workout and visit to team facility.

*Columbia offensive tackle Jeff Adams (4/9).

*Arizona State cornerback Omar Bolden (?/?).

LSU defensive tackle Michael Brockers (4/?).

Miami (Ohio) guard Brandon Brooks (4/?).

North Carolina linebacker Zach Brown (4/11).

Wake Forest safety Josh Bush (4/11).

*Oregon State linebacker Cameron Collins (4/13).

Notre Dame receiver Michael Floyd (4/12).

Wake Forest receiver Chris Givens (4/11).

Baylor guard Robert T. Griffin (4/?).

Georgia Tech receiver Stephen Hill (4/10).

Virginia Tech cornerback Jayron Hosley (?/?).

South Carolina defensive end Melvin Ingram (4/10).

+West Virginia linebacker Bruce Irvin (3/22, 4/11).

*Memphis guard Ronald Leary (3/?).

South Carolina receiver Alshon Jeffery (4/4).

Montana defensive back Trumaine Johnson (4/?).

*Georgia center Ben Jones (?/?).

Syracuse defensive end Chandler Jones (4/10).

Oklahoma linebacker Ronnell Lewis (?/?).

Wayne State offensive tackle Joe Long (?/?).

Ole Miss offensive tackle Bobby Massie (4/11).

*Maine safety Jerron McMillian (?/?).

Harvard defensive end Josue Ortiz (?/?).

LSU receiver Rueben Randle (4/?).

*Rutgers receiver Mohamed Sanu (?/?).

Notre Dame safety Harrison Smith (4/12).

*San Diego State punter Brian Stahovich (3/?).

LSU safety Brandon Taylor (4/12).

Utah State running back Robert Turbin (4/11).

*Temple linebacker Tahir Whitehead (4/12).

"

Top priority: Wide receiver

After adding former Raiders receiver Chaz Schilens in free agency, it looks like the Jets may not be done adding talent to the offense. Santonio Holmes and Jeremy Kerley have both shown the ability to dominate underneath, but both are fairly small. What the Jets need is a versatile, big-bodied receiver to stretch the field.

In that mold, Georgia Tech's Stephen Hill and Notre Dame's Michael Floyd both appear to address the Jets' need.

Hill is a polarizing prospect, and there are two schools of thought on him.

On the one hand, he's a big-bodied and athletically gifted receiver who could be viewed as a ball of clay. On the other hand, he comes from an option-style offense and is very raw, having caught just 49 passes in his three-year collegiate career.

Floyd is viewed as the draft's second-best receiving prospect behind Oklahoma State's Justin Blackmon. Many feel he'll be gone by the time the Jets pick at 16, but if he's there, he has proven big-play ability with nearly as many touchdown catches (36) as Hill has receptions.

Top Prospect: Melvin Ingram, LB, South Carolina

The Jets sorely need to address depth at several key positions, but one position where they will eventually need a top-end talent is at outside linebacker. Calvin Pace is 31, Bryan Thomas is 34 and coming off surgery, and beneath the two starters is a very harrowing situation on the depth chart.

Ingram is an athletic freak, though not as physical as the Jets typically like in their defensive players. He's a bit small, but his unique skill set and ability to get after the quarterback could immediately bolster the Jets pass rush.

That being said, Ingram is projected to go in the top 10, and the Jets may have to trade up if they want to land him.

Biggest Surprise: Only One Running Back

The Jets' offensive woes in 2011 were a team effort, but one of the most notable struggles was the running game. Shonn Greene averaged 4.2 yards per carry, which isn't awful but is no longer the standard for excellence that it once was.

As a team, the Jets averaged just 3.8 yards per carry, ranking 30th in the NFL. While some of that may be attributed to the injury to center Nick Mangold, the obvious truth is that Greene shouldn't have to shoulder the load for the entire Jets running game.

In fact, a team that is planning to get back to "ground and pound," a soliloquy all too familiar in New York, should really have a stable of backs to turn to for its production rather than one singular "bell cow."

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