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| Dwayne Smith. 21st April, 2010 - 11:54 pm
 With the NFL Draft finally here, the New York Jets look to continue their current shopping spree. Since the Jets were within a half of making it to their first Super Bowl in 40 years, they do not have a high draft pick. That being said, the Jets have done as much as any team in the NFL to bolster their roster. While leading rusher Thomas Jones may have gotten away, the Jets added CB Antonio Cromartie, RB LaDanian Tomlinson, WR Santonio Holmes and now DE Jason Taylor. The announcement of RB Leron Washington?s re-signing was another addition in that he was not lost.
General manager Mike Tannenbaum, Special Consultant (also former GM) Terry Bradway and VP of College Scouting Joey Clinkscales gave an informative discussion to beat writers last week of the immense undertaking that scouting of collegiate players is. The New York Jets sent scouts to 232 schools, evaluated 1,346 players, interviewed 366 players and wrote 5,600 in-depth reports during the college football season.
After the regular season ends, bowl games are played and all-star games evaluated, the scouts hunker down to assign letter grades to players based on football performance and their ability to fit into the Rex Ryan brand of Jets Football. This is purposely done before Pro Days and the combine.
Bradway explains, ?We don't want to get too caught up in the Olympics, the shorts and T-shirts Olympics. It really comes down to how they play football. We just want to make sure that that grade we've got as a final Jet grade isn't far off from them playing football.?
As far as how deep the draft is, Bradway says, ?From the bottom of the first round into like the fourth round, maybe even into the fifth round, there are going to be a lot of good football players. There is really strong depth, especially at wide receiver?. the corners and safeties, there are a lot of players there that are going to come in and play.?
With that being said and the Jets recent aggressive trading posture and signing veterans, it would be surprising, given the new format over several days, that they would sit still and not make moves to acquire veterans or NFL game ready draft picks. Additionally, Rex Ryan will not be shy in pushing for as many young, aggressive and fast defensive players that he can find. Expect the defensive back depth to be fully exploited by the Jets, even with the starting tandem of Darelle Revis and Cromartie.
Something for Jets fans to be aware of is Ryan?s well-known adage that you can never have enough defensive backs. Look for him to add depth especially after the AFC Championship game when Indianapolis Colts QB Peyton Manning successfully attacked every Jets DB not named Revis to a big second half. In a division with QB Tom Brady and receivers like Randy Moss, Lee Evans and Brandon Marshall, this fact cannot be overlooked, as even Revis will need to be spelled every so often.
The bottom line from the Jets Brain Trust is that despite having picks toward the end of most rounds, New York fully expects to find many players that will augment the veteran additions to make a Super Bowl run. |
