Day 251

Fresh Start_251: A review of the 2017 New York Jets draft
With the NFL Draft come and gone, and a day in between, I think I have an overall idea what to say about the Jets draft. Going into the draft I was afraid, no terrified that the Jets would go a quarterback at 6th overall or in the second round, and thank God they didn’t. I am very happy with this draft because it helps the team on multiple levels. Here it is:
1.      Round 1 (6th overall)-Jamal Adams (S): Adams is probably the 2nd or 3rd best player in this draft overall, and I think this pick will drastically help the secondary that was dreadful last year. That’s me describing it in a civil way.
2.      Round 2 (39th overall)- Marcus Maye (S): Back to back safety picks when it happened, but getting a young safety core that flies around the ball and will hit hard is something that will change the culture in that secondary and make this defense that much better. You don’t believe me? Maye had 210 tackles in 3 years at Florida. The safety pairing of Calvin Pryor and Marcus Gilchrist will most likely be coming to an end. Gilchrist had to have major knee surgery after he had a knee injury in San Francisco late in the year, and Pryor hasn’t necessarily played consistently in his Jets career. Pryor will either be cut in the preseason or be traded for a possible 4th or 5th pick in next year’s draft.
3.      Round 3 (79th overall) ArDarius Stewart (WR): When this happened; I hated this pick because I thought he was over-drafted in the 2nd round, but looking at it, it makes sense. Eric Decker is questionable if he will be ready for the start of the season, and locking up the second receiver roll behind Quincy Enunwa will help either Bryce Petty or Christian Hackenberg make this offense better. Stewart has been Nick Sabban’s most consistent wide out for the past 3 years and is a nice down field threat for the Jets to have.
4.      Round 4 (141st overall) Chad Henson (WR): Regardless of the Jets picking two safeties with their first two picks, then going back to back wide receivers with their 3rd and 4th round picks. I like this pick because Henson is a great possession receiver that the Jets can use in 4 receiver sets and 3rd downs to move the chains. He had 92 catches, 1,249 yards, and 11 touchdowns for Davis Webb and the California Golden Bears. Like Stewart, Henson will help the young quarterback’s lives easier.
5.      Round 5 (150th overall) Jordan Leggett (TE): YES! The Jets are trying help fix their problem at tight end, and hopefully Leggett will start to change the guard of awful tight end play, and add a missing dynamic in the Jets offense. After a year two seasons ago where the Jets had the least amount of receptions and receiving yards in the NFL, and last year where the tight ends that they had (Kellen Davis, Austin Seferian-Jenkins, Breandon Bowman), which is just terrible. I am intrigued to see how Leggett effects the offense in 2017.
6.      Round 5 (181st overall) Dylan Donahue (DE/OLB): This was a depth pick to help the Jets linebacking core to this difficult and confusing Jets defense. Donahue could be used to rush the passer off the edge, which will help that best defensive front in all of football.
7.      Round 6 (188th overall) Elijah McGuire (RB): Matt Forte didn’t have the impact that all Jet fans were hoping he would have in the back field. Hopefully Forte will have a better 2017 season and rebound, but having a potential 3rd down back in McGuire will help Powell and Forte during the course of the season.
8.      Round 6 (197th overall) Jeremy Clark (CB): Great depth pick late in the draft to help the secondary. Clark will not make the starting lineup right away, but watching him at Michigan for the past couple of years, he has the ability to be a nice corner of the future, again to help the secondary. I don’t think he will ever be the Jets number one corner, but with his height (6-foot-3) and his press coverage skills, he will be a good number two corner.
9.      Round 6 (204th overall) Derrick Jones (CB): Finding a stud in the late 6th early 7th is rare, but Jones will have the ability to make plays on special teams for the Jets, which needs a massive overhaul to make the team a better, overall football team.
This draft will not be the end all be all fix for the Jets, but with this draft general manager Mike Maccagnan has started a rebuild that will hopefully turn this franchise around 4-5 years down the line. I like this as a start and I am excited to see what the rookies can bring on the field in the 2017-18 season. Leave it to the draft to get you ready for the NFL season in the late days of April.
Sources:(espn.com, nfl.com)

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