The New York Jets welcome 9 rookies this year after making five trades in the draft.
Okay, this one is going to hurt for Buffalo Bills‘ fans who were thinking Tyrod Taylor would have an easy go against the New York Jets this season. Seeing Jamal Adams in a Jets’ uniform is tough to look at, especially since I was hoping he would end up in a Bills’ uniform.
Luckily, the Jets were smart enough to draft another safety with their second round selection — saving WR for the third and fourth round. With a lot of needs on their roster, including running back, quarterback and cornerback, it’s good to see the Jets draft the opposite.
Still, the Jets landed one of the best players in this draft and it’s squarely due to Mitch Trubisky being taken No. 2 overall by the Chicago Bears. If that didn’t happen, the Jets could’ve had a new quarterback at No. 6.
Ultimately, the Jets added 9 rookies this year and only had two questionable picks — CB Derrick Jones and FS Marcus Maye. The Jets were also involved in five trades during the draft:
- Jets traded No. 70 (R3) to Vikings for No. 79 (R3) and No. 160 (R5).
- Jets traded No. 107 (R3) to Buccaneers for No. 125 (R4) and No. 204 (R6).
- Jets traded No. 125 (R4) to Rams for No. 141 (R4) and No. 197 (R6).
- Jets traded No. 160 (R5) and No. 224 (R7) to Browns for No. 181 (R5) and No. 188 (R6).
- Jets traded No. 191 (R6) to Cowboys for a 2018 pick (R5).
MUST READ: Why the Jets Drafting Jamal Adams Hurts the Buffalo Bills
Here’s a full list of the players drafted by the New York Jets:
- SS Jamal Adams (R1, No. 6)
- FS Marcus Maye (R2, No. 39)
- WR ArDarius Stewart (R3, No. 79)
- WR Chad Hansen (R4, No. 141)
- TE Jordan Leggett (R5, No. 150)
- LB Dylan Donahue (R5, No. 181)
- RB Elijah McGuire (R6, No. 188)
- CB Jeremy Clark (R6, No. 197)
- CB Derrick Jones (R6, No. 204)
Going back to Mel Kiper, here’s what he had to say about the New York Jets’ NFL draft:
"New York didn’t address its top two needs — QB and OT — with this class, but here’s why I’m not faulting the strategy: The Jets clearly went best-player-available throughout the class, and they didn’t reach. That’s hugely important for a team with one of the worst all-around rosters in the league. So while I don’t think their quarterback of the future is on their roster, I can’t knock not seeing the value in taking a developmental signal-caller when Christian Hackenberg is already that guy. And in one of the worst offensive line classes in recent history, they didn’t try to get a raw prospect in the middle rounds. They stuck to their board, and I can respect that."
Jamal Adams will be tough to play against twice next season, but Tyrod Taylor has a new target in Zay Jones and I’m not sure Adams has seen a running back that can cut like LeSean McCoy — so I think the Bills will be fine.
We have one more team in the AFC East to look at — the Miami Dolphins.