The Jets have selected FB John Conner out of Kentucky with the 139th pick of the NFL Draft (5th round).  Conner is 5’11″, 238 pounds and he packs a wallop in the running game as a blocker.  He played in 12 games (8 starts) for Kentucky las tseason in which he carried the ball 31 times for 158 yards (5.1 ypc) with 2 TD runs and he also caught 5 passes for 46 yards (9.2 avg) with 1 TD grab.  In his four years at Kentucky he played in 50 games (26 starts) in which he carried the ball 54 times for 247 yards (4.6 ypc) with 4 TD runs.  He has also caught 25 passes for 193 yards (7.7 avg) with 4 TD grabs in his college career.  The Jets brought in Conner for his blocking and for him to help out on special teams and I think they will be happy with him.

The Jets have picked RB Joe McKnight out of USC with the 112th overall pick (4th round) of the NFL Draft.  McKnight is 6’0″, 190 pounds and he runs a 4.45 40.  His skill set is very similar to that of Leon Washington who was traded shortly after McKnight was picked.  McKnight is a perimeter type of running back who excels on sweeps and screens.  He also is versatile enough to line up at WR and he can return kicks.  McKnight played in 12 games (11 starts) at USC last season and he carried the ball 164 times for 1,014 yards (6.2 ypc) with 8 TD runs.  He also caught 22 passes for 146 yards (6.6 avg) last season for USC.  In his three years at USC, McKnight played in 36 games (13 starts) in which he carried the ball 347 times for 2,213 yards (6.4 ypc) with 13 TD runs and he caught 66 passes for 542 yards (8.2 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  This was a solid pick for the Jets as they don’t need McKnight to be the main man in the running game.  He will likely be third in line for carries on the Jets in his rookie year behind Shonn Greene and LaDainian Tomlinson.

The Jets have released 33-year old guard Alan Faneca who made the Pro Bowl last season when he started all 16 games for them.  The Jets say he didn’t deserve it which is like kicking a man while he is down.  Faneca started all 32 games in his two years with the Jets.  Faneca is a 6-time Pro Bowler who will have little problem finding a new job for 2010.

Shortly after drafting RB Joe McKnight out of USC the Jets traded Leon Washington to the Seahawks along with a 7th round pick for a 5th round pick.  Leon Washington broke his leg during last season and he is still recovering but the prognosis is good.  Washington played in 7 games for the Jets last season and he had 72 carries for 331 yards (4.6 ypc).  He also caught 15 passes for 131 yards (8.7 avg) out of the backfield last year.  Washington also returned 2 punts for 16 yards (8.0 avg) and he also returned 16 punts for 385 yards (24.1 avg) last season.  Washington has now played in 55 games in his NFL career in which he has carried the ball 370 times for 1,782 yards (4.8 avg) with 13 TD carries and he has also caught 123 passes for 969 yards (7.9 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  Washington has returned 64 punts for 599 yards (9.4 avg) and he has also returned 117 punts for 2,986 yards (25.5 avg) with 4 TD returns in his NFL career.  This was a good move for both the Jets and Leon Washington who will get a chance to revive his career in Seattle.

The Jets have selected T/G Vladimir Ducasse with the 61st overall pick (2nd round) of the NFL Draft.  Ducasse is a big man at 6’4″, 326 pounds and he is a good run blocker.  He brings power to the running game and he keeps blitzers away from the QB pretty well.  But he is making a huge leap in competition so he might not be ready to start right away.  Ducasse played in 11 games (all starts) for Massachusetts last season and he has played in 39 games (35 starts) overall there in his four years.  I like the pick of Ducasse for the Jets as he could be a starter as soon as this year if he responds to NFL coaching.

The Jets selected CB Kyle Wilson out of Boise State with the 29th pick of the first round of the NFL Draft.  Wilson is a tad small at 5’10″, 190 pounds but he runs a 4.4 40 which makes up for his lack of size.  Wilson played in 14 games (all starts) with Boise State last season and he made 43 tackles, broke up 4 passes, he had 3 interceptions (98 return yards) and he forced 1 fumble.  Wilson can also help out on special teams as he returned three punts for TDs in his career at Boise State.  The great thing for Wilson is that he will not have to come in as a rookie and start with Darrelle Revis and Antonio Cromartie as the starters.  He will be working in a lot of nickel and dime packages as a rookie.  Wilson played in 50 games (44 starts) in his four years in college and he had 160 tackles, broke up 27 passes, had 11 interceptions and he forced 2 fumbles.  Wilson will be a starter down the road for the Jets who got a nice value pick here.

The Jets have brought in all kinds of talent in both the trade market and free agency over the off-season so far filling a lot of needs.  The Jets will likely be looking at the O-Line and D-Line which are areas that weren’t addressed so far.  It looks like the Jets will be targeting guys like DT Jared Odrick, DT Dan Williams, DE Brandon Graham and OT Vladimir Ducasse.  The Jets are never shy about trading up for who they want but they only have five picks in this draft including 2 of the top 61.  I think that they might trade up because I don’t see Odrick, Williams or Graham lasting until the 29th pick of the first round. 

PROJECTED FIRST ROUND PICK:  The Jets trade up and select DT Jared Odrick out of Penn State.

The Jets have signed 35-year old OLB/DE Jason Taylor to a 2-year, $13 million dollar deal.  Taylor played in all 16 games for the Dolphins last season and he had 42 tackles, 6 tackles for a loss, he had 7 sacks, forced 3 fumbles, he defensed 5 passes and he had 1 interception.  Taylor has now played in 201 games in his NFL career and he has made 720 tackles, defensed 86 passes, has 127.5 sacks, he has forced 44 fumbles and he has 8 interceptions (3 returned for TDs).  This was a last resort for Jason Taylor as the Jets are his old team’s (Dolphins) chief rival but money talks.  Coach Ryan will likely use him as a situational pass rusher in 2010.  I love this move for the Jets.

With the NFL Draft coming this weekend the Jets are going to add even more talent to the roster than they already have this off season and that should scare a lot of teams in the AFC.  In great trades this off-season the Jets have acquired CB Antonio Cromartie and WR Santonio Holmes for prices way below market value.  Safety Brodney Pool and Kicker Nick Folk were signed as free agents to start for the Jets and they will likely both be upgrades.  LaDainian Tomlinson was brought in as a free agent and he will split P.T. with Shonn Greene.  DT/DE Rodrique Wright and LB Lance Laury were signed for depth reasons as neither is really starting material.  The Jets have filled up probably the two biggest holes on the roster (WR, CB) before the draft so they will be able to target either the best player available or a player to fit a specific need.

The Jets have acquired 26-year old WR Santonio Holmes from the Steelers for a 5th round pick (#151 overall) in 2010.  Holmes played in all 16 games for the Steelers last season in which he caught 79 passes for 1,248 yards (15.8 avg) with 5 TD grabs.  He also carried the ball 3 times for 6 yards (2.0 ypc) last season.  Holmes has now played in 60 games in his four years in the NFL in which he has caught 235 passes for 3,835 yards (16.3 avg) with 20 TD grabs.  He also carried the ball 11 times for 45 yards (4.1 ypc) in his career.  Holmes can even return kicks or punts if the Jets need him to.  Holmes has returned 62 punts for 496 yards (8.0 avg) with 1 TD grab and 18 kickoffs for 436 yards (24.2 avg).  Even with Holmes having a possible 4-game NFL suspension hanging over his head the Jets couldn’t pass up getting him for this kind of a price.