The New York Jets were really hit and miss in the 2011 NFL Draft.  Here is a look at how their rookies did in their first taste of the NFL:

22-year old DE Muhammad Wilkerson was the Jets’ first round pick in 2011.  He played in all 16 games for the Jets last year and he had 49 tackles, 9 tackles for a loss, 3 sacks, 1 forced fumble and 2 passes defensed.  Wilkerson is likely going to be a starter for a long time for the New York Jets.

24-year old DT Kenrick Ellis was a 3rd round pick of the Jets last April.  He played in 5 games for the Jets last year and he had 7 tackles and 1 tackle for a loss.  The Jets hope that Ellis improves in 2012.

23-year old RB Bilal Powell was picked in the 4th round by the Jets.  Powell played in 2 games for the Jets last year and he carried the ball 13 times for 21 yards (1.6 ypc).  He also caught 1 pass for 7 yards for the Jets.  He is buried on the depth chart right now.

23-year old WR Jeremy Kerley came to the Jets in the 5th round.  Kerley played in 14 games for the Jets last year and he caught 29 passes for 314 yards (10.8 avg) with 1 TD grab.  He also carried the ball 5 times for 28 yards (5.6 ypc) and he completed his only pass attempt of the year and it was good for 41 yards.  Kerley wasn’t done there as he also helped out on special teams.  He returned 29 punts for 317 yards (10.9 avg) and 1 kickoff for 15 yards.

23-year old QB Greg McElroy came to the Jets in the 7th round.  He spent his rookie season on the Injured Reserve List due to surgery to repair his right thumb.  McElroy’s future with the Jets is up in the air after he sounded off about the locker room recently.

23-year old WR Scotty McKnight was also picked in the 7th round.  McKnight was cut before the season started.

GRADE FOR 2011:  C+

GRADE FOR THE FUTURE:  B

25-year old QB Mark Sanchez improved a little bit in 2011, but not as much as the Jets were hoping he would.  Sanchez led the Jets to an 8-8 record.  He played in 16 games (all starts) for the Jets last year and he completed 308 of 543 passes (56.7%) for 3,474 yards with 26 TD passes and 18 INTs (78.2 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 37 times for 103 yards (2.8 ypc) with 6 TD runs last year.  Sanchez has now played in 47 games (all starts) in his first three years with the Jets and he has completed 782 of 1,414 (55.3%) for 9,209 yards with 55 TD passes and 51 INTs (73.2 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 103 times for 314 yards (3.0 ypc) with 12 TD runs in his NFL career.  Sanchez is 27-20 (57.4%) as the starting QB of the Jets during the regular season.

Even if the Jets wanted to bench Sanchez last year, they really couldn’t as 41-year old Mark Brunell was the backup QB.  Brunell played in all 16 games (0 starts) for the Jets last year and he completed 1 of 3 passes (33.3%) for 27 yards without a TD pass or INT (67.4 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 4 times for -12 yards (-3.0 ypc) last year for the Jets.  Brunell has now played in 193 games (151 starts) in his NFL career and he has completed 2,761 of 4,640 passes (59.5%) for 32,072 yards with 184 TD passes and 108 INTs (84.0 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 513 times for 2,421 yards (4.7 ypc) with 15 TD runs so far in his NFL career.  Brunell is 78-73 (51.7%) as a starting QB during the regular season in his NFL career.  The Jets will likely be looking for a upgrade over Brunell as Sanchez’ backup in 2012.

The Jets played hard, but not good enough to beat the Dolphins yesterday.  Mark Sanchez completed 21 of 32 passes for 207 yards with 2 TD passes and 3 INTs as he didn’t play too well.  WR Jeremy Kerley was also over the field in this game as he completed his only pass attempt and it was good for 41 yards.  He also carried the ball 1 time for 16 yards and he led the way in the passing game with 4 grabs for 71 yards.  LaDainian Tomlinson led the way for the Jets on the ground in this game with 56 yards rushing on 11 carries (5.1 ypc) and he also caught 4 passes for 23 yards (5.8 avg) in this game.  Shonn Greene pitched in with 14 carries for 55 yards (3.9 ypc) for the Jets yesterday.  Plaxico Burress (4 rec, 57 yards), Dustin Keller (7 rec, 45 yards, TD), TE Matthew Mulligan (1 rec, 41 yards) and WR Patrick Turner (1 rec, 10 yards, TD) also pitched in for the Jets in this game.  The Jets finished up with 129 yards rushing on 27 carries (4.8 ypc) and they also completed 22 of 33 passes (66.7%) for 245 yards as they had possession of the ball for 28:53.

The defense played excellent for the Jets yesterday.  LB Josh Mauga (5 tackles), LB Bart Scott (5 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss) and CB Kyle Wilson (5 tackles) led the way for the Jets on D in this game.  Safety Brodney Pool and CB Antonio Cromartie each intercepted one pass apiece in this game.  The Dolphins finished up with 82 yards rushing on 26 carries (3.2 ypc) and they also completed 22 of 32 passes (68.8%) for 128 yards.  The Jets finished the 2011 season with a 8-8 record.