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.

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.