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.

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 were trading like crazy in last April’s draft and they only wound up with three players.  Still, the upside is huge for at least the first two picks (Mark Sanchez and Shonn Greene).  The Jets selected QB Mark Sanchez in the first round (#5 overall) out of USC.  He played in 15 games during the regular season and he completed 196 of 364 passes (53.8%) for 2,444 yards with 12 TD passes and 20 INTs (63.0 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 36 times for 106 yards (2.9 ypc) with 3 TD runs during the regular season.  The thing that has the Jets’ brass so excited about Sanchez is how well he played in the playoffs.  In three playoff games, Sanchez completed 41 of 68 passes (60.3%) for 539 yards with 4 TD passes and 2 INTs (92.7 QB Rating).  The future is bright for Sanchez.  In the 3rd round (#65 overall) the Jets selected RB Shonn Greene out of Iowa.  Greene played in 14 games for the Jets last season and he carried the ball 108 times for 540 yards (5.0 ypc) with 2 TD runs but he didn’t catch any passes.  In the post-season Greene took his game to another level as he rushed for 304 yards on 54 carries (5.6 ypc) with 2 TD runs as he pretty much swiped the starting job from Thomas Jones.  He also caught 1 pass for 4 yards in the playoffs.  Greene will be the Jets’ featured back before you know it.  Guard Matt Slauson (6th round, #193 overall) out of Nebraska only played in 3 games (0 starts) for the Jets before his season was cut short due to injury.

GRADE FOR 2009:  B

GRADE FOR THE FUTURE:  A

The Jets only selected three players in last April’s Draft but they are still smiling.  QB Mark Sanchez (1st round, #5 overall) has stepped right into the starting job and he has been solid overall despite sub par numbers.  Sanchez has completed 114 of 214 passes (53.3%) for 1,443 yards with 8 TD passes and 10 INTs (67.6 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 24 times for 60 yards (2.5 ypc) with 3 TD runs so far this season.  Look for him to keep improving with experience.  RB Shonn Greene (3rd round, #65 overall) had been a disappointment until Leon Washington was lost for the season which got him onto the football field.  Greene has carried the ball 34 times for 192 yards (5.6 ypc) with 2 TD runs so far this season.  Expect him to be very active in the 2nd half of the season for the Jets as he will be Thomas Jones’ backup.  OG Matt Slausen (6th round, #193 overall) injured himself in training camp and it ended his rookie season before it even started.  This looks like it was a excellent draft as Sanchez and Greene look like they will be impact players down the road for the Jets.

The Jets drafted Matt Slauson because of his versatility at Nebraska.  He is 6’5″, 316 pounds so he has enough size to play either guard or tackle.  He will likely be a backup at guard this season for the Jets but he could develop into much more down the road.

The New York Jets traded a few picks to move up and draft running back Shonn Greene to open the 2nd day of the NFL Draft.  This pick was made to send a message to incumbent starter Thomas Jones who could hold out this summer.  Greene is 5’10″, 235 pounds and he runs a 4.65 40.  He plays very similar to Jerome Bettis as he’s built low to the ground and keeps his legs churning.  He played in 33 games (13 starts) in his three years at Iowa and he carried the ball 376 times for 2,228 yards (5.9 ypc) with 22 TD runs.  He isn’t much of a receiver however catching just 11 passes for 72 yards (6.5 avg).  It will be interesting to see how much the Jets involve Greene in the offense with Thomas Jones and Leon Washington ahead of him on the depth chart.

The Jets have made their big move trading DE Kenyon Coleman, safety Abram Elam, QB Brett Ratliff, the #17 pick in the first round of the draft and the #52 overall pick (2nd round) for the right to pick 5th in the first round selecting QB Mark Sanchez.  Sanchez will compete with Kellen Clemens for the starting job from Day #1 and he could be the opening day starter for the Jets.  Sanchez can do it all as he has a good arm and solid mobility.  Sanchez is 6’2″, 225 pounds and he runs a 4.75 40.  He played in 27 games (16 starts) in three seasons at USC and he completed 313 of 487 passes (64.3%) for 3,965 yards with 41 TD passes and 16 interceptions.  The Jets think they have a franchise QB on their hands and if that’s true it was definately worth the cost.

30-year old Kenyon Coleman was penciled in to start for the Jets this season.  He played in all 16 games for the Jets last season making 53 tackles, defensing 1 pass and he had 1/2 a sack.  In two seasons with the Jets, Coleman played in 32 games in which he made 136 tackles, defensed 1 pass and he had 2 sacks.  The Jets will likely look to draft a DE to replace Coleman.  27-year old safety Abram Elam played in all 16 games for the Jets last season and he made 69 tackles, defensed 3 passes, forced 3 fumbles and he intercepted a pass that he returned 92 yards for a TD.  In two seasons with the Jets, Elam played in 29 games in which he made 122 tackles, defensed 5 passes, had 2 sacks, forced 3 fumbles and he had 1 interception.  Elam was projected to start at strong safety for the Jets in 2009 so they will also have to address that in this draft.  23-year old QB Brett Ratliff has not played a game in the regular season but he was impressive in the 2008 pre-season for the Jets.  Ratliff completed 32 of 47 passes (68.1%) for 499 yards with 4 TD passes and 1 interception (122.6 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 3 times for 9 yards (3.0 ypc).  The Jets gave up a lot to get Sanchez but it was a gamble well worth taking.