Kenrick Ellis
NT, Hampton
6-5, 345, 5.1-40
3rd round pick

I love this pick! I think it took the Jets a whole 30 seconds to turn in their selection.

Ellis was one of the first players I scouted. He has a rare combination of size, strength and athleticism and reminds me a lot of Kris Jenkins.

Playing at Temple, there will always be legitimate questions about level of competition for Wilkerson but when you watch the cut-ups from the Penn State game, you can see that he can hold his own versus better talent. The Nittany Lions had a good line and Wilkerson was still dominant.

Check out these clips from that game.

With a fast-moving first round, Jets fans had to wait about 3 1/4 hours to hear Roger Goodell call out Muhammad Wilkerson’s name and now month’s of speculation are over as the Jets bring in a very good front-7 player.

Rex Ryan has had to scheme his way to pressuring the quarterback the last two years and he desperately needed someone who could collapse the pocket. Wilkerson is one of those players.

Muhammad Wilkerson
DE, Temple
6-5, 305, 5.1-40
1st round pick

As is always the case, there are reaches in the first round, especially from teams that need a quarterback. Tonight it was the Titans and Vikings who reached QB’s that were projected to come off the board after the Jets’ pick. Another reach, guard James Carpenter was taken by Seattle at 25 despite being a 3rd round talent.

Alright Jets fans, this is it. The draft is upon us and it’s time to nail down my latest projection.

The next three days could be all the football we get for months and with so much uncertainty surrounding the labor negotiations, the draft might be the only source teams have to improve their roster.

The Jets will have to make their selections count and with 6 picks going in, they have a chance to upgrade a few positions. Assuming they can resign their top free agents, they should not have many holes to fill but with only one defensive player taken in his first two drafts, Rex Ryan will surely be looking for defensive help early and often.&a   Read More...

Mike Tannenbaum must be chomping at the bit. Normally one of the more active GM’s in the offseason, Mr. T has had to wait through the winter as the league’s labor strife prevented him from mixing it up in free agency.

Tannenbaum has brought in some serious veteran talent over the last five years - Brett Favre, Thomas Jones, LaDanian Tomlinson, Calvin Pace, Antonio Cromartie, Damien Woody, Alan Faneca, Kris Jenkins, Braylon Edwards and Santonio Holmes - and he shows no signs of slowing down now.

With the NFL draft less than a week away, let’s look at the scenarios the Jets will face as they evaluate whether to move up, down or stay put with the 30th pick.

We all know Mike Tannenbaum likes to move up - he did that to select Mark Sanchez, Shonn Greene, Dustin Keller, Darrelle Revis and David Harris and all five have become major contributors and form the young nucleus of the team.

WR, North Carolina
6-2, 230, 4.51-40
Projection: 3rd round

Part of working the draft process is finding bargains on guys who have talent but slip during the process because of character, medical or other concerns. That is the case with Little.

OLB, Nevada
6-1, 248, 4.4-40
Projection: 3rd round

Moch (pronounced Moke) is not built like the Jets’ other OLB’s. Bryan Thomas and Calvin Pace are both 6-4, 260+ while Moch is undersized at 6-1, 248. He does not set the edge like these guys but will not be asked to do so if they bring him into the fold.

WR, Abilene Christian
6-0, 192, 4.37-40
Projection: 4th round

Gates is an interesting story. He came from a very tough upbringing. When he was 6-years old, his father was sentenced to an 18-year prison term for murder. He has not played a lot of football (only one year in high school) and tried to make it as a basketball player but was thrown off the squad at Tyler Junior College.