With the Super Bowl firmly in the rearview mirror for all NFL teams draft speculation is about to reign. One of the more interesting teams is the New York Jets, a team that overachieved to win eight games but has multiple holes all over the roster.
Their quarterback Geno Smith has had his ups and downs, both on the field and off, and while competition will likely be brought in its not likely the front office will pick another passer. Instead, ESPN analysts Mel Kiper Jr. and Todd McShay believe the Jets will target weapons to help Smith along.
Kiper Jr. has the Jets taking USC wide receiver Marqise Lee with the 18th pick, with previous dreams of taking Clemson wideout Sammy Watkins and Texas A&M target Mike Evans dashed by those two being too impressive.
Lee is a good fit for the Jets, who sorely lack explosiveness at any skill position besides running back. 2013 was a bit of a down year for Lee, who caught 57 passes for 791 yards and four touchdowns but that could mean he's simply the best value in the draft. The year before that Lee caught 118 passes for 1,721 yards and 14 scores.
McShay thinks Lee will be gone too, however, and has Gang Green making a bit of a reach for a playmaker. He has tapped Oregon State mighty mite Brandin Cooks to be the Jets' pick. Cooks is extremely small in stature, standing five feet, ten inches and weighing just 185 lbs., but he made 128 catches last season for 1,730 yards and 16 touchdowns.
"Despite his lack of ideal size, Cooks is a proven playmaker with great burst, good top-end speed and very strong route-running instincts," McShay wrote of Cooks.
Another name that has popped up for the Jets is UNC tight end Eric Ebron, a pure pass catching tight end NFL execs are hoping turns into a Jimmy Graham type. McShay and Kiper both have him going two spots ahead of the Jets to Baltimore.
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