2009 Draft Preview

"With the 17th pick in the 2009 NFL Draft, the New York Jets select..." The answer to that question is still up in the air, there has been much speculation as to what
the Jets will do with the 17th overall pick in this year' draft. There have been rumblings that the Jets might try to trade it along with a later round pick in order to acquire the much maligned Cardinals wide receiver, Anquan Boldin. However, many believe that is too steep an asking price for Boldin and think that the Jets would be better suited filling the hole at wide receiver through the draft. At pick number 17, many, if not all of the top tier receivers such as Michael Crabtree and Jeremy Maclin will be gone. Leaving the Jets to pick among the likes of North Carolina's Hakim Nicks, Darius Heyward Bey out of Maryland, or perhaps the speedy Percy Harvin coming off a national championship with the Florida Gators. Then there are others who believe that the Jets should address their aging defensive line and select LSU's Tyson Jackson, a 6"4, 296 pound defensive end, who many experts have dubbed the best 3-4 defensive end in the draft. Another player who could potentially be available is the tenacious defensive tackle, B.J. Raji out of Boston College. The 6"2, 337 pound Raji, struck fear into opposing defenses while at Boston College but many feel that he is too small to play the two-gap nose tackle in the 3-4. Originally, Raji was projected to be a top 15 pick but due to a few "character violations," he could slip to the Jets at 17. It was also rumored that the Jets would look to take a quarterback but at pick 17, there are no guarantees that they would even be able to acquire a franchise quarterback like a Matt Stafford or Mark Sanchez. Many analysts are enamored with Mark Sanchez, however I am not convinced, he does not have the strongest of arms and did not really do enough in college to be labeled as a franchise quarterback. However, it looks as though Head Coach, Rex Ryan believes that the team can win with the quarterbacks they currently have on the roster, so I would say that the chances of the team drafting a quarterback are slim. The logical choice would seem to be Tyson Jackson, he is a perfect fit for Ryan's defensive system and provides a better alternative to the ineffective Kenyon Coleman at defensive end. Alas, no one can ever be quite certain as to what the Jets will do in the draft and I guess we are going to have sit back and watch with our fingers crossed and hope that this years draft will be one to remember and not one to forget.