… the Jets take Eric Smith, Safety from MSU. Smith seems to be a player who might not have all the athletic gifts, but has the smarts and attitude that Mangini is looking for for one of his players. If you haven't seen the link that Bent posted on Smith, this is worth the read.

I can't imagine Smith projecting to be a starter with Erik Coleman and Kerry Rhodes on the roster, but Mangini was a secondary coach, so maybe had a thing for Smith. Smith's strengths are his smarts, run support and special teams. With pressing needs elsewhere, why do the Jets go with a safety, especially when Andre Maddox is due back off of his injury last season. I understand the Jets are looking not just for the best athlete, but the reaches for Schlegel and Smith do make me pause. See his analysis below:

Strengths: Possesses adequate size, is physical at the point of attack and line up in the box. Reads keys quickly, is aggressive and excels in run support. Takes good pursuit angles, plays with a good motor and always seems to be around the ball at the end of the play. Plays under control in space, squares up to the ball carrier and is a sound open field tackler. Shows good burst coming out of cuts, can change directions quickly and has good short-area man-to-man cover skills. Shows good closing speed, times hits well and can be an intimidating presence over the middle. Has good speed and is relentless in pursuit so has the potential to develop into a productive special teams' player.

Weaknesses: While he has good range and covers a lot of ground, he doesn't show great instincts in zone coverage, bites on play fakes and gets caught out of position at times. Lacks ideal ball skills and isn't a playmaker in coverage. Received a medical red-shirt and he missed the entire season after tearing the meniscus in his left knee in 2001, missed two games with a sprained knee in 2002, didn't participate in 2003 spring practice because he was recovering from knee surgery, has had shoulder problems and durability is a substantial concern.

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