Link: Jets War Room Liked Wilson a Lot
Programming note, no one’s signed up for the Luger’s Lunch today … sadness … so please don’t head over! I’ll be in midtown seeing what I can dig up for you all day.
While a story like this would never have seen the light of day two years ago, we can see that the Jets draft room last night was part collaborative effort, part pressure of the head coach, part patience. Eric Allen reports that Rex Ryan really liked Wilson, and hoped he’d last until the 29 slot for the Jets. Read on after the jump.
… Rex Ryan became a cheerleader. Boise State’s Kyle Wilson was slipping and Ryan looked and the board and said, “Hang in there.”
And when the Jets went on the clock with the 29th overall selection, Wilson had indeed hung around and was still available. General manager Mike Tannenbaum answered calls from the teams that wanted to move up into the Jets’ slot, but Mr. T said Ryan was “breathing down his neck” and pushed him to put Wilson’s name on the card.
“In this case the board and the need aligned,” Tannenbaum said. “From our perspective, that’s the dream scenario where what you feel like is the most pressing need for your team and the best player pick align.”
The 5’10″, 194-pound Wilson, a Piscataway, N.J., native, was a two-time Boise State captain who had 11 interceptions and averaged 12.6 yards a punt return during his collegiate career.
“The role we have for him is our starting nickel and our punt returner – he’ll compete for the punt returner job anyway and hopefully contribute on special teams,” Ryan said. “We draft a guy in the first round, we’re going to do that where a guy plays [right away], and that’s what Mike and I talked about. If we take a guy in the first round, he’s going to play, and I think Kyle’s going to definitely play for us.”
Wilson, who has 4.4 speed, is coming off a three-interception, 43-tackle senior campaign. He had an impressive bench-pressing performance at the Indy combine, posting 25 reps of 225 pounds, and then starred on the field down in Mobile, Ala.
“He played a lot of man-to-man,” said Joey Clinkscales, the Jets’ VP of college scouting. “He had a great Senior Bowl week. He’s also a punt returner and he’s a good tackler.”
There were a number of quality players on the board when the Jets selected, including TCU DE Jerry Hughes and Texas DE/OLB Sergio Kindle. But the Jets, who announced Jason Taylor’s signing on Wednesday, followed their board and were elated to get Wilson.
“This guy was rated over those players and we felt great about this situation. This is a starter in our sub package,” Ryan said. “The fact that we add Jason Taylor to our pass rush already, we feel pretty good about where we’re at defensively. [...]“
Rex doesn’t have a lot of guile to him, so it’s hard at times not to take him at his word, but let’s face it, as much as I love him, he’s still something of a cheerleader … heck even Eric Allen points it out in the article!
In ten minutes last year, the Jets traded a handful of players & picks to Cleveland, talked to Mark Sanchez and told him he’d be playing in New York, and got their pick in under the wire. After watching the Jets take the full ten minutes last night to pick the guy they so badly wanted, there’s got to be some degree of spin in this. With Jared Odrick, the best 3-4 “Five Technique”Defensive End going off the board right before the Jets, and questions about who will start (and whether Ellis would get traded/cut) at that spot, it’s not out of the realm of possibility to assume that might have played into the delay.
43 Responses to Link: Jets War Room Liked Wilson a Lot
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neauone says:
There is so much talent in round 2 its silly. The Jets can get a starter there as well. Joseph, Sapp, Worilds, etc. I hope they continue the defensive march until round 4.
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Jets-Fan-4-Life says:
interesting.
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Wolf
See I told you Mcdaniels would draft that dummy Tebow……Mcdaniels swears he can turn Tebow into the 2010 version od M Casell
You like the Wilson pick?
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starz31 says:
I know I wouldn’t want Rex breathing down my neck.
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gr33n says:
I’m sure the delay was for one of, or a combination of, two reasons.
1. Jets wanted Odrick.
2. Jets were trying to negotiate a trade down, and couldn’t reach a deal they liked better than taking Wilson. -
Josh McDaniels picking Tebow has Eric Mangini picking Anthony Schlegel written all over it.
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Ferraro41 says:
Rex loves his corners….you guys all know he loves using corners to blitz, and someone posted earlier this offseason about how when Ryan was in B’more, he was always on Newsome to draft more CB’s…so this pick is not surprising, and it looks and sounds like the kid can really play.
That said, I would have preferred Odrick or Hughes at 29, but I guess Rex and Pettine are still having nightmares about Manning and the second half of the AFC championship game…he wants DB’s and more DB’s.
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And I should have added “Had Odrick been available”, obviously.
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I’m not liking the team saying we have Jason Taylor so pass-rush wasn’t an immediate need. Well, how long do we have Jason Taylor? 1 year, unlikely 2 years. I really liked the idea of adding Sergio Kindle to the team but I have to be honest I don’t know enough about him to say whether he’s overrated or not.
Now that the pick is in, and the more I read about Wilson, it is very exciting to think of our secondary. Having some real good players throughout the secondary gives Rex more freedom in his blitz schemes. Yes, it would be nice to have a OLB-pass-rusher that could contribute sparingly this season but groomed to be a starter when Taylor leaves, I guess we can just address that situation when we need to.
That said, there’s still a lot of quality left, so who’s to say we don’t add a pass-rusher yet.
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matt says:
i wanted a pass rusher but this is a great pick remember all the noname wr’s manning was throwing to in the afc championship game. now with the two cornors we added he wont be able to do that
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Wolf says:
Drew,
McDaniels just lost his job, but the poor guy doesn’t know it yet. Tebow was a Bellicheck guy, if teams didn’t reach for him he may of been a Patriot by today’s end. What a total disaster for Clausen, huh? Leaves school a year early to not get drafted in first round. He lost a lot
of money, and McCoy will go to Browns before anyone takes Clausen. Wonder is Notre Dame would take him back?Love the Wilson pick, very surprised he dropped to 29. If a few other teams hadn’t reached (Texans, Raiders, Chargers, Jaguars) he most likely would’ve been gone.
The kid was drawing comparisons to Darrelle Revis. If Rex likes a
guy, you have give him the benefiet of any doubt. But nobody should doubt this Wilson kid, great work ethic, physical, from NJ and he’s fast and can return punts! This kid is the real deal, only question is why Kareem Jackson was drafted in front of him. Texans got some explaining to do.I fully expect either Greg Hardy or Ricky Sapp to be a Jet today.
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I think this is a great pick. If we really have three corners who can go mano a mano we’ll end up getting a bunch of coverage sacks. Now I want to see some OL and DL depth and I’ll be happy. BTW, don’t underrate what WiIson brings to to the table re. special teams. Maybe PR and KR? Who knows but special teams could be an issue for us given our losses and Wilson should help. Damn! Start the season already!
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brian311 says:
i think the best part of the Wilson pick is that he will be put in a great position to succeed without having the weight of the world on his shoulders. he will be able to learn from Revis, and cover the slot, where he will be able to use his physicality at the line and man coverage skills. he will have help over the top and wont be out there on an island. he has the chance to make plays. i think its a safe pick, and a clear upgrade in terms of 2010 over lowery or coleman.
i would have liked oldrick, kindle or hughes. but for 2010, i feel like those guys are less of an upgrade over their counterparts. obviously, going forward is a different thing. but for now, the Wilson pick makes the D a lot better
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Shamik says:
Draft related, but not really about the Jets – Is “She said no!” the best cheer ever at the draft?
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Dave TN says:
NFL network panel assumed that the Jets were frantic trying to trade out when they took the full time. You guys had Wilson on the radar from the beginning, though. If he wasn’t the first player you profiled, he was close. That’s why I bookmark this blog.
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What’s wrong with Al Davis and Jack Del Rio? What terrible value for their picks. Jaguars may as well as given their first rounder to PITT for Roethliaberger and used their second round on Alaula. Now they are stuck
handing out a huge contract to maybe the 10th or 11th best D-Lineman in the draft.And Rolando to Raiders? Kirk Morrison didn’t see that coming. Raiders run a 4-3 so what do they do? Draft a prototypical 3-4 ILB. There is a reason some teams always lose.
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MJ says:
Couple of interesting reads from the press conference last night
- Tannenbaum tells that he had to take a phone call for the pick to do his due dilligence, but they knew they weren’t going to trade back since Wilson was the guy they wanted (explains the delay)
- As he , Rex, and Joey Clinkscales are sitting at the podium before the press conference starts, while the last 2-3 picks are occuring, he is asking the reporters, urgently, who were the last few picks… Is he interested to see if Kindle (or Hughes who was taken) will be out there so he can reach up for them today ?
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Wolf
Totally agree
What funny is the world is giving Davis credit for draftin McClain but he could have been had 7 spots lower….The raiders are so bad they get credit when they reach but dont pick a horrible player….lol
Who handed in the jacksonville card should be fired today…Do they understand how the drasft works? The guy was a fringe 1st rounder and they pick him 10th
Hilarious
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Chris says:
Hopefully some things can fall to the Jets again tonight. For Rd 2, I, of course, like the idea of going with a lineman, either side of the ball.
If any of the following get there, I’d be happy:
Joseph
Asamoah
Cody
Thomas
Campbell
PriceThat being said…if Dunlap somehow slipped- wow, what a pick that would be. If the Jets got Wilson and Dunlap, they’d be immediate upgrades on Defense at probably the two needed positions….from there, just drafting for OL, TE and S depth would be a bonus.
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Look at the players available today:
Kindle
Clausen
Cody
Tate
Dunlap “ugh”
Mays “ugh”
N Allen
N Bowman
C Wooten
R Sapp
A Benn
E Griffen
G Selvie
T Gerhart
S Lee
C Cook
B Ghee
V Ducasse
McCluster
M Burnett
Both JonesWe will get a great player today
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MaxJets says:
Wilson is a great pick… Superior athlete who will make plays and contribute immediately. Still lots of talent in the second round. Not sure about Kindle though. Over-rated?
How about a safety? Reshad Jones? -
Don’t forget outside of pass rusher, safty, I think we still need a FB because T-Rich will not be playing forever!!
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Brendan says:
hughes is gone, John.
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endzoneview says:
@aka drew
I like Misi and you didn’t list him
We pick 29th so much of our dream guys will be gone: Kindle, Sapp, Joseph, etc
Worlids, Misi and Burnett are my bets to be the best available
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Morgan Burnett will go to Bucs early.
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Lonnie G says:
Starz31 said it perfectly. I wanted a DL or OLB, but after thinking about this, I love the pick for the following reasons.
1. We just may have gotten the best player available at that spot.
2. Rex loves corners, they are key in his schemes.
3. Having three strong cover guys on the field opens things up for blitzes which improves the pass rush everyone is talking about.
4. This guy can come right in and return punts and share kickoffs with Leon. -
JetsFanInSouthFlorida says:
Couple of points:
Wolf\Drew,
On Al Davis and the Raiders, remember they picked Heyward-Bey last year abotu 20 spots higher than expected and look how he has panned out so far, lol. The Raiders and particularly Davis have absolutely no clue when it comes to draft pick value. They fall in love with a player and they don’t care where he is supposed to be picked. I expect that they would have had to trade back as far as the Giants, as they wanted McClain bad. This means at the very least they could have done the SF trade that Denver eventually did and grabbed 2 extra 3rd round picks. Absolutely clueless over there.
On Wilson, Love the pick, expected him to be gone way earlier. Let’s not even play the regular season or the first few rounds of the playoffs, just rematch the Colts and see if Garcon and Collie even catch a pass.
On the Dolphins, I almost threw up when they grabbed Odrick, 1 slot before us. Would have loved to see him on Gang Green. Then I started thinking, why the Hell would the Dolphins take him when they have a couple of good DEs already, a glaring need at NT (Cody on the board), a glaring need at OLB (Hughes or Kindle), and a glaring need at Safety (Mays). They took Odrick as the BPA, but when you have needs like the Fins do and there are comparably graded players on your board at your weakest positions, you gotta go for one of them, you would think??? Dolphin fans and radio announcers are furious. One of the best on air personalities down here, Orlando (Big O) Alzigueri, blew a gasket when they announced the pick. Everyone thought the fins were going with Hughes. Images of Kyle Brady over Warren Sapp were filling my head.
On Buffalo: While I think Spiller is a great talent and I watched him single handedly beat my Miami Hurricanes this year, I think this was a horrible pick by the Bills. Spiller is not a big, bruising back. I don’t expect to see him excel in the rough conditions in Buffalo. Also, RB wasn’t a big need for the Bills with Jackson and Lynch on the roster. Maybe Marshawn gets traded today for a 5th? I do think they will have a shot at Claussen today, which could be a great pick for them in round 2.
On New England: McCourty will be a nice addition for them, i think Wilson is more talented and that bodes well for us. As far as being scared about the Pats loading up on picks, they do that every year and they are still a very thin team that has to pray guys like Brady and Welker don’t get hurt.
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pat says:
i want a DE bad…ellis is old and we didnt resign douglas…i would love if dunlap slipped wowww but i doubt it so i say either greg hardy or corey wooten
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Mikey913 says:
I think we are going to pick an offensive lineman. I would be shocked if we didnt. I know everyone hates Gholston but realize we have Ellis, Gholston, Jenks, Pouha (who played great last year), Devito on the line. On the outside we have Taylor, Pace, BT at OLB (with hopefully Westerman getting a year better). I dont really see that being as much of a need as putting some depth on the O-line. That has been the strength of our team, and while its not the sexy pick, it makes sense going forward.
I dont see where Ricky Sapp/Sergio Kindle play next year? Not taking snaps away from Pace, and Taylor is gonna get his on 3rd down in pass situations…I dont see the immediate need this year.
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Tom in Raleigh says:
The Jets are going to get another good player today. Hopefully some defensive pass rush coming our way.
This team has the potential to be the most exciting Jet team we have ever watched.
Can’t wait to see the pick tonight.
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BubbyBrister/shovelpass says:
Its “Kyle Wilson’s War” ..baby! Love the pick!
Did I just read that Tim Tebow wrestled wild boars?
(sic)
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JoeDog says:
QUOTE OF THE DAY:
“McDaniels just lost his job, but the poor guy doesn’t know it yet. “
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Bob says:
Wilson’s a tremendous pick and I think Steve Young said it best. Where are you going to throw the ball with three shut-down corners on the field and the other eight guys breathing down your neck? We all know Coach Ryan is a blitz-happy mad genius, so cue up the lumber Wilson laid on the TCU QB in the Fiesta Bowl this year and start salivating too
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EastSide says:
Since Tebow was mentioned earlier I thought I’d throw this comparison out there:
McDaniels—>Tebow
=
Mangini—>GholstonI think McDaniels promised the Denver leadership that he could turn Tebow into the second coming of John Elway just like Mangini promised Tannenbaum and Johnson he could turn Gholston into the next LT. Like Mangini, I can see McDaniel’s fate with his team closely tied to the player he coveted so much. Also, both players had reportedly sparked Belichick’s interest.
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bleedsgreen&white says:
I know im way of topic here but what do u guys think of the NIners grabbing a T and a OG in the first, that really stood out to me for some reason, its so hard to come accross linemen. Does anyone know if those kids are any good?
Anyway we can get a list of best available in round 2?