With the Jets possessing 12 picks in this year’s draft everyone expected the Jets to package some of those picks to move up in the draft, after all it’s unlikely 12 rookies will stick with the team once the regular season starts, but using all 12 picks means sticking with Idzik’s mantra of building through competition. It also means they can completely whiff on a few of these picks and still come out of this draft in great shape.
Coming into the draft the biggest needs for the Jets were at receiver, tight end and defensive back. Safety Calvin Pryor and tight end Jace Amaro addressed two positions of need and the Jets went corner in the third with Dexter McDougle before adding two receivers in the fourth. In the sixth the Jets continued to add depth by adding another corner and receiver and also selecting a defensive end and a quarterback.
I can’t offer up much information on the corner, Brandon Dixon, or the defensive end, Ik Enemkpali, but I am very familiar with the receiver, Quincy Enunwa from Nebraska and the quarterback Tajh Boyd from Clemson.
Enunwa is a big, strong, physical receiver with good speed but is very raw as a route runner and catcher. He is 6’2″ 256 lbs and ran a 4.5 40. Is physical and strong enough to get off jams from press corners, but wastes too much motion in his routes and doesn’t enter or exit his breaks cleanly. Good speed, but takes awhile to get up to top-speed. Ultra competitive, will fight for jump balls and has the hand strength and leaping ability to win, but uses his body to make catches too much and will need to improve his technique to create separation at the NFL. Excellent, physical blocker downfield and trucks through defenders once the ball is in his hands. Has good instincts and the open field. Has many of the tools needed to become a successful receiver in the NFL, but has a lot of kinks to iron out for that to happen.
Boyd is a player I’ve really enjoyed watching for the past couple of seasons. He started out last season mentioned as a contender for the Heisman but he seemed to become the forgotten quarterback as the season went on. Which was confusing to me because I didn’t see his play slip much and all the issues in his game, and there are plenty of issues, were all there the year before.
Boyd is a short quarterback, just over 6′, has slightly above-average arm strength and has trouble seeing the field and working through his progressions at times. He gets happy-feet and has a tendency to panic a little when pressured, but he has great mobility/escapability, excellent vision as a runner, will juke defenders or lower his shoulder and create a lane to run through. Needs to work on keeping his head up and eyes downfield when he gets moving in or out of the pocket. Because of his shortness he possesses the ability to throw the ball from multiple arm angles and has an above average touch on his throws.
Boyd is more accurate than many will lead you to believe, especially when on the run, but struggles with consistency due to sloppy footwork. Will sometimes take weird, unconventional steps but also has the ability to make impressive, “wow” throws when you least expect it. Boyd has an intriguing skill-set and the worst kept secret in the league was Rex Ryan’s affinity to the Clemson quarterback, but don’t listen to anyone with quarterback competition jokes. I’m as big a Boyd fan as anyone, but best case scenario is he’ll the number three quarterback/practice squad. This could very well mean the end to Matt Simms’ career as a Jet, but Boyd won’t be pushing Geno Smith or Michael Vick.
IK Enemkpali is the defensive end from Louisiana Tech and besides the fact that his name is extremely hard to spell I don’t know much about him. He’s clearly a developmental pick who, if he has a decent-to-strong training camp, will likely find himself on the practice squad as a best-case-scenario especially considering the talent already occupying spots on that line.
Brandon Dixon is the corner from Northwest Missouri State who is blazing fast 4.41 40. His speed is an obvious plus, but there are concerns about his ability to decipher routes and he gets turned around too easily in space. He is raw, needs to be coached up and work on his fundamentals, technique and becoming a student of the game, but that’s what sixth round picks are for.
With their 12th and final pick the Jets selected outside linebacker Trevor Reilly from Utah. Reilly is a lunch pal type of guy, hard worker and is keeps on fighting even after he gets locked up. He’s a good prospect but is 26 years old after serving a Mormon fellowship in Sweden. He also has had problems with his right knee which has had multiple surgeries.
Over the next couple of days I’ll do more research and homework for the players I’m not as familiar with and make sure to report my findings back to you.
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simms will beat him out