New York Jets: Sidney Jones Could Be The Steal Of The NFL Draft
December 2, 2016; Santa Clara, CA, USA; Washington Huskies defensive back Sidney Jones (26) celebrates after the Pac-12 championship against the Colorado Buffaloes at Levi's Stadium. The Huskies defeated the Buffaloes 41-10. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

The New York Jets desperately need cornerbacks and there’s one in the NFL Draft that could be the best of them all.

With the lack of activity by the New York Jets in free agency, it would behoove them to do some damage in the NFL Draft. Currently, the Jets only have seven picks to work with so they better make them count.

If you had to rank their needs in order, it’d be a two-way tie between cornerback and quarterback. Although the tight end and edge rusher positions also have great arguments. Have I mentioned offensive line yet?

It’s safe to say they have a variety of holes that need to be filled sooner rather than later. Here’s a new saying that the Jets should put up on their bulletin board this offseason.

Sometimes you’ve got to risk it, to get the biscuit. The Jets have played it safe for a long time, which probably explains why they’ve been so awful. Well, that’s one reason why anyway.

Every week on ESPN Radio, I speak with Connor Rogers from Bleacher Report. He’s been doing scouting work for years and his thoughts on Sidney Jones were intriguing, to say the least.

“Sidney pre-injury was ranked as my No. 1 corner or at worst No. 2. It goes back to the draft process and how many workouts these players are asked to do. Now this is what I heard from multiple sources, the problem is Jones is 6 feet tall but he’s got a light frame. He just put on way too much weight and tried running at the same speed and that’s what caused the ruptured Achilles. This is tough because this guy was a lock to be within the top-20 picks, if not top-15 of this year’s draft. On his stock I’ve heard everything from the end of the third round to the sixth round.” Via ESPNCNY.com from the audio vault

That’s where it gets interesting. There’s a potential for the Jets to get the steal of the entire draft. Later in the interview, Connor mentioned that not all teams have the luxury of taking a player and “redshirting” him.

He mentioned the Dallas Cowboys as a team that did this last year taking Jaylon Smith in the second round. But the Jets are the opposite of the Cowboys in this scenario.

The Cowboys had the luxury to do that because the team is so good. While the Jets, on the other hand, are so terrible it doesn’t matter if they rest a player the entire year to rehab. The Jets are tanking this year anyway, so what difference does it make?

If the Jets could get a top-15 player at an area of need in the second round or even with their compensatory pick in the third round, they should run up to the podium.

Sidney Jones could be the next great corner in the league. The way you move up in the NFL hierarchy is by taking chances, this would be a risk worth taking.

People call me Boy Green for my unwavering dedication to all things New York Jets. I work at The Score 1260 in Syracuse and I'm extremely passionate about sports. I aspire to continue my rise through the business and hopefully I'll end up working for the New York Jets in some capacity.