How did the 2017 NFL Draft class grade out for the New York Jets? We go through each prospect. Plus, we bring our conversation with Jets Insider Joe Caporoso straight to you.
Now that the season is over for the New York Jets, it’s time to take a look back at their 2017 NFL Draft class.
The Jets drafted nine players in this past draft. Below is a nice illustration of how these players did at the annual NFL Scouting Combine:
2017 New York #Jets NFL Draft class vs combine averages
Green=Excellent
Blue=Above Avg
Yellow=Avg
Orange=Below Avg
Red=Poor pic.twitter.com/i2ZNwyOp0L— Justin (@afc2nfc) May 4, 2017
That’s important to note because we are constantly using the term “combine warrior.” These are players who impress during workouts and usually rise up draft boards, despite questionable tape.
Prime example: Vernon Gholston, DE/OLB, out of Ohio State, several years back.
Let’s get to the grades:
- Jamal Adams, Safety, LSU (first round pick) A-
- Marcus Maye, Safety, Florida (second round pick) A+
- ArDarius Stewart, Wide Receiver, Alabama (third round pick) D
- Chad Hansen, Wide Receiver, California (fourth-round pick) D
- Jordan Leggett, Tight End, Clemson (fifth round pick) n/a
- Dylan Donahue, Outside Linebacker, West Georgia (fifth round pick) n/a
- Elijah McGuire, Running Back, Louisiana Lafayette (sixth-round pick) B+
- Jeremy Clark, Secondary, Michigan (sixth-round pick) n/a
- Derrick Jones, Cornerback, Ole Miss (sixth-round pick) n/a
Jamal Adams was the consensus best player on the board by far. While the turnovers weren’t there in his rookie season, he helped change the culture. Adams brought a positive attitude and an impeccable work ethic. While he wasn’t a Pro Bowler this season, but vows that won’t happen again.
While the true home run of this class is without question Maye day for gang green. That’s for a variety of reasons including the history of second round busts. Maye looks like he’ll break that streak and that’s music to Jets fans ears across the planet. He can play close to the line of scrimmage and lay the lumber. While he’s also shown the ability to make big plays in the turnover department.
For the rest of the picks, I’ll go rapid fire:
- 3rd round: ArDarius Stewart should’ve made a big impact, but for whatever reason couldn’t break into the Jets starting lineup. There’s potential, but there were big expectations placed on the Alabama product and he didn’t deliver in year one.
- 4th round: Chad Hansen didn’t get a ton of playing time at first. He got more at the end of the season, but it’s very inconclusive in terms of what his future is with the team outside of being a developmental prospect.
- 5th round: Double dip here with Jordan Leggett and Dylan Donahue who never really got a chance to show their impacts due to injury. There’s promise here, I heard a lot of great things about Donahue and his motor in camp, but he’s currently just a name in the linebacking corps. While Leggett is hurt and buried on depth chart, but has a chance to do something if healthy next season.
- While finally three sixth-round picks and two of them are medical question marks for the future, so nothing to report. But Elijah McGuire was a rare find for this team and scouting department. He’ll never be a No. 1 back, but he doesn’t have to be. Look for him to be the third-down back and change of pace guy for this backfield.
We also got some draft grades from Jets Insider Joe Caporoso of TurnOnTheJets dot com, who joins me on The Score 1260 every Wednesday at 5:00 p.m. ET:
Friend of the program @JCaporoso of https://t.co/PXLJUDpShH sat down with @BoyGreen25 to talk all thing #Jets and give his 2017 #NFLDraft grades right here on @TheScore1260!https://t.co/xIaPNcyF32
— The Score 1260 (@TheScore1260) January 10, 2018
Other Jets News, Stories:
- Early potential free agent targets for Jets (Elliott Beretz of ISportsWeb)
- Analysis of Jets roster says there’s a long way to go (Rich Cimini of ESPN New York).
- Jets shouldn’t draft a quarterback (Kristian Dyer of Metro Sports)
