The New York Jets had a good, but not great draft by selecting a plethora of offensive weapons to try to and give week one QB, Michael Vick or Geno Smith, the best chance to succeed this season. The Jets also added depth to their secondary and offensive line with a few of their picks.
2014 Jets Draft Picks
1st Round, 18th Overall – Calvin Pryor, S, Louisville
2nd Round, 17th Overall – Jace Amaro, TE, Texas Tech
3rd Round, 16th Overall – Dexter McDougle, CB, Maryland
4th Round, 4th Overall – Jalen Saunders, WR, Oklahoma
4th Round, 15th Overall – Shaq Evans, WR, UCLA
4th Round, 37th Overall – Dakota Dozier, OT, Furman
5th Round, 14th Overall – Jeremiah George, ILB, Iowa State
6th Round, 19th Overall – Brandon Dixon, CB, NW Missouri ST.
6th Round, 33rd Overall – Quincy Enunwa, WR, Nebraska
6th Round, 34th Overall –IK Enemkpali, DE, LA. Tech
6th Round, 37th Overall – Tajh Boyd, QB, Clemson
7th Round, 18th Overall – Trevor Reilly, OLB, Utah
2014 New York Jets Draft Grade: 7/10
For our full NFL Draft Coverage, please click here.
2014 New York Jets Draft Review
The Best Player: In most cases, the player picked in the first round of the draft is usually considered the best player , however, with that being said, TE Jace Amaro, picked up in the second round was the best pick by the Jets. Amaro is big, tough and physical, standing 6’5” while weighing in at 265 lbs. He is a TE who recorded six 100-yard games en route to finishing his final year at Texas Tech with 1,352 receiving yards. Amaro was a huge focal point in Texas Tech’s offensive as well as a very balanced route runner and will be a very dangerous target inside the red zone where he will use his size to gain the upper hand on defenders. Amaro lined up in the slot the majority of the time at Texas Tech and proved to be very tough for defenders to bring down after the catch, given his size. The Jets will be expecting big things from Jace Amaro who helps fix a weakness at the tight end position, which will now be a strength for the Jets.
Best Value Pick: With the Jets not having one of the strongest receiving cores in the league during the 2013 season, they did themselves justice by picking up the explosive, speedy, and legitimate deep threat wide out , Jalen Saunders. The star wide out from Oklahoma will help the Jets in a variety of different ways, especially in the slot, and on special teams by complimenting Jacoby Jones, and helping out the quarterback by being a playmaker. His speed and elite ability in being able to change direction will cause trouble for less athletic defensive backs and cornerbacks, who will need to learn to show him respect on deep routes. Jalen can also make big plays happen after the catch making many defenders struggle in catching him. Expect big things from Jalen Saunders this upcoming year as he was a great addition to what is now a stronger wide receiving core.
Surprise Pick: The surprise pick of the Draft for the Jets was Tajh Boyd. With three quarterbacks already on the roster, picking up a fourth was definitely a surprise. Tajh Boyd was a projected top ten pick at the beginning of the season, however, as the season went on, his poor play, inaccuracy and inability to make decisions quickly lowered his draft status. Boyd will most likely battle it out with current third-string quarterback, Matt Simms, who showed some potential in the preseason last year, and will not give up his job easily. Boyd, however is similar to Smith and Vick in his mobility. If Boyd becomes the third-string quarterback, he could develop into a high quality backup, but as stated earlier, that will not be easy.
Head Scratcher: IK Enemkpali, the defensive end out of La. Tech was the head scratcher draft pick for the Jets. IK wins in the department of strength and power as well as having a very likeable character, however, he does lack the size and speed that many coaches would look for in a defensive end. The Jets may consider moving IK to either linebacker or even fullback. Enemkpali just doesn’t move as fluidly as some of the other guys and his lack of speed makes him slow at times off the snap. Another downfall is that Ik makes many of his tackle four or five yards down the field which he will need to improve on. All in all, Enemkpali will study film and work hard to develop into the DE he was in college, however expect him to take some time.
The Steal: The steal of the Jets draft was wide out Shaq Evans. Evans is a good-sized, sure handed possession receiver with the toughness to work through the middle of the field and catch a ball in a crowd of defenders. Standing 6’1” Evans will be more effective after the catch as his bigger body will not be easy to bring down as compared to a smaller receiver. Evans will definitely be a threat in the red zone as he can create matchup problems for smaller defenders. Shaq will also make his impact as a move the chains type of receiver as his good hands and number of catches will make him the guy to get the Jets from a 3 and 2 to a first down. One of the only downsides to Shaq is that he isn’t really a threat vertically because of his underwhelming speed, but with the proper coaching, Evans will become a star for the Jets. This was without a doubt a steal.
Most Likely to Make an Impact in 2014: Both Jace Amaro, the TE out of Texas Tech, and Calvin Pryor, the safety out of Louisville, will make an impact in 2014. Jace, because of his receiving ability, being a red zone threat and a talented route runner who is tough to bring down due to his good size and physical play. Calvin, because of his hitting ability, being able to explode down the field and converge on passes and setting the tone for the secondary. Pryor’s explosive play will help turn the Jets secondary, who were nothing to write home about last year, into something much more reliable now.
Most Likely to Turn Heads in Camp: The player who will most likely turn heads at training camp, if given the proper coaching is Dakota Dozier. At 6’4″, 313 pounds, his strong base and muscular frame has allowed him to dominate the competition at Furman. Even though Dakota does need to work on his footwork and his technique, he has all of the makings of a powerful guard and moving to the next level after playing outside tackle. Look out for Dakota Dozier to help make an impact at training camp.
Bottom Line: The New York Jets Draft, all in all, was good but not great. The upgrade in their secondary with Pryor, combined with the offensive weapons they drafted could potentially work out for the Jets. However, with that being said, we have to raise some red flags as they drafted a quarterback with three already on the roster. They drafted cornerbacks who are undersized, and defensive ends who need to slim down because they lack some of the speed coaches look for. It will just be a matter of time until we see if the Jets will make some noise or go down in flames as Rex Ryan coaches for his job.
For more on sports injuries, check out our friends at Sports Injury Alert.
Thank you for reading. Please take a moment to follow me on twitter – @Matty_ICE07. Support LWOS by following the site on Twitter – @LastWordOnSport – and by “liking” our Facebook page.
Football fans…check out our two partnered NFL podcasts – Thursday Night Tailgate Radio and Overtime Ireland. Both shows bring you interesting commentary, critical analysis and fantastic guests including former and current NFL players, coaches and personalities.
Main Photo:
