Jets go safety with second consecutive pick
The New York Jets have a ton of holes on both sides of the ball. They need to find a quarterback to hold down the fort over the long term. Christian Hackenberg doesn’t seem to be that guy. And free-agent signing Josh McCown is nothing more than a stop-gap option.
So the Jets decided that it made sense to go get former LSU safety Jamal Adams with the sixth pick on Thursday night. Considered by some to be the best all-around defensive back in the draft, this was a darn good move for New York. That’s not the issue.
https://twitter.com/LedyardNFLDraft/status/858105341518761984
The problem here is that the Jets then doubled down at safety with the selection of Florida product Marcus Maye with the 39th pick on Friday. Maye might very well be a tremendous safety in the NFL, but there were surely needs elsewhere on a Jets roster that turned in a 5-11 season in 2016.
What makes this pick so shocking is the fact that Adams and Maye are similar players. Neither can be considered a true free safety in the NFL. In fact, one could say that both should play in the box more than in coverage. If the Jets were indeed targeting Maye in the second, why didn’t they go after Ohio State alum Malik Hooker in the first?
That’s the player many had pegged as the best cover safety in the draft. It would have made a whole lot of sense compared to what eventually played out here.