Content available exclusively for subscribers
The Jets stuck to their board, and that is always a good thing. Temple DE Muhammad Wilkerson doesn’t fill their biggest need, a pass rushing outside linebacker.
However, picking one at 30, they would have been reaching.
UCLA OLB Akeem Ayers was mentioned quite a bit, but he would have been a reach. And plus, he wasn’t a dominant pass rusher in college.
Arizona OLB Brooks Reed is a terrific prospect, but not a first round player. Remember, he only had 17 sacks in college, and has stiff hips.
3-4 ends, as athletic as Wilkerson, are rarely available where the Jets were picking in the 30 spot.
But this draft was so loaded with so many talented defensive linemen, Wilkerson got pushed down, slipped, and the Jets too advantage of it.
At the combine, I asked Wilkerson why he went to Temple out of Linden High School, and he said he didn’t get a lot of Division One offers.
He was a late arrival to football, and thought he was going to go to college on a basketball scholarship.
But late in the process, he decided to go the football route, and was a smart route.
A 6-5 power forward wasn’t going to the NBA.
But an athletic 6-5, 315 pound defensive end, that is a different story.
Coach Al Golden (now at Miami of Florida) did a great job developing Wilkerson.
Wilkerson wore #9 at Temple, an usual number for a defensive lineman. Golden gave the single digit numbers on the team to the players he thought displayed the best character.
Some people thought Muhammad could have used another year in college, but he came out early to help his family.
At the combine, he didn’t mince words when talking about how bad his neighborhood was in Elizabeth. He overcame a lot.
He’s very raw, and needs a lot of technique work and must get stronger.
But Rex Ryan is excellent at developing defensive linemen, and he should be able to take this talented ball of clay and potentially mold it into a Pro Bowler.
The fact that he was a talented basketball player in high school, shows you the kind of athlete the Jets are getting.
One concern about this prospect is the level of competition in the MAC conference.
He dominated offensive linemen from schools like Toledo and Akron. He threw those guys around. In the NFL, he will need much better technique. A lot of the moves he got away with in the MAC aren’t going to work in the NFL.
Another concern could be that fact that he’s staying local, and this could lead to a lot of distractions, and people hitting him up for money. He grew up a half hour from Jets camp. He will need a plan to deal with local distractions.
But overall, it’s really hard to find much wrong with this pick.
However, with that being said, the Jets better come up with a third round steal at outside linebacker. Or maybe trade up into the second round.
Because if they don’t find one, this is going to be problem next year. You can’t keep manufacturing pressure with creative blitzes. You need one guy who can consistently get there on his own.
