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The Jets need to replace Kerry Rhodes in this draft. Yes they do. True Rhodes wasn’t a great tackler, but one thing the 6-3 safety could do is cover tight ends. The Jets have missed that aspect of his game.
According to my friends over at Pro Football Weekly, the Jets have shown interest in Boise State safety George Iloka.
The Nigerian is similar to Rhodes. He’s a little over 6-3 with good leaping ability and, like Rhodes, is a suspect tackler. But if the Jets are looking for a player to cover Rob Gronkowski, and other dynamic tight ends, Iloka might be the best candidate in the draft. If he could improve the Jets tight end coverage, you put up with his inconsistent tackling. And maybe the Jets should have thought that way about Rhodes.
Because whether you like Rhodes or not, the Jets have never replaced his ability to cover tall tight ends.
Another big safety prospect, who figures in the middle rounds like Iloka, is Oregon State safety Brandon Hardin. While he has limited experience at safety, it’s for a good reason. He has such good speed for his size (6-2 5/8, 222), the Beavers used him at cornerback a lot.
The Hawaii-native missed his senior year due a shoulder injury, but this guy could be a superb safety on the next level. Not only does he have a terrific size-speed ratio, he has looser hips than Iloka, which helps him change direction more smoothly, which is obviously very helpful in coverage.
One last safety note – the Jets had Notre Dame’s Harrison Smith in for a visit this week. He is the consensus #2 safety in the draft behind Mark Barron. Smith is a tad under 6-2, weighs 213 pounds and runs 4.56. Smith is likely to go in the second round. Smith is a rookie starter type. He’s extremely bright and a good leader.
You don’t have to be in the war room at One Jets Drive to realize that the Jets are going to look to add one of these guys (Barron, Smith, Iloka or Hardin) in this draft. They took a flyer on LaRon Landry in free agency, but they still feel they need another guy. Landry, is a very talented player, but with his chronic Achilles issues, and the Jets hope and prayer he can hold up . . .
A while back we reported that the Newark Star-Ledger’s Jenny Vrentas was headed to the NFL Network to be their Pittsburgh reporter, barring a last second change of plans.
Well, there was a change of plans, and she is starting with the Star-Ledger, and the Wall Street Journal’s Aditi Kinkhabwala is taking the job. Kinkhabwala covered the Giants for the WSJ the last two years.
Speaking of new jobs, Kimberly “K-Mart” Martin is taking over the Jets beat for Newsday, replacing Rod Boone.
But you will still see Boone’s by-lines from Jets camp, because he will back-up Martin.
Boone was not replaced. He is a dedicated family man, and he needs to be stationed closer to home – Long Island. His commute was almost two hours, and his family needs him. I’m not going to get into any further details, but I want to make it clear he wasn’t replaced for his job performance.
(Premium will return by 9 pm Friday Night.)