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Florham Park – Jets first round pick Leonard Williams had a press conference today. With the way he conducts himself, it’s hard to believe he’s only 20-years-old . . .
He’s very mature for a 20-year-old.
Williams is an old soul for his age with all he has been through in his 20 years – moving around the country, having a father in jail, spending time in a homeless shelter, traveling cross country to go to college.
As the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche once said – “That which does not kill us, makes us stronger.”
That certainly applies to Williams.
This kid could have gone by the wayside so many times, but it didn’t happen.
Not only is he a great prospect with superstar potential, but a very impressive kid.
And that was on display today . . .
Speaking of impressive kids who have been through so much in their short lives, that certainly applies to Jets third round pick Lorenzo Mauldin, who was in 16 different foster homes. He broke down on his conference call with the Jets’ writers when talking about what this moment means to him.
And he plays every down like it’s his last. His motor is off-the-charts. He wants to be good so bad.
To go from a childhood where you moved around to 16 foster homes, to being a captain at Louisville and graduating from college, tells you so much about this special kid.
He’s the kind of guy not only fans, but Jets coaches will be rooting for in training camp.
The big question about him is if he has enough explosion and quickness off the edge to become a successful pass rusher on the next level. He’s a 4.84 forty guy who is a little stiff athletically .. .
As for Devin Smith, what you see is what you get. He is a receiver with world class speed who can take the top off the defense.
He needs a lot of work on his fundamentals from Jets receivers coach Karl Dorrell, but while he’s getting up to speed, he can help the Jets on the nine route, and as a gunner on special teams.
While he did return some kicks at Ohio State, he wasn’t that good at it, so don’t assume he will take on that role with the Jets. Just because you are fast, doesn’t automatically make you a good kick returner. We saw that last year with Salim Hakim. You need to have a plan, you need to set up blockers. Just having raw speed won’t cut it . . .
The Jets acquired wide receiver DeVier Posey in a trade today with the Houston Texans, a trade that involved swapping draft picks. Posey was a throw-in. Like Smith, he is a speed receiver out of Ohio State.
He was inactive last year for most of the season, and the Texans basically gave up on him today, by adding him as a throw-in to a draft pick swap.
Posey suffered a very serious achilles tendon injury in 2013, and didn’t seem to respond well in his comeback last year. Perhaps two years removed from the injury, he can re-emerge in Florham Park. We shall see. Obviously Mike Maccagnan liked him a great deal in the 2012 draft, when he was the college scouting director for Houston, and the Texans picked him in the third round.
DeVier is the brother of former Jets defensive back James Posey.
May 1, 2014
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