Late Round Notebook

It’s pretty apparent what was going on here.

I’m talking about the Jets waiting to pick cornerbacks.

Robert Saleh made it clear to Joe Douglas that he can identify later round corners who could fit his scheme, so Douglas didn’t have to reach for one early.

And as I mentioned yesterday, there is a lot of reaching for corners in the draft. A lot! So many get picked higher than they should, but teams are desperate to find them.

The Jets picked three corners on the third day of the draft, Duke’s Michael Carter and Pitt’s Jason Pinnock in the fifth-round, and Kentucky’s Brandin Echols in Round Six.

Remember, Saleh comes from the Pete Carroll coaching tree, and Carroll has repeatedly taken this approach with the Seattle, with Richard Sherman going to the Seahawks in the 2011 fifth-round being a perfect example. Another example is current starter, Tre Flowers, a 2018 fifth-round pick from Oklahoma State.

So Saleh made it clear to Douglas that we can find guys in the mid-late rounds at cornerback.

Now, with that being said, contrary to what you might hear or think, the Jets didn’t pick three offensive players, after Zach Wilson, to prop up the rookie QB. Some said they needed to do that after supposedly not doing that for Sam Darnold.

But that isn’t what Douglas and Saleh were doing by pick guard Alijah Vera-Tucker, WR Elijah Moore and RB Michael Carter with three straight picks in rounds 2-4. The side of the ball had nothing to do with the picks, but they were based strictly on their value board. They Jets were surprised all three slipped, and jumped on that, including trading up to pick Vera-Tucker, who they had in the top 10.

So there was no agenda here to pick offensive players to support Wilson. These were straight value picks, and they happened to be on offense.

With that being said, it made it easier to stick to the board for the Jets, with the feeling that Saleh could identify later round cornerbacks, who he felt could help the Jets.

We will see if they corners work out, but if they find one starter from the three of them, then this was a success. If they hit on two, it would be a jackpot.

And clearly Saleh likes the potential of Bryce Hall and Bless Austin, two long corners (Saleh likes long corners), with great work ethics and character, who will fit in great with the culture the Jets are trying to build.

There is still a chance the Jets will bring back Brian Poole, but clearly the Jets’ nickel back the last two years is underwhelmed with the money he’s being offered on the open market, a buyer’s market. Poole got a one-year deal for $5 million last year. That ain’t happening this year.

Speaking of coverage, I love what the Jets did picking two big safeties, Jamien Sherwood (Auburn) and Hamsah Nasirildeen (FSU), and making them linebackers. The Jets’ linebacker coverage was substandard the last two years, with too many guys who could not stay in the hip pocket of tight ends and running backs. Guys like Sherwood and Nasirildeen can help change this, along with free agent linebacker addition Jarran Davis.

May 1, 2021

Premium will return by 9:30 pm on TUESDAY