Could This be the Best New York Jets Draft Since 2006?

Sep 25, 2011; Oakland, CA, USA; New York Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum during the game against the Oakland Raiders at O.co Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-US PRESSWIRE

Mike Tannenbaum has had an up and down few years heading the Jets draft. For Mark Sanchez and Dustin Keller, you can match up a Vernon Gholston and a Vladimir Ducasse. But he had a great year in 2006, a draft that yielded 5 players that have made significant contributions. This weekend, despite the bad reviews (see Mel Kiper’s C grade among others), I believe that this year’s draft could potentially be that good.

Let’s look back at 2006 first, a draft as we mentioned before that yielded 5 significant players:

• Nick Mangold
• D’Brickashaw Ferguson
• Brad Smith
• Eric Smith
• Leon Washington

Five guys that were significant performers on the Jets, 3 that still are.

Now let’s fast forward to the draft that just ended.

Here are the guys that I believe could make an impact:

• Quinton Coples-This one goes without saying.  He has the potential to make a huge impact off the edge, many say a la Julius Peppers.  If he is motivated, which seems to be his only question mark, he will make a huge impact on the Jets.
• Stephen Hill-This was such a huge pick, of a guy that some graded in the first round.  He can fly, and will be a huge threat on the opposite side of Santonio Holmes.  Whether he can run a lot of routes, or just run the go route like Randy Moss, expect him to put up big numbers.
• Demario Davis-Didn’t know a lot about this guy before the draft, but after looking at this guy a bit, I like what I see.  He is a run stuffing machine.  He has many similar qualities to Bart Scott, will get a chance to learn from him.  Look for him to see action in 2012.
• Terrance Ganaway-A guy that was brought to the attention of all of us by Jake Steinberg (@Steiny31) of the Jets blog, and with good reason.  At 6’1″ 240 pounds, he is a beast with a nose for the endzone (21 TDs in 2011).  He may be one of the major sleepers of the draft.
• Antonio Allen-Here is a guy that has a nose for the football on the back end, and the ability to cover the tight end.  He was graded a good couple of rounds before the Jets chose him, and will have a shot.
• Jordan White-A lot of people don’t think this guy will make an impact, but I believe that he just might.  Look at tape on this guy, he clearly runs every route well, he is NFL ready in that aspect.  With 140 catches to lead the nation in 2011, I don’t believe you can get count a guy like that out.

So you see, at least in my mind, this could be a very bountiful draft for the Jets.

Let’s hope so.