A Look Back at John Idzik’s Inaugural New York Jets’ Season: Draft Round One

Dec 8, 2013; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Jets general manager John Idzik before the game against the Oakland Raiders at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

2013 is in the books, at least for the New York Jets. John Idzik’s first season has come and gone, and he is off to prepare for his second year, along with coach Rex Ryan. While they are looking ahead, I am going to begin looking back, with a bit of a retrospective on John Idzik’s first season.

Over the next several days, we are going to break down John Idzik’s acquisitions throughout his first season, and talk about how they have turned out after one season. We start with the first round of the draft.

DEE MILLINER: With the ninth pick in the draft, John Idzik’s first selection was Dee Milliner from Alabama. A lot of expectations followed Milliner to New York, as he was stepping into a hole left open by some guy named Revis. In actuality, he was stepping in for Cromartie, who was stepping in for Revis, but nonetheless, the expectations were there.

However, we ran into some problems as we all know. He came to New York with injury problems, and lost time during training camp. He was in the classroom, but lost valuable time on the field. Then, he had a slow start, and then lost more time due to injury. When he did play, his lost time showed. He was getting beaten like a drum all over the football field. It was unfair, but people were starting to use the word “bust”, and his name, in the same sentence.

Then you have the last two games. Three interceptions over the last two games is nothing to shake your head at. Ten passes defended over the last two games is an impressive total. He finally seemed to get it. His coverage was excellent, and he looked like a different player. With his improvement, showing us his potential, I am going to give the move a …………B.

SHELDON RICHARDSON: With the thirteenth pick of the draft, in walks Sheldon Richardson from Missouri. It was a surprise, with pass rushers like Jarvis Jones still on the board. But, it turned out to be a very happy surprise.

He has made his case for defensive rookie of the year, and it’s a good one. 77 tackles, 3.5 sacks, one pass defended, and one forced fumble. This is an excellent stat line for a rookie. Amongst a defensive line that includes Damon Harrison and Muhammad Wilkerson, Sheldon is going to be a force for years to come. Give this move an………….A.

We will move ahead with the Jets’ next picks tomorrow.