New York Jets Included in Top 32 Picks in a Decade?

Oct. 8, 2012; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum walks on the sidelines before the game against the Houston Texans at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Mills/THE STAR-LEDGER via USA TODAY Sports

As we come down the homestretch, leading up to May 8th and the opening of the 2014 NFL Draft, the NFL website has been taking some time to look back.

Earlier this week, they took a look back at each team’s top draft classes in their history. Now, they are going back to the draft picks made in the last ten years, and choosing the best (and worst), chosen at each draft selection. Basically, a mock draft created by the top picks over the last ten years.

It’s definitely a new age of Jets’ history. Remember all of the videos we have seen in our lives? Videos that become viral jokes about Jets’ draft picks through the years? History has begun to take a kinder look on the Jets’ past. This article with the NFL, for example, includes the Jets on the positive side.

Even when the guy to the right was leading the charge in the Jets’ draft room, there were some great picks made. Two of them were good enough to make this top 32 in a decade list.

The first choice was the 29th pick in the 2006 NFL Draft:

Aug 29, 2013; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Jets center

looks on before a pre-season game against the Philadelphia Eagles at Metlife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

ROCK STAR: Nick Mangold, C, New York Jets (2006)No center in the last decade has been as durable and dependable as Mangold. He’s started all 126 games in his eight seasons and is a five-time Pro Bowler and two-time All Pro.

There isn’t a lot to be said here. We know how good he is in the lineup, and on the rare occasion that Nick Mangold has been out of the lineup, we have seen how bad that has gone as well. Is Colin Baxter even still in the league?

The Jets and Tannenbaum posted another choice that made this list. It was the very next year, 2007, and with the 14th pick of the 2007 draft, the Jets chose a cornerback that many of us would be happy to forget:

Aug 26, 2012; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Jets cornerback

(24) during the second half of their game against the Carolina Panthers at MetLife Stadium. The Panthers defeated the Jets 17-12. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland-USA TODAY Sports

The trouble is, Darrelle Revis was so good, it’s kind of hard to forget about him, isn’t it?

ROCK STAR: Darrelle Revis, CB, New York Jets (2007)Fourteen is the draft slot for top defensive talent. Revis, a five-time Pro Bowler and three-time All-Pro, is widely considered the best cornerback of his generation, and renders half the field unusable whenever he’s healthy. His 21 career interceptions seem low, but when no one throws your way out of fear, it’s hard to pick anything off.

All kidding aside, and as annoyed as he has made us recently, of course Darrelle Revis belongs on this list. We likely won’t see a player at his position play to his level again for a long, long time.

See, the Jets know how to make good picks too? Take a look here to read the entire piece from NFL.com.