Seven years ago tonight, the loved Wayne Chrebet announced his retirement from the game and from the New York Jets

Seven years ago, it was not a great date in Jets’ history. Actually, it was a pretty sad day if you ask me.Wayne Chrebet was never drafted, as most of us had already known. He signed with the Jets as an underafted free agent after the 1993 draft. As UDFAs go, he has been one of the best ever to put on the uniform. He could always be counted on for the tough catch, no matter where on the field that catch needed to be made. Take a look at his college stats:

Wayne Chrebet’s playing career came to an end after a hit in 2005 against the Chargers at home, doing what else? Making a tough catch. I was at that game, Wayne goes up full extension for a huge third down conversion, but doesn’t get up for quite a while.

It was at that point that the Meadowlands’ faithful realized we have seen the last of Wayne Chrebet on the field as a player. On this night in 2006, Wayne made his retirement official. He works as an investment banker now, and most recently has been the Vice President of Barclay’s Wealth and Investment Office.

He is very clearly, a guy we will never forget. Wide receiver, #80, Wayne Chrebet.

Fan favorite, clutch wide receiver Wayne Chrebet will be announcing the Jets day 2 selections in next week’s NFL draft.

In continued reference to NFL alumni, the league is continuing its recent tradition of having former players for each team announce the draft choices on the second day of the draft.

If you recall, last year, the great wide receiver Wesley Walker was the choice, announcing the Stephen Hill and Demario Davis choices from the second and third round.

The league has made public the list of which former players are going to make this year’s announcements, and for the Jets, it will be Wayne Chrebet. In recent memory, is there a more popular alumnus of this football team than Wayne Chrebet? Walking onto the team as an undrafted rookie, using his unbridled lack of fear to vault his way to near the top of the Jets career accomplishments for receivers, he won fans hearts as well. He made every clutch catch until one too many concussions forced Wayne into early retirement.

For any interested fans, here is the rest of the alumni slated to announce the day 2 choices:

Arizona Cardinals: Fullback Larry Centers

Atlanta Falcons: Cornerback Deion Sanders

Baltimore Ravens: Offensive tackle Jonathan Ogden

Buffalo Bills: Defensive end Chris Kelsay

Carolina Panthers: Safety Mike Minter

Chicago Bears: Running back Neal Anderson

Cincinnati Bengals: Defensive tackle Tim Krumrie

Cleveland Browns: Offensive Dick Schafrath (no second-round pick; team does have a third-rounder)

Dallas Cowboys: Defensive tackle Tony Casillas

Denver Broncos: Linebacker Randy Gradishar

Detroit Lions: Wide receiver Herman Moore

Green Bay Packers: Linebacker Dave Robinson

Houston Texans: Center Steve McKinney

Indianapolis Colts: Offensive tackle Tarik Glenn (no second-round pick; team does have a third-rounder)

Jacksonville Jaguars: Quarterback Mark Brunell

Kansas City Chiefs: Defensive back Gary Barbaro (no second-round pick; team does have a third-rounder)

Miami Dolphins: Offensive guard Larry Little

Minnesota Vikings: Safety Joey Browner

New England Patriots: Running back Kevin Faulk

New Orleans Saints: Safety Steve Gleason (no second-round pick; team does have a third-rounder)

New York Giants: Offensive guard Rich Seubert

New York Jets: Wide receiver Wayne Chrebet

Oakland Raiders: Defensive back Willie Brown (no second-round pick; team does have a third-rounder)

Philadelphia Eagles: Linebacker Jeremiah Trotter

Pittsburgh Steelers: Running back Merril Hoge

St. Louis Rams: Offensive tackle Orlando Pace

San Diego Chargers: Defensive back Jim Hill

San Francisco 49ers: Offensive guard Guy McIntyre

Seattle Seahawks: Linebacker Isaiah Kacyvenski

Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Deefensive tackle Warren Sapp

Tennessee Titans: Linebacker Keith Bulluck

Washington Redskins: Linebacker LaVar Arrington

Dec 17, 2012; Nashville, TN, USA; New York Jets wide receiver Jeremy Kerley (11) catches a punt from the Tennessee Titans during the second half at LP Field. Titans won 14-10. Mandatory Credit: Jim Brown-USA TODAY Sports

Jeremy Kerley came into his own in 2012, stepping up as quite the offensive weapon. He spent more time outside than usual thanks to Santonio’s injury, but he did take his fair share of snaps in the slot as well, which he will much more with Tone’s return. Let’s take a look at how good he was in the slot in 2012:

In 437 snaps from the slot position, he was targeted 21.5% of those snaps, a higher percentage than Reggie Wayne, Marques Colston, and noted slot receiver Brandon Stokley. Of those targets, Kerley fell just outside the top 10 in catch percentage, with 64.2%, higher than Marques Colston and Victor Cruz.

Perhaps the most significant stat was his drop rate, or his percentage of drops on catch-able throws. Jeremy Kerley’s percentage was a minuscule 4.44%, which beat Marques Colston again, and significantly beat Reggie Wayne and even the great Wes Welker. Jeremy Kerley will be a fixture in the slot for the New York Jets, for many years to come.

Have we seen this before?

Once upon a time, we had a guy in the slot that was only one inch taller than Kerley’s 5’9″, and (per nfl.com) weighs in at the same weight of 188 pounds that Kerley does.  You might remember him, he was a pretty tough guy in the slot.

That’s right, Wayne Chrebet. Let’s look at the numbers, it’s not that bad of a comparison. We are going to take a look at Chrebet’s first year, vs. Kerley’s second (Jeremy didn’t take enough snaps as a rookie for a fair comparison).

Kerley: 56 receptions, 827 yards, 2 TDs

Chrebet: 66 receptions, 726 yards, 4 TDs

See?  Not too far off, huh?  Maybe, just maybe, we are looking at Wayne Chrebet 2.0.  Obviously, Jeremy has a long way to go to get to that point.  But, he is certainly on the right track coming off of his 2012 performance.