A Look Back: The New York Jets 2010 Draft Class

December 9, 2012; Jacksonville, FL, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars fullback Greg B. Jones (33) is defended by New York Jets cornerback Kyle Wilson (20) during the first half of the game at EverBank Field. Mandatory Credit: Rob Foldy-USA TODAY Sports

A couple of days ago, we took a look back at the draft class from 2009, prompted by the fact that two out of the three draftees are no longer on the roster, and the one remaining player is some polarizing player named Mark Sanchez.

To bring you up to speed, I came up with a grade of “C”, mainly due to their accomplishments before leaving the roster this off-season.

One of our frequent readers wanted to hear my evaluation of other draft classes, including the 2010 draft class(the one he specifically mentioned).  I am always looking for topics to discuss during the off-season, and this is a particularly interesting one.

After they have been given a chance to develop, it is interesting to take a look back at draft picks, and see how they grade after getting their feet wet in the NFL.  So, we are going to start looking back at the recent draft classes, starting with, at the request of my devoted reader, the 2010 draft class.

This is an interesting class to try and grade, because, first of all, the team only had four picks, thanks to our good friend Tannenbaum.  Three of the four are still on the team, but none of them have played to the level of their pick, either because of underperformance, or not being given the chance.  For anyone who has forgotten, here is the class list, as it were:

Let’s talk about this crew. John Conner can be dismissed right away, as he never developed into the fullback that Rex Ryan hoped for, so the “Terminator”, got terminated. Vladimir Ducasse, well, what do we say about this guy? There have been moments since his selection that he could be charged with assault on Mark Sanchez. Yeah, great pick. Was there any reason for his choice, other than him attending U Mass, as did Tanny?

The two guys left are the ones that muddy the waters a bit. First, Joe McKnight. He has become a lethal kick returner, and a tough one, who played through ankle problems in 2012. When he has the opportunity to perform in the running back position, he performs well. His 6 yard per carry average says a lot. The problem is that the Jets don’t use him enough. We have been calling for him to get the ball in space for a long time, but yet he remains a backup.

And then we have Kyle Wilson. He does have 3 picks for his career, but as a first round pick, we have all expected more out of Kyle than he has given us to date. How many times have we watched him get beaten like a drum, to only see a bad pass go imcomplete, followed by Wilson finger wagging? Too many times to count. He gives to much of a cushion as well. QBs have a field day completeing passes in front of him.

As far as a grade, keep in mind, that I know that this is all not the player’s fault. Joe McKnight’s grade comes down because he hasn’t had the same opportunities. But, taking each player’s performance in a vaccumm, I have to give this draft class a D.

What do you guys think? And thanks for the idea, the reader who brought it up knows who he is.