Coffee with the Jets: Top 5 drafted players of all-time

Enjoy an iced cup of coffee as a loyal reader asks who in my opinion are the top five drafted players of all-time for the New York Jets.

Here in New York, the weather is finally getting nice and hot. It’s that time of year to start thinking about attending some baseball games, finalizing vacation plans, and going out more than usual. When it comes to the New York Jets, it’s only a few weeks until the start of organized team activities and eventually training camp.

In this edition of Coffee with the Jets, one of my loyal readers asked a great question, which will almost always bring different results each and every time. Lately, on my personal Twitter account, I’ve been asking my readers to submit any questions they’ve like answered right here on The Jet Press.

Today’s question comes from John, here is what he asked:

@LTJ81 Who were the top 5 #NewYorkJets ever drafted by the team? #AskLTJ

— John Gigliotti (@JohnGigliotti) May 18, 2017

Great one here, John as I thank you for the question! Now, for me personally, I’m only going by which players I remember the most. These are from when I was a little boy at five-years-old watching football for the first time to even more recent players I remember made an impact the moment they were drafted.

My top five drafted players of all-time for the Jets would be Al Toon, Dennis Byrd, Darrelle Revis, John Abraham, and Chad Pennington. Breaking down why, all these great players gave me memories that will last a lifetime. I used to love watching Toon make big plays and score touchdowns as a kid. When it came to Bryd, what happened to him was a tragedy on the field and before that, he was truly a sight to watch as he always got sacks and big defensive stops.

When the Jets drafted Revis back in 2007, it was the start of something special. I knew then and there that he would have been one of the top cornerbacks in the entire NFL the moment he transitioned to the pros. Sure enough, he ended up being so good, that “Revis Island” was his trademark and the Jets finally had a player that brought national attention to the franchise since he was a true shutdown cornerback. If he was playing in primetime football, you were definitely tuning in.

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Abraham was another beast of a defensive player as, over the years, the Jets focused on drafting top players that made an impact on that part of the team. Abraham was all about brute force, making his presence felt, and just like Byrd, making a name for himself by taking down quarterbacks with authority.

Finally, the top drafted player of all-time for me goes to Pennington. I was about 18-years-old at the time when he was drafted back in 2000 and knew he would end up being something special. To this day, I’ve never seen a Jets quarterback be so accurate and such a student of the game as a starting quarterback.

Pennington was incredibly smart and well, if he never got those shoulder injuries, would have easily been that franchise quarterback the Jets have been waiting for. It’s a shame that things never panned out with him but in the end, those short seasons between 2002 – 2004 when he was starting were some of the best I’ve ever seen by a Jets quarterback. What about you? If you had to pick your top five drafted players of all time by the Jets, who would it be and why? Leave your comments below!