A growing problem of second round draft busts

The New York Jets continue to have a growing problem when it comes to their selections in the second round of previous NFL Drafts. Will history repeat itself?

As everyone knows the New York Jets are far from a perfect franchise, but they are starting to make a habit of making the same mistake over and over again, I’ll explain.

News just came out that the New York Jets have waived Devin Smith. He was drafted just two years ago in the 2nd round. The Jets have made six 2nd round picks since 2012, but only two of those players are currently on the roster.

Revisiting the 2014 second round

The Pick: Jace Amaro

The Jets were looking for weapons to help out Geno Smith who at the time was heading into his second season in the NFL. They were considering trading up for Odell Beckham in the first round, or drafting Brandin Cooks 18th overall, neither of those things happened. Instead, they took a defensive player. They picked Jace Amaro in the second round to try to make their offense better, some notable offensive players that went after him are Allen Robinson and Jarvis Landry.

The Amaro experiment obviously didn’t go the way the Jets had planned but did he really get a fair chance? In just 14 games with the Jets, he had 345 yards and two touchdowns. Those obviously aren’t eye-popping numbers but they invested a second round pick in him, giving up on a 2nd round pick after not even a full seasons worth of games is foolish.

More from The Jet Press

• NY Jets should target TE Hunter Henry in free agency
• NY Jets: Why the team should target cornerback Shaquill Griffin
• NY Jets reportedly non-tendering linebacker Harvey Langi
• NY Jets: Why the team should not cut Jamison Crowder
• NY Jets should try to sign Kenny Golladay in free agency

Revisiting the 2015 second round

The Pick: Devin Smith

The Jets drafted Smith because they wanted him to complement Brandon Marshall and Eric Decker in the receiving corps. He hasn’t done much since he was drafted but to be fair he only played in 14 games. Before he got waived it was unclear to where he was going to fit on the depth chart.

Smith will go down as a bust since with last year’s emergence of Quincy Enunwa, Decker coming back from injury, last years 3rd place leader in catches Robby Anderson and the recent selection of ArDarius Stewart, he’s expendable now.

Are the Jets 100% sure that Smith was a waste of a second round pick? In that same draft, Vic Beasley had a quiet rookie season, but this past year, he led the entire NFL in sacks. Even another player who was drafted in the second round just like Smith was Landon Collins.

Collins didn’t make much noise his rookie season but this past year he was in the running for the DPOY award. I’m not saying Smith will break out like those two, but it just goes to show you can’t judge a player just off their rookie season.

Next: Predicting starters at every position for 2017

Since 2012, the only two second round selections that are currently on the Jets roster are Christian Hackenberg and Marcus Maye. Neither of those two has played a single down in the NFL yet, so you definitely can’t say the Jets got it wrong with those two. Only time will tell if the Jets will regret selecting those two players but by the looks of it, history will more than likely repeat itself.