Who were the “big” picks the first draft you remember paying attention to?

[HawkeyeJet]

Met a friend after work for a few cocktails and started talking draft etc and we got to the topic of when we remember getting into the draft.

The first year I remember caring and purposely paying attention to who the Jets drafted was the year they drafted Johnny Mitchell in RD 1.  I was 8 or 9 and heard the Jets pick on the radio in our garage.  

That draft started with back to back picks by the Colts.  Neither amounted to much.  Could you imagine the backlash of the Colts draft in 92 if the internet was a thing?  Whew.

The following year completely solidified my draft interest when the Jets select Marvin Jones.  I loved watching that Charlie Ward/Marvin Jones FSU team.

[Beerfish]

I am late to the party compared to most of you chaps so my first jets draft i paid attention to was 2004.

Vilma, Derrick strait, Cotchery

[jbt]

Can't remember that but I was in St. Louis when the jets picked Sheldon Richardson and some of his family members were at the bar watching too.  Thought it was a good omen at the time  

[HawkeyeJet]

1 minute ago, Beerfish said:

I am late to the party compared to most of you chaps so my first jets draft i paid attention to was 2004.

Vilma, Derrick strait, Cotchery

Derrick Strait.  There is a name that hasn’t passed through my head in a long time.  I thought he was going to be solid.

[Jet_Engine1]

12 minutes ago, HawkeyeJet said:

Met a friend after work for a few cocktails and started talking draft etc and we got to the topic of when we remember getting into the draft.

The first year I remember caring and purposely paying attention to who the Jets drafted was the year they drafted Johnny Mitchell in RD 1.  I was 8 or 9 and heard the Jets pick on the radio in our garage.  
 

That draft started with back to back picks by the Colts.  Neither amounted to much.  Could you imagine the backlash of the Colts draft in 92 if the internet was a thing?  Whew.

The following year completely solidified my draft interest when the Jets select Marvin Jones.  I loved watching that Charlie Ward/Marvin Jones FSU team.

Wow, you're younger than I expected! 

 

I loved those 1990s teams, the Chrebet, Mo Lewis, Vic Green, Marvin Jones era of 1993-2003 or , that core group is who I still Identify closest with. 

 

The first draft I was really into was the 1983 draft but things were so different then. We didn't have ESPN, and I lived in West Palm so it was Newspaper sports section and then The Sporting News for draft stuff. I was a YUUUGE Kenny O'Brien fan when they drafted him. I had no idea who he was, had no idea what Cal Davis was, but he was our new QB and we were going to the Superbowl!! 

 

Anyway, cool thread!!

[HawkeyeJet]

27 minutes ago, Jet_Engine1 said:

Wow, you're younger than I expected! 

 

I loved those 1990s teams, the Chrebet, Mo Lewis, Vic Green, Marvin Jones era of 1993-2003 or , that core group is who I still Identify closest with. 

 

The first draft I was really into was the 1983 draft but things were so different then. We didn't have ESPN, and I lived in West Palm so it was Newspaper sports section and then The Sporting News for draft stuff. I was a YUUUGE Kenny O'Brien fan when they drafted him. I had no idea who he was, had no idea what Cal Davis was, but he was our new QB and we were going to the Superbowl!! 

 

Anyway, cool thread!!

Thanks for sharing.  How people took the draft in before it became a huge deal interests me for whatever reason.  I would have loved hearing people dissect that 83 QB class in real time.  
 

Sporting News is probably the biggest singular thing that got me hooked into pro sports “hot stove” type stuff.  Those little paragraph blurbs they had on each team seemed like the holy grail of info to me.

[Lith]

Carl Barzilauskas. 1974.

Yep.  I am old.

[Joejet]

Joe Namath and John Huarte.

[GangGreen Machine]

Showing my Millennial age here. I never paid attention to the draft until I was playing football as a freshman in HS. 

2006 Seeing Brick and Mangold get drafted was an awesome night. Then having Brad smith and Leon Washington do well as Jets was a cherry on top of that draft class. 

[Sout0266]

Ellis, Abraham, Pennington, Becht 

[JTJet]

Since this draft, I've only missed 2 drafts (due to deployment).

[slats]

5 minutes ago, Lith said:

Carl Barzilauskas. 1974.

Yep.  I am old.

That’s probably mine, too. He was one of the first 300-lb’ers iirc. I liked when Becton took his number. Seemed fitting. 

[Copernicus]

Great thread Hawkeye

First draft that got me hooked was the year we took Blair Thomas. I was 18, also the first that I watched it with my dad (who past about 3 years now). I was hoooked. Hate Coslet to this day for the way he treated that kid. Thomas was having a breakout game on MNF his rookie year and fumbled late. Coslet benched and blamed Thomas for the loss. Blair Thomas was never the same.

Other memorable picks were Jeff Lagerman, Johnny Michell, Kyle Brady, Hugh Douglas and Marvin Jones. Went to a couple of the drafts live when they were barely televised. Got up early, waited on a long line, got a number on an index card and sat in the balcony of a hotel banquet room where the draft was held. Memories for a lifetime with my friends and family!

Thanks for bringing me back Hawkeye!

[Jimmy 2 Times]

I started watching in 1984 and was a die hard fan by 1986.

1988 was the first draft I remember watching.  Didn't have a dog in the fight, but was hoping we'd get Tim Brown to pair with Toon since Walker was getting old.  We drafted Dave Cadigan, and I still don't know who he is. 

Now 1989 was my first REAL taste in Jets draft.  I wanted Barry Sanders more than I wanted to get laid.  He went really early so I was hoping for a receiver again.  Hart Lee Dykes (who seemed like a Toon clone) or Andre Rison from Michigan St.  We took Lageman and Mel Kiper went off.  It made me worried for the first time that the Jets didn't know what they were doing.  

Lageman ended up having a solid career, but I still took a lot of flack from my buddies.  

 

[Origen]

Blair Thomas

[MykePM]

I've been following the Jets since around '77, but the first draft I remember watching live was the year of the Kyle Brady / Warren Sapp debacle ('95).  I was screaming at the television after the pick was made.  

You'd think I'd have given up watching drafts after that, but if anything, I only became more enthusiastic about them.  My wife is sick of hearing me talk about how this draft might be the most important one in Jets history. 

[Integrity28]

46 minutes ago, Beerfish said:

I am late to the party compared to most of you chaps so my first jets draft i paid attention to was 2004.

Vilma, Derrick strait, Cotchery

Not me. I only really caught the bug with the Brick and Mangold draft. I loosely paid attention for drafts like the Pennington year, but was mostly passive.

[Darnold's Forehead]

Sanchez, Greene, Slauson

LOL

[Jets0712]

Blair Thomas as well.


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[The Crusher]

Marvin Jones!

[David Harris]

Easy for me. Blair Thomas in 1990. And every draft since.

I was 11, a big Penn state fan, and it was a dream come true, until the fumble in Chicago his rookie year.

[maury77]

For me it was the Blair Thomas draft, I was in 7th grade I think. I was excited because Dick Steinberg was supposed to be a good GM and Blair Thomas was a monster in the senior bowl that year. I thought he was going to be the next Walter Payton. Whoops!

[maury77]

Just now, David Harris said:

Easy for me. Blair Thomas in 1990. And every draft since.

I was 11, a big Penn state fan, and it was a dream come true, until the fumble in Chicago his rookie year.

Damn, same draft and almost the same age as me. We should have seen the signs, lol

[Jet_Engine1]

32 minutes ago, Sout0266 said:

Ellis, Abraham, Pennington, Becht 

I was at Bonos BBQ restaurant in Stuart Florida watching that draft as a still optomistic 29 year old man. When we picked Pennington, I turned to my fiancé (that I broke up with 6 months later) and said, "Holy sh*t! We just drafted the next great Quarterback! The Jets are set!!"

 

Yup, I've been consistently wrong for years. It's why I am the way I am now. 

[Jet_Engine1]

15 minutes ago, MykePM said:

I've been following the Jets since around '77, but the first draft I remember watching live was the year of the Kyle Brady / Warren Sapp debacle ('95).  I was screaming at the television after the pick was made.  

You'd think I'd have given up watching drafts after that, but if anything, I only became more enthusiastic about them.  My wife is sick of hearing me talk about how this draft might be the most important one in Jets history. 

I actually bought a Kyle Brady jersey. Wore it for years. What a dumbass.

[slimjasi]

53 minutes ago, Jet_Engine1 said:

Wow, you're younger than I expected! 

 

I loved those 1990s teams, the Chrebet, Mo Lewis, Vic Green, Marvin Jones era of 1993-2003 or , that core group is who I still Identify closest with. 

 

The first draft I was really into was the 1983 draft but things were so different then. We didn't have ESPN, and I lived in West Palm so it was Newspaper sports section and then The Sporting News for draft stuff. I was a YUUUGE Kenny O'Brien fan when they drafted him. I had no idea who he was, had no idea what Cal Davis was, but he was our new QB and we were going to the Superbowl!! 

 

Anyway, cool thread!!

Did you want Marino?  You were upset at all the Jets passed on him? 

[Lupz27]

1 hour ago, HawkeyeJet said:

Met a friend after work for a few cocktails and started talking draft etc and we got to the topic of when we remember getting into the draft.

The first year I remember caring and purposely paying attention to who the Jets drafted was the year they drafted Johnny Mitchell in RD 1.  I was 8 or 9 and heard the Jets pick on the radio in our garage.  

That draft started with back to back picks by the Colts.  Neither amounted to much.  Could you imagine the backlash of the Colts draft in 92 if the internet was a thing?  Whew.

The following year completely solidified my draft interest when the Jets select Marvin Jones.  I loved watching that Charlie Ward/Marvin Jones FSU team.

This is the same for me I remember watching that draft live, first time ever paying attention think this was also the Kiper and the Colts GM had some bad things to say about each other live been hooked since.

[Waka Flocka Flacco]

28 minutes ago, Integrity28 said:

Not me. I only really caught the bug with the Brick and Mangold draft. I loosely paid attention for drafts like the Pennington year, but was mostly passive.

That was mine too. I think 06 until about 14 was when it was fun.

[DepressedJetsFan23]

First draft pick I really remember was mark Sanchez. I remember my middle school teacher talking about it 

[slimjasi]

I watched football for awhile without really paying attention to the draft at all. When I was a kid, I didn't really see the significance of it. I didn't pay attention to anything that happened in the offseason. 

The first draft I really gave a sh*t about was 2000 because we had four 1st round picks. I was pumped for Abraham and Ellis. Hated the Becht pick. 

[Jetfuel66]

I started following the draft in 1981. I remember hoping we would get Lawrence Taylor, but was very happy with Freeman Mcneil. The next year we drafted Bob Crable and I was thrilled because all that defense needed was a MLB to replace Stan Blinka.

Those days we couldn't wait for the draft magazines to come out with their predictions on who would be drafted and where. No internet or Social media in those days. The draft was 12 rounds if I'm not mistaken.

I also remember those Mid 80's horrible drafts, Ron Faurot, Mike Haight, Dave Cadigan, Mike Vick..... torture!

[maury77]

1 hour ago, Jet_Engine1 said:

I actually bought a Kyle Brady jersey. Wore it for years. What a dumbass.

I kid you not, I was a high school senior that year and a bunch of my friends and I were partying in South Beach and took lsd the night before. I woke up in the morning, saw the Jets picked Brady and I thought I was hallucinating for a good 10 minutes and that it hadn't really happened. 

[southparkcpa]

1 hour ago, Jet_Engine1 said:

I was at Bonos BBQ restaurant in Stuart Florida watching that draft as a still optomistic 29 year old man. When we picked Pennington, I turned to my fiancé (that I broke up with 6 months later) and said, "Holy sh*t! We just drafted the next great Quarterback! The Jets are set!!"

 

Yup, I've been consistently wrong for years. It's why I am the way I am now. 

And fukkin Brady was drafted days later.  

[Larz]

Kenny O

again, I ask, why am I still here ? ?

[southparkcpa]

Just now, Larz said:

Kenny O

again, I ask, why am I still here ? ?

Me too….. i was like who??? Where the Fukk is UC Davis???   We suck at the draft.