Will Jets take TE with their first pick? ~ Newsday

[Smizzy]

Will Jets take TE with their first pick?

BY KEN BERGER

Newsday Staff Writer

April 26, 2006

When Vernon Davis crossed the finish line in his timed 40-yard dash segment at the NFL scouting combine, the scouts and personnel people in the stands did simultaneous double takes.

At 6-3, 254 pounds, the Maryland tight end clocked 4.39 seconds, an unofficial record for his position. No wonder the guys with the stopwatches couldn't believe their eyes.

"Everybody's head was doing the same thing: looking at each other, making sure they didn't miss what they had just seen," said John Murphy, a draft guru from NextLevel Scouting, who couldn't believe his stopwatch, either.

One scenario that has become popular on the predraft rumor mill has the Jets trading down a few spots from No. 4 and investing the first pick of the Mike Tannenbaum-Eric Mangini era in a tight end. It's a possibility that has some longtime Jets fans uncomfortable.

Since 1982, only three tight ends have been selected with a top-10 pick by NFL teams. One of them was the disappointing Kyle Brady, who went to the Jets with the ninth overall pick in 1995.

Brady looks like a Hall of Famer compared with Rickey Dudley (ninth to the Raiders in 1996) and Kellen Winslow Jr. (sixth to the Browns in 2004.) The three totaled one top-10 finish in a major receiving category: Dudley tied for ninth with nine touchdowns in 1999.

Would Davis be a risky pick? Murphy and others who have him billed as the most talented tight end to come out in years, don't think so.

"You watch him at Florida State after the catch where he throws off one FSU defender and runs through three more," Murphy said. "He's performing at that level against a defense that has three or four potential first-day picks."

Murphy thinks Davis' ability to stretch the middle of the field would loosen things for Curtis Martin and free Laveranues Coles of the double teams that dampened his return to the Jets last season. But it's hard to read whether Davis is a legitimate top-10 pick, or if his stock has risen because it's a weak draft for receivers.

And didn't the Jets miss the mark at the tight-end position just a year ago, when they steered clear of Heath Miller and traded out of the first round to acquire Doug Jolley, who was a certifiable bust? The knocks on Davis are blocking and intelligence, but Murphy believes both will prove irrelevant. The Jets have Chris Baker to block, and Davis performed well in a very complicated passing offense at Maryland.

With willing trade partners directly behind them in the Packers (No. 5), Niners (No. 6) and Raiders (No. 7), the Jets are said to be seriously considering trading down for a player such as Davis. If they trade with the Raiders for a third-rounder, for example, they'd have the 29th and 35th picks, plus three third-rounders, giving them plenty of flexibility to address offensive tackle, quarterback, and running back.

Seems like a good plan, as long as they're willing to block out the boos.

[bitonti]

no ~ bitonti

[j e t s]

no ~ bitonti

Second That

[faba]

There is no way Davis will be our pick at 4- just have to laugh- the media puts out any and every possible player as our pick without knowing anything

[mbn007]

no ~ bitonti

If we do trade down with the Raiders, and Bush, Mario, Leinart, Young, D'Brick, and Ngata are off the board, would you not prefer Davis to either Hawk or Cutler?

[PeterNorth09]

I don't know if Davis will fall past the Raiders at 6. The guy is going to be a star in the nfl.

[gsnts725]

Plz No Te!!1