NY Post: Draft Strategy is Flexibility

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Jets' draft strategy is flexibility

Jets Blog

By BRIAN COSTELLO

Last Updated: 7:43 AM, April 22, 2011

Posted: 1:01 AM, April 22, 2011

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Mike Tannenbaum acknowledges making deals at this year's NFL Draft will be tougher thanks to not being able to trade players because of the lockout, but that does not mean the Jets general manager is ruling out the possibility.

"I think there's other ways to get creative, swapping picks, future [picks]," Tannenbaum said at the Jets' pre-draft press conference yesterday. "If you're trying to solve a problem, you still have other clubs in the bag to use. You may not have your driver, and if you've ever seen me play golf that's probably a good thing. You use your utility club and you figure out ways to solve problems."

Tannenbaum has made notable draft-day moves in his tenure to take Mark Sanchez, Darrelle Revis, Dustin Keller and Shonn Greene. Entering this year's draft, which begins on Thursday, the Jets have six picks, the first one coming at No. 30 in the first round.

No one around the Jets' front office is counting on their general manager keeping all those picks, though.

"It's nice to have six picks this year for a change," said vice president of college scouting Joey Clinkscales. "We'll see how long we have six picks."

Tannenbaum said he will be ready to deal if something attractive comes along.

"If there are opportunities and we think it's smart, we'll go," he said.

Most observers expect the Jets to take a defensive lineman with the 30th pick. Since Rex Ryan has been the head coach, the Jets have used six of their seven draft picks on offensive players. With Ryan's background on defense, it's safe to suspect he's lobbying Tannenbaum for some help on defense.

The Jets have a need at pass rusher, something that is amazing considering they used a top-10 pick to draft one three years ago. Vernon Gholston has now washed out as a bust, and the Jets still have a hole there. They also need a nose tackle to replace Kris Jenkins. The names most commonly connected to the Jets in various mock drafts are Baylor nose tackle Phil Taylor, UCLA outside linebacker Akeem Ayers and Arizona outside linebacker Brooks Reed.

The lockout presents several hurdles for teams in this year's draft. Normally, teams would have gone through the free agency period already and would have a clearer picture of their rosters. The Jets, for example, do not know if free agent receivers Braylon Edwards and Santonio Holmes will be on the team whenever the 2011 season begins.

Now, teams must evaluate their needs based on what might happen when the lockout is over.

"There's no magical answer," Tannenbaum said. "It's just the judgment of the best player on the board versus what's going to happen in free agency. Even if you don't get your first or second choice in the draft there's going to be other opportunities. Those are great tiebreakers for us.

"If we feel like down the road, we're going to have trouble getting a player back that might break a tie in the draft room," he said. "Those are really hard judgment calls to make that you do when you're on the clock or formulating a strategy to go up a couple of spots or move back."

brian.costello@nypost.com

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