The New York Jets came into the second night of the 2017 NFL Draft with a lot to live up to. On Thursday night, in Round One, they had LSU safety Jamal Adams fall into their laps at No. 6 after some miscalculations were made by the five teams drafting in front of them.
In Round Two, selecting seventh (39th overall), the Jets picked Florida safety Marcus Maye to go along with the choice of Adams. The pick was read by Jets legendary DL Joe Klecko, who played his college ball at nearby Temple University.
Maye (6’0”, 210), a redshirt junior whose 2016 season was cut short due to a broken arm, is a versatile safety that can play mainly in the box, leading everyone to ask the question: Isn’t he a lot like Adams, except a cheaper version?
From Lance Zierlein of NFL.com:
“Interchangeable safety with the instincts of a free safety and the physicality of a box player. Thrives as a downhill player and has the instincts and speed to operate effectively from both single-high and two-deep looks. Has the physical attributes and intelligence to step into a starter’s role early on and will be a strong contributor on special teams.”
Round Two hasn’t been kind to the Jets the past three years: TE Jace Amaro (2014), WR Devin Smith (2015) and QB Christian Hackenberg (2016). Amaro was perpetually injured and is no longer a Jet. He has since moved on to the Tennessee Titans. Smith has also been injured thus far in his career, dressing for just 14 games, catching 10 passes for 135 yards and a TD. Hackenberg has yet to take a snap in a regular season game.
The Green Bay Packers opened the second round by selecting Washington CB Kevin King. Then Seattle traded the 34th pick to the Jaguars, who took Alabama OT Cam Robinson. Seattle then selected Michigan State DT Malik McDowell with the 35th pick.
Chicago, still feeling the sting from their fans for forking over too many picks to trade up one spot to take QB Mitchell Trubisky in the first round, accepted a trade offer to recoup some of those picks from the Arizona Cardinals, who grabbed safety Budda Baker of Washington.
The Rams, selecting for the first time in this year’s draft, traded their pick away to Buffalo, who chose East Carolina WR Zay Jones. The Chargers, in their first draft since moving back to Los Angeles, selected OL Forrest Lamp of Western Kentucky with the 38th overall pick.
The Jets, who were rumored to be trying to move up in the round, ended up staying in place making Maye their second round pick.