By Tom Rock
From the tone of today’s pre-draft press conference with three Jets decision makers, the guy they are highest on might actually be Larry David. The “Seinfeld” creator, Jets fan and sometimes contributor to the Green Think Tank (solicited or otherwise) was mentioned just as often as cornerbacks Darrell Revis, Aaron Ross and Chris Houston, some of the players the Jets could take with a first-round pick.
In talking about the prospects with poker-faced solemnity, I couldn’t help but think that the Jets had taken David’s advice to heart: Curb Your Enthusiasm.
Interestingly, the player who drew the most visceral response from Joey Clinkscales, director of college scouting, came in regard to tight end Greg Olsen from Miami. It interesting because tight end would not appear to be a need for the Jets (Chris Baker had a pretty solid 2006 season). But Clinkscales said Olsen is in the mold of other vertical threats from Miami like Winslow and Shockey. “Can he fit? He would fit into a lot of programs,” Clinkscales said. The one knock against Olsen is his blocking. “He can block,” said Clinkscales with a less-than-convincing grin.
As of this moment, the Jets have the 25th pick in the 1st round), 27th and 31st in the 2nd round, and 26th in the third for a total of four Day One selections. They won’t pick on Day Two until the 27th selection of Round Five and then have their last scheduled pick as the third in the 6th round. GM Mike Tannenbaum said he is pleased with the flexibility the Jets have heading into next Saturday, giving them the ability to trade up, trade back, or stand still. He also admitted that picking so late in the first round leads to a lot of hypothetical conversations and speculative deals, but any possible deals will not really take shape until the wheels start spinning at noon next Saturday. Terry Bradway said there are 18 to 20 guys the Jets would feel comfortable picking with the 25th selection.
It was interesting to learn how the Jets interview their prospects (there are, according to Terry Bradway, around 380 players the Jets consider “draftable”). Bradway said Mike Tannenbaum and Eric Mangini often ask the questions that probe into a player’s personal and intellectual depth (what book did you last read? what music do you listen to?). The real glimpses, Bradway said, come when they sit down to watch film with a player and ask him not to evaluate his performance but to talk about a teammate or a guy across the line. That, he said, shows how a player thinks and analyzes.
The only other tidbits that were interesting came from comments on current Jets players. Tannenbaum dismissed trade rumors regarding Jonathan Vilma, but would not go so far as to call him “untouchable.” He said if a team came in with a tremendous offer for Vilma, they would listen. But Tannenbaum was clear that refraining from the word “untouchable” is more philosophical than practical. It’s akin to Mangini not naming Pennington the starter for 2007 at the end of 2006, something the coach later did anyway.
Tannenbaum said he has not given permission for Justin McCareins to seek a trade from other teams. That was in response to an item in a Nashville paper that quoted McCareins’ agent as saying he had been talking to several teams. Even so, it’s pretty clear McCareins is on the way out and he could be heading for his old team, the receiver-hungry Titans. Tennessee has the 19th pick in the first round, so if the Jets feel that their player of choice might not be available at 25, they might put together a package for the Titans.