NEW YORK JETS DAILY CLIPS

May 3, 2015

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Table of Contents

ASSOCIATED PRESS ................................................................................................................................................ 2

Jets take Baylor QB Petty in 4th round, acquire Rams' Stacy (Dennis Waszak) ........................................................ 2

Jets trade up 1 spot, draft Baylor QB Petty in 4th round (Dennis Waszak) ............................................................... 3

NFL DRAFT: Jets grab QB Petty in trade (Barry Wilner) ............................................................................................. 4

NEWSDAY .............................................................................................................................................................. 5

Bryce Petty latest sign that Jets' Mike Maccagnan, Todd Bowles are searching for answers at QB (Bob Glauber) . 5

Jarvis Harrison, Jets pick, just wanted to talk to his mom (Kimberley Martin) ......................................................... 7

Bryce Petty taken by Jets after deal with Jaguars (Kimberley Martin) ...................................................................... 7

THE RECORD .......................................................................................................................................................... 8

Jets make trades for offense (J.P. Pelzman) .............................................................................................................. 8

ESPN NEW YORK .................................................................................................................................................... 9

New York Jets draft wrap-up (Rich Cimini) ................................................................................................................ 9

Jets get Zac Stacy in trade with Rams (Rich Cimini) ................................................................................................ 10

Jets need Bryce Petty to be great (Ian O’Connor) ................................................................................................... 11

Total breakdown: Jets draft NT Deon Simon in seventh round (Rich Cimini) ......................................................... 13

Total breakdown: Jets draft guard Jarvis Harrison in fifth round (Rich Cimini) ....................................................... 13

Total breakdown: Jets draft QB Bryce Petty in fourth round (Rich Cimini) ............................................................. 14

Jets trade up to draft Bryce Petty (Rich Cimini) ...................................................................................................... 15

NJ ADVANCE MEDIA ............................................................................................................................................ 16

Jets see Bryce Petty as long-term project, not immediate savior (Dom Cosentino) ............................................... 16

Rutgers center Betim Bujari accepts rookie minicamp tryout with Jets (Dan Duggan) .......................................... 17

NFL Draft 2015: Darryl Slater's grades for all of the Jets' picks (Darryl Slater) ........................................................ 17

Jets trade final seventh-round draft pick to St. Louis Rams for running back Zac Stacy (Darryl Slater) .................. 19

NFL Draft 2015: Jets pick offensive guard Jarvis Harrison in the fifth round (Darryl Slater) ................................... 20

Bryce Petty: Jets trade up to draft Baylor quarterback in fourth round (Dom Cosentino) ..................................... 21

NEW YORK POST .................................................................................................................................................. 22

Jets stockpiling RBs, Swing trade for young Ram (Brian Costello)........................................................................... 22

Jets make splashes, grab QB Bryce Petty and Rams RB (Brian Costello) ................................................................. 22

Jets pick Bryce Petty as new quarterback (Brian Costello) ...................................................................................... 24

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS ...................................................................................................................................... 24

Jets' first-round pick in NFL draft, Leonard Williams of USC, has always loomed large (Seth Walder)................... 24

As Jets draft Leonard Williams, Muhammad Wilkerson could end up the odd man out (Manish Mehta) ............. 26

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Jets get RB Zac Stacy from Rams for 7th round pick (Manish Mehta) .................................................................... 28

Jets pick Baylor quarterback Bryce Petty in fourth round of NFL draft (Seth Walder) ........................................... 28

NEW YORK TIMES ................................................................................................................................................ 29

The Jets’ New Man Seems to Have a Plan (Ben Shpigel) ......................................................................................... 29

SATURDAY’S SPORTS TRANSACTIONS .................................................................................................................. 31

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Jets take Baylor QB Petty in 4th round, acquire Rams' Stacy (Dennis Waszak) Associated Press May 2, 2015

http://www.pro32.ap.org/article/jets-take-baylor-qb-petty-4th-round-acquire-rams-stacy

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP) — The New York Jets added another quarterback to the mix, and then acquired a versatile running back on the final day of the NFL draft.

Baylor quarterback Bryce Petty was selected with the Jets' fourth-round pick after the team moved up one spot Saturday in a trade with the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Jets gave up the 104th pick and a seventh-rounder (No. 229) to take Petty.

"We felt good about Bryce today, in terms of where he fell," general manager Mike Maccagnan said. "We made a little move just to make sure we got him because in our process we did find that there may have been other teams trying to move up to trade for him."

The Jets later dealt their final pick — No. 224 — to St. Louis for running back Zac Stacy, who wrote "yikes" on Twitter shortly after the Rams drafted Georgia running back Todd Gurley in the first round Thursday night. The tweet was later deleted, but it was clear Stacy was not happy and wanted a change of scenery — and the Jets were able to acquire a pass-catching threat out of the backfield.

Stacy, who ran for 293 yards last season and caught 18 passes for 152 yards, joins a backfield that includes Chris Ivory, Bilal Powell, Stevan Ridley and Daryl Richardson. Stacy had 973 yards rushing as a rookie in 2013, but took a backseat to Tre Mason last season and figured to see even less action with Gurley on the team.

"We thought the idea of bringing Zac in with that kind of investment would be very beneficial and increase the competition at that position," Maccagnan said.

In the fifth round, New York selected Texas A&M offensive lineman Jarvis Harrison, who played left guard and left tackle in his senior season. With their final pick, No. 223, the Jets took Northwestern State defensive tackle Deon Simon in the seventh round.

New York drafted USC defensive lineman Leonard Williams in the first round Thursday, and selected Ohio State wide receiver Devin Smith in the second and Louisville linebacker Lorenzo Mauldin in the third on Friday.

Petty, who threw 61 touchdowns the last two seasons, will work with Geno Smith, the starter the last two seasons, veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick, who is recovering from a broken leg that cut short his season last year, and Matt Simms. Coach Todd Bowles recently said the Jets hoped to add another quarterback — either in the draft or free agency.

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"That was the longest 48 hours I've ever had in my life," Petty said during a conference call shortly after he was selected. "To get that call was, honestly, unbelievable."

The 6-foot-3, 230-pound Petty has an impressive resume: He was the consensus 2013 Big 12 offensive player of the year, led Baylor to a 21-4 record as a starter and consecutive conference championships, and he holds 31 school records. His 1.18 career interception percentage is an NCAA record after throwing for 62 TDs and just 10 INTs in 845 attempts at Baylor.

He was the fifth quarterback taken, but felt he might have been a bit underrated heading into the draft. Petty played in a quarterback-friendly offense that had some scouts wondering if he could adjust to the complexities of an NFL system.

"It's all about the person," Petty said. "My desire is to be the best, regardless of what system I'm in. What I was asked to do in college, it was different, but it's not because I couldn't do a pro-style offense or West Coast-offense or whatever. It's what I was told to do, and I did it."

Petty will not be rushed or be expected to compete for the starting job this season. Bowles reiterated that Smith will enter training camp getting the majority of the first-team snaps and Fitzpatrick the second-team reps, so Petty can sit and learn offensive coordinator Chan Gailey's system and continue to develop.

"He has all the parts and pieces we think would make him potentially a good quarterback in the NFL," Maccagnan said, acknowledging that there will be a learning curve for Petty. "Time will tell what level of player he becomes."

Petty made a predraft visit to the Jets' facility, and felt comfortable from the moment he walked through the door.

"It just kind of felt like home — home away from home, really," said Petty, who's from Midlothian, Texas.

He said the Jets went through a little bit of Gailey's spread-style offense during his visit with the team, and saw some similarities to what he ran at Baylor.

"As far as being able to relate, being familiar with things, it was great," Petty said. "It's definitely an offense that your guys can have fun with."

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Jets trade up 1 spot, draft Baylor QB Petty in 4th round (Dennis Waszak) Associated Press May 2, 2015

http://www.pro32.ap.org/article/jets-trade-1-spot-draft-baylor-qb-petty-4th-round

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP) — The New York Jets added another quarterback to the mix, giving Geno Smith and Ryan Fitzpatrick some competition.

Baylor's Bryce Petty was selected with the Jets' fourth-round pick after the team moved up one spot Saturday in a trade with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Petty, who threw 61 touchdowns the last two seasons, will work with Smith, the starter the last two seasons, veteran Fitzpatrick, who is recovering from a broken leg that cut short his season last year, and Matt Simms. Coach Todd Bowles recently said the Jets hoped to add another quarterback — either in the draft or free agency.

"That was the longest 48 hours I've ever had in my life," Petty said during a conference call shortly after he was selected. "To get that call was, honestly, unbelievable."

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The Jets gave up the 104th pick and a seventh-rounder (No. 229) to the Jaguars to move up to take Petty.

In the fifth round, New York selected Texas A&M offensive lineman Jarvis Harrison, who played left guard and left tackle in his senior season.

The Jets still had two seventh-round picks remaining in the draft.

The 6-foot-3, 230-pound Petty has an impressive resume: He was the consensus 2013 Big 12 offensive player of the year, led Baylor to a 21-4 record as a starter and consecutive conference championships, and he holds 31 school records. His 1.18 career interception percentage is an NCAA record after throwing for 62 TDs and just 10 INTs in 845 attempts at Baylor.

He was the fifth quarterback taken, but felt he might have been a bit underrated heading into the draft. Petty has a terrific arm, but played in a quarterback-friendly offense that had some scouts wondering if he could adjust to the complexities of an NFL system.

"It's all about the person," Petty said. "My desire is to be the best, regardless of what system I'm in. What I was asked to do in college, it was different, but it's not because I couldn't do a pro-style offense or West Coast-offense or whatever. It's what I was told to do, and I did it."

Petty will likely not be rushed or be expected to compete for the starting job this season. He can sit and learn offensive coordinator Chan Gailey's system and continue to develop.

"I'm going to work to be the best," he said. "That's something I've always wanted to do, and what I've always strived to do, whether that be as a starter or a backup. That's up to the coaches, and my job is to have a great attitude about it, be a great teammate and learn all I can from guys who have been there and done that."

Petty made a predraft visit to the Jets' facility, and felt comfortable from the moment he walked through the door.

"It just kind of felt like home — home away from home, really," said Petty, who's from Midlothian, Texas.

Petty had already done his research on the Jets, raving about the offense with receivers such as Brandon Marshall, Eric Decker and Jeremy Kerley, and even mentioned the team's second-round pick, Ohio State's speedy Devin Smith.

He said the Jets went through a little bit of Gailey's spread-style offense during his visit with the team, and saw some similarities to what he ran at Baylor.

"As far as being able to relate, being familiar with things, it was great," Petty said. "It's definitely an offense that your guys can have fun with."

The 6-4, 325-pound Harrison, from Navasota, Texas, is a versatile lineman who could serve as a backup, but said his preferred position is guard. He missed the first two games of last season while recovering from offseason shoulder surgery, but played the final 11 games, including starting the final eight.

New York took USC defensive lineman Leonard Williams in the first round, Smith in the second and Louisville linebacker Lorenzo Mauldin in the third.

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NFL DRAFT: Jets grab QB Petty in trade (Barry Wilner) Associated Press May 2, 2015

http://www.pro32.ap.org/article/nfl-draft-jets-grab-qb-petty-trade

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CHICAGO (AP) — The New York Jets made an early splash as Day 3 of the NFL draft began Saturday, adding to their quarterbacks stable with Baylor's Bryce Petty.

After a night of contemplating who remained on the board, New York moved up one spot with Jacksonville to get the prolific passer who operated a spread offense in college. Petty will have plenty to learn in the pros, and will have Geno Smith, Ryan Fitzpatrick and Matt Simms ahead on the depth chart.

But the Jets have had inconsistency at the position for years, and new coach Todd Bowles has no ties to the other QBs.

"That's the longest 48 hours I've ever had in my life," Petty said.

As for the big transition, Petty was confident he can do it smoothly.

"What I was asked to do in college, it was different, but it's not because I couldn't do a pro-style offense or West Coast offense or whatever," he said. It's what I was told to do, and I did it."

Another quarterback went in the fourth round — well a former QB, Blake Bell of Oklahoma. The "Belldozer" is now a tight end and wound up San Francisco.

Tennessee began the fourth round by taking defensive tackle Angelo Blackson of Auburn. His partner at the position with the Tigers, Gabe Wright, went to Detroit soon after.

Cincinnati chose cornerback Josh Shaw of Southern California, who had a 10-game suspension when he lied to school officials about how he sprained his ankles in a preseason fall. Shaw jumped 20 feet from a balcony following an argument with his girlfriend in late August. He then made up an elaborate story about saving his nephew from drowning in a swimming pool.

___

AP Sports Writers Dennis Waszak Jr., and Greg Beacham contributed to this story.

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NEWSDAY

Bryce Petty latest sign that Jets' Mike Maccagnan, Todd Bowles are searching for answers at QB (Bob Glauber) Newsday May 3, 2015

http://www.newsday.com/sports/columnists/bob-glauber/bryce-petty-latest-sign-that-jets-mike-maccagnan-todd-bowles-are-searching-for-answers-at-qb-1.10370305

Geno Smith already had seen the Jets sign a veteran quarterback (Ryan Fitzpatrick) who had played for the team's new offensive coordinator (Chan Gailey). And Smith knew there was a good possibility that the Jets would draft a quarterback Saturday, which they did, taking Baylor's Bryce Petty in the fourth round.

Yet with all those not-so-subtle hints that the Jets' new management team and coaching staff remain unconvinced that Smith is the answer at quarterback, he seemed unfazed.

"There are always other guys. That's the nature of the business," Smith said after a practice earlier in the week. "There is always going to be competition. I have always welcomed it, and I still do."

But no matter how much of a stiff upper lip Smith maintains with the increased competition, he still is in the awkward position of working for people who didn't hire him. Drafted in 2013 by general manager John

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Idzik and a starter for coach Rex Ryan, Smith now answers to GM Mike Maccagnan and coach Todd Bowles.

The third-year quarterback must surely get the hint: After Maccagnan brought in former Texans quarterback Fitzpatrick, who had been Gailey's starter in Buffalo from 2010-12, the GM selected Petty on Saturday.

There were indications leading up to the draft that Maccagnan was closely studying the quarterbacks in the draft -- and not just presumptive No. 1 and No. 2 picks Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota. There was a solid second tier of quarterbacks including Petty, UCLA's Brett Hundley, Sean Mannion of Oregon State and Garrett Grayson of Colorado State.

Of that group, a decent number of scouts felt that Petty was at or near the top of the list.

There was some predraft chatter that Petty -- who ran the spread offense at Baylor with aplomb similar to that of Robert Griffin III, the second overall pick in 2012 -- would sneak into the first round. But once he was bypassed through the third round, Maccagnan traded up one spot with the Jaguars -- for whom Idzik now works as a salary-cap adviser -- and took Petty 103rd overall.

The knock against Petty is the same as the knock against all spread quarterbacks, including Marcus Mariota: that they won't make the transition to the pro game. But Gailey's system includes a lot of elements of the spread offense, and Petty himself was struck at how similar it was to his college attack.

"When I came up on my visit, we did a mini-install and it was actually a lot of the same dynamics or schemes that we had at Baylor that [Gailey] was showing me on tape," Petty said. "It was great, because it was a lot of the same things that we did. I'm definitely excited about getting into the film room with him and start understanding where, what and how and the way things work. It's definitely an offense that your guys can have fun with, and that's an important thing, especially in this league."

Whoever ends up being the Jets' quarterback this season and beyond, there are plenty of tools with which to work. Chris Ivory, Bilal Powell, Stevan Ridley and newly acquired Zak Stacy provide a solid running attack. Wide receivers Brandon Marshall, Eric Decker, Jeremy Kerley and rookie Devin Smith, a former Ohio State star, offer a better-than-average receiving corps. The offensive line is a solid group, although vulnerable at guard.

And Gailey is a capable play-caller, if occasionally prone to some missteps that beset every offensive coordinator.

What the Jets don't have is a legitimate answer at quarterback.

Smith doesn't stand a chance in this or any offense if he doesn't find a way to stop turning the ball over. In 30 NFL games, he has 34 interceptions to go with 25 touchdown passes. He also has 16 fumbles, half of which were recovered by the opposing team.

But there have been games in which Smith really has looked the part of a capable quarterback. He went toe-to- toe with Tom Brady last Oct. 16 in New England before losing to the Patriots, 27-25. He had a perfect rating of 158.3 in last year's regular-season finale in Miami.

But when they closely examined Smith on video, there simply weren't enough of those games to convince Maccagnan and Bowles. Thus the additions of Fitzpatrick and now Petty. The new decision-making team hopes one of them can provide the answer, but Maccagnan and Bowles know there's a good chance none will stick.

The quarterback situation remains a work in progress. And unless and until that changes, the Jets will remain a flawed team.

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Jarvis Harrison, Jets pick, just wanted to talk to his mom (Kimberley Martin) Newsday May 2, 2015

http://www.newsday.com/sports/football/jets/jarvis-harrison-jets-pick-just-wanted-to-talk-to-his-mom-1.10369389

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. - Jarvis Harrison's words were clipped and delivered without emotion Saturday after he was taken in the fifth round of the NFL draft by the Jets.

But after a few minutes, his seeming disinterest in talking to the media was explained: His mother, Ramona, was trying to reach him.

"She's calling me right now, that's why I'm trying to hurry up," he said on a conference call shortly after the Jets selected him 152nd overall, using the pick they acquired from the Texans Friday night.

The Texas A&M guard (6-4, 330) is a high-risk, high-reward player -- one who has tremendous upside but a lot of question marks.

For all of his strength and athletic ability, there are concerns about Harrison's drive and work habits. His weight has fluctuated throughout his career, plus he's undergone two shoulder surgeries in the past three years. Harrison said he had a torn labrum in his right shoulder repaired in January, 2012 and then had the left labrum repaired in January, 2014. But he said he hasn't had any shoulder issues since.

Harrison also downplayed the critiques of his motor.

"Everybody has opinions. That stuff doesn't get to me," said the native of Navasota, Texas, which is about 70 miles northwest of Houston. "I don't listen to stuff like that. It doesn't bother me what people think."

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Bryce Petty taken by Jets after deal with Jaguars (Kimberley Martin) Newsday May 2, 2015

http://www.newsday.com/sports/football/jets/bryce-petty-taken-by-jets-after-deal-with-jaguars-1.10368946

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. - The Jets may have found their quarterback of the future. And it's not Geno Smith.

Just minutes into the fourth round of the NFL draft Saturday, they traded up one spot to snag Baylor star Bryce Petty with the 103rd overall pick.

Knowing other teams were eyeing their target, the Jets traded their fourth-round pick (No. 104) to the Jaguars, along with he seventh-round pick (No. 229) they acquired Friday night from the Texans.

According to NFL.com, the Browns - who are coached by former Jets coordinator Mike Pettine - were in talks with the Jaguars about moving up from No. 111 to take Petty. But Jets general manager Mike Maccagnan made sure the quarterback would be his.

For Petty, though, the wait to hear his name called seemed like an eternity.

"That was the longest 48 hours I've ever had in my last," he said, laughing, during a conference call with reporters. "As soon as they called, it was unbelievable."

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The Baylor product threw for 8,055 yards, 61 touchdowns and 10 interceptions and won 21 games the past two seasons. But there are a lot of concerns about him being a one-read system quarterback. He looks the part at 6-3, 230 pounds and he's described as a "gym rat" who has a strong arm and works on his craft. But he wasn't asked to go through NFL progressions and isn't ready yet to be a full-time starter.

NFL Network draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah noted the quarterback's imitations on air, saying that "Bryce Petty needs to sit" for at least a year to learn.

Petty said he met with new Jets offensive coordinator Chan Gailey during his visit last month. "We did kind of like a little bit of a mini install there," said the quarterback, who led the Bears to a Big 12 Championship in 2013, his first season as a starter. He threw for 4,200 yards and 32 touchdowns with just three interceptions that year and also had 14 rushing touchdowns.

"…It was a lot of the same things that we did (at Baylor). I'm definitely excited about getting into the film room with him and understanding the way things work."

As for his critics, Petty said: "It's all about the person. My desire is to be the best, regardless of what system I'm in. What I was asked to do in college (run a spread offense), it's different. But it's not that I couldn't do a pro-style offense or a West Coast offense. That's just what I was told to do, so I did it. And I did it to the best of my ability."

The Jets now have four quarterbacks on their roster: Smith, veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick (whom they traded for during free agency), backup Matt Simms and Petty. And it appears Smith's time may be running out.

The third-year quarterback, is 11-18 as a starter with a 57.5 career completion percentage. Smith is also second among quarterbacks (35.7) with the lowest total QBR since 2010 (35.7), behind only Tim Tebow (33.4).

A few days ago, it seemed Smith and Fitzpatrick would be the ones competing for the starting job. But now, Petty is prepared to open some eyes in training camp.

"I'm ready to get down there now," he said. "My job now is to prove to the other 31 teams what they're missing out on. ...It was long (waiting to hear my name), but I never lost any confidence in my own ability."

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THE RECORD

Jets make trades for offense (J.P. Pelzman) The Record May 3, 2015

http://www.northjersey.com/sports/football/jets/gang-green-s-trades-target-o-1.1324543

FLORHAM PARK – The Jets began the third day of the NFL Draft by making a trade. They finished it the same way.

In a move that could send ripples up and down the quarterback depth chart, both this year and in the future, they selected Baylor’s Bryce Petty in the fourth round with the 103rd overall pick Saturday. They acquired the rights to that selection by sending Jacksonville the 104th pick and No. 229, a seventh-rounder.

The Jets later dealt the 224th pick, also a seventh-rounder, to St. Louis for third-year running back Zac Stacy. He tweeted the word "yikes" when the Rams drafted Georgia’s Todd Gurley with the 10th overall pick Thursday night and reportedly asked for a trade.

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Also Saturday, the Jets took Texas A&M offensive lineman Jarvis Harrison in the fifth round and selected Northwestern (La.) State nose tackle Deon Simon in the seventh round, one pick before the one they traded to St. Louis.

In two seasons as Baylor’s No. 1 QB, Petty threw for 8,055 yards, 61 touchdowns and only 10 interceptions. However, Baylor ran a spread offense that really isn’t compatible with NFL attacks, so experts expect it will take Petty some time to adjust to the pro game.

"My desire is to be the best regardless of what system I’m in," Petty said on a conference call. "What I was asked to do at college, it’s different but it’s not because I couldn’t do a pro-style offense or a West Coast offense. It’s just what I was told to do so I did it and I did it to the best of my ability. Being in another offense, being in another system is part of the game and I want to master that system just like I mastered what we did at college."

Jets general manager Mike Maccagnan praised the 6-foot-3, 230-pound Petty’s physical skills and his character, saying, "He has all the parts and pieces to potentially be a good quarterback in the NFL.

"It’s going to be a maturation process," Maccagnan added. "There’s going to be a learning curve with him and we’re very aware of that. We’re very excited to see how he makes that transformation."

"I can’t say he’s going to be the third quarterback this year," coach Todd Bowles said when asked about Petty’s role. "We just got him. Obviously we’ve got Matt Simms here. [Petty] has to beat [him] out" to be the third-string quarterback.

Simms, a former Don Bosco star, was the No. 3 signal-caller last season, holding off a challenge from sixth-round pick Tajh Boyd of Clemson to keep that job. Petty, however, is considered to have a bigger upside than Boyd.

The drafting of Petty also is an indication the new regime isn’t sold on incumbent starting quarterback Geno Smith, who was drafted in the second round in 2013 by Maccagnan’s predecessor, John Idzik.

Bowles indicated Smith currently is the starting quarterback, with veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick behind him. But he made it clear there will be competition in training camp.

"We’re going to let them battle it out," he said. "We’re going to make the best decision we can make for the team."

Stacy, a fifth-round pick from Vanderbilt in 2013, rushed for 973 yards and 3.9 yards per carry as a rookie but saw his playing time dwindle last season. He has 44 catches for a 6.7-yard average in the NFL.

"We thought the idea of bringing Zac in," Maccagnan said, "with that kind of investment [a seventh-round pick], would be very beneficial and increase the competition at that position."

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ESPN NEW YORK

New York Jets draft wrap-up (Rich Cimini) ESPN New York May 2, 2015

http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york-jets/post/_/id/51124/new-york-jets-draft-wrap-up

Best move: Is there any doubt? It's USC defensive end Leonard Williams, arguably the top defender in the draft. He was a top-three player on the Jets' draft board, so it was a no-brainer when he fell to them at No. 6 overall. "Great pick," a rival scout told me. "Very good player," another personnel executive said.

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This was an immediate test for first-year general manager Mike Maccagnan, who preaches "best player available." If he had passed on Williams, it would've been an indictment of his own philosophy. The Jets didn't need help on the defensive line, the strongest unit on the team, but teams with few stars can't afford to pass on future stars, regardless of position. With Williams, Muhammad Wilkerson, Sheldon Richardson & Co., the Jets could have a modern-day New York Sack Exchange.

Riskiest move: In the second round, the Jets passed on a few accomplished pass-rushers, opting for Ohio State wide receiver Devin Smith. It's risky because he's not a complete receiver; he's a one-trick pony -- a speed guy who lives by the "go" route. If you're going to have only one trick, it's a good one to have, but the Jets are counting on him to develop into an every-down, every-route receiver. This qualifies as a projection pick, based heavily on Maccagnan and his scouts' belief that Smith has the skill set to make the transition. The Jets hired Maccagnan for his scouting acumen; this is one of those picks where he can show his smarts. If Smith isn't a full-time player by 2016, it's a disappointment.

Most surprising move: This was one of the deepest running back classes in years, and the Jets decided not to tap into all that talent. Sure, they picked up St. Louis Rams castoff Zac Stacy for next to nothing (a seventh-round pick), but he's not a dynamic runner -- a career average of 3.9 yards per carry. They still don't have enough giddy-up in the backfield. The best place to draft a runner would've been in the second or third round, but they opted for Smith and outside linebacker Lorenzo Mauldin, respectively. Maccagnan doesn't believe in drafting for need; he's a value guy all the way. Time will tell whether his draft board got it right.

File it away: It'll take three years before a final evaluation can be made on quarterback Bryce Petty, chosen in the fourth round. A product of Baylor's spread offense, which is radically different from an NFL system, Petty faces a tough learning curve. Yes, new offensive coordinator Chan Gailey has spread concepts in his offense, but it'll still be culture shock for Petty. He has to learn how to play under center, how to huddle (don't laugh) and how to read progressions. The arm talent is there -- he throws a pretty deep ball -- but this project will require patience and good coaching. In the meantime, it sends a message to incumbent Geno Smith. He doesn't have to worry about Petty this year -- Ryan Fitzpatrick is the immediate threat -- but it could be a different story in 2016.

My take: Williams, Smith and Mauldin will contribute immediately in various packages, and they should be full-time players by 2016. That alone is worth a thumbs up. If Petty develops into a good starting quarterback, it'll go down as a franchise-altering draft. Thumbs up.

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Jets get Zac Stacy in trade with Rams (Rich Cimini) ESPN New York May 2, 2015

http://espn.go.com/new-york/nfl/story/_/id/12808588/zac-stacy-traded-st-louis-rams-new-york-jets

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. -- Two days after requesting a trade or his release from the St. Louis Rams, running back Zac Stacy got his wish Saturday and was dealt to the New York Jets for a seventh-round draft pick.

The Rams sent running back Zac Stacy to the Jets two days after selecting Todd Gurley with the No. 10 pick. Scott Rovak/USA TODAY Sports

Stacy became expendable in the first round, when the Rams surprised many by selecting running back Todd Gurley with the 10th overall pick.

Stacy expressed his surprise on Twitter, responding, "Yikes." He quickly deleted the tweet.

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The Rams also drafted a running back in 2013, tabbing Tre Mason in the third round. Evidently, they didn't see Stacy as the long-term answer even though he rushed for 973 yards and seven touchdowns as a rookie in 2013.

Stacy, a fifth-round pick in 2013, emerged as starter his rookie season, but the team drafted over him with Mason. He started the first four games last year before Mason took the job permanently, and Stacy fell down to third on the depth chart.

"Looking back over the years, I don't know if I remember a player that handled the circumstances that he handled last year that in essence was what we'd refer to as a demotion better than Zac from a team standpoint," Rams coach Jeff Fisher said Saturday.

The Jets went into this year's draft looking for a running back, hoping to add competition to a growing backfield. Stacy will join Chris Ivory, Bilal Powell,Stevan Ridley and Daryl Richardson, another former Ram.

Ridley, a free agent and former member of the New England Patriots, still is recovering from major knee surgery. Earlier this week, Jets coach Todd Bowles expressed some concern with his depth, hinting they could add a back.

Ivory rushed for a team-high 821 yards in 2014, but he's never had 200 carries in a season.

The Dallas Cowboys and New England Patriots also had expressed some level of interest in Stacy, sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter.

Fisher said the Rams talked to "a number of teams but this happened to be the best fit."

Also Saturday, the Jets traded up in the fourth round of the draft to select Baylor quarterback Bryce Petty.

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Jets need Bryce Petty to be great (Ian O’Connor) ESPN New York May 2, 2015

http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/13587/chris-ivory

Bryce Petty, taken in the fourth round, is a more important draft pick for the New York Jets than Leonard Williams, taken in the first. This has nothing to do with the oversize talent of Williams, the pass rusher from USC who was supposed to be gone before the Jets grabbed him at No. 6.

This has everything to do with Williams' stated ambition in his first mass interview as a Jet. Before his career had even started, Williams described a career highlight as a sack of Tom Brady, preferably his first sack as an NFL player. Never mind that nobody wants to wait until Week 7 to get to the quarterback, particularly that quarterback; here was a new foundation player for a franchise in dire need of them already locked in on the man most responsible for the state of the Jets over the last 15 years.

The quarterback is everything in pro football, and until the Jets find a real one in Tom Brady's division and in Eli Manning's market, they will remain a second-class NFL citizen on both fronts. So the Jets have to hope Petty develops into a star. And if he can't develop into a star, the Jets have to find a prospect who can in next year's draft, or in the 2017 draft.

They're not winning a Super Bowl for the first time in nearly half a century until that happens. Williams might help Todd Bowles build an even stronger defense than Rex Ryan built, and do it without any of Ryan's bluster, but the NFL is a more quarterback-centric place than ever before, a place that's increasingly unforgiving to contenders without a high-level player at that position.

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It's been a long time since journeymen Trent Dilfer (Baltimore) and Brad Johnson (Tampa Bay) won championships in a three-year span while tethered to elite defenses. The list of the last dozen quarterbacks to win it all reads like this: Brady, Brady, Ben Roethlisberger, Peyton Manning, Eli Manning, Roethlisberger, Drew Brees, Aaron Rodgers, Eli, Joe Flacco, Russell Wilson, and Brady.

No, there's not a Geno Smith or Ryan Fitzpatrick among them.

As NFL starters, Fitzpatrick and Smith have a combined record of 44-73-1 with 148 touchdown passes against 135 interceptions. Fitzpatrick has been in the league 10 years to Smith's two, and has made 89 starts to Smith's 29, and he's never posted a winning record. So he isn't a worthy short- or long-term solution in case Smith decides to take in another movie next fall instead of attending a pregame meeting with the rest of his team.

Petty has a chance to be a lot better than both. A chance, anyway. He's a 6-foot-3 pocket passer with above-average athleticism and an arm accurate enough to throw for more than 8,000 yards in two seasons as Baylor's starter. Of the 29 touchdown passes Petty completed last year, 20 covered at least 20 yards, more than any other major-college quarterback. The knocks against him are ripped right from the book on Marcus Mariota. As another video-game operator of a spread offense, Petty has no history of huddling up teammates or taking snaps under center. Scouts and executives were worried enough about his transition to the NFL game that he wasn't among the top 100 prospects taken in the draft; he lasted until pick No. 103.

But a middle- or late-round landing spot doesn't necessarily represent a death sentence for quarterbacks. Brady famously went 199th in his draft, and Bart Starr went 200th in his, and Russell Wilson went 75th in his.

"It's all about the person," Petty said. "My desire is to be the best regardless of what system I'm in. ... Being in another offense, being in another system is part of the game and I want to master that system just like I mastered what we did at college."

The Jets thought enough of Petty's odds of mastering their system to trade up one spot to get him, and to make sure Jacksonville didn't ship Petty to Cleveland or somewhere else. It was a smart move by newbie GM Mike Maccagnan, who has needed about 15 minutes to make his predecessor, John Idzik, look like the hopeless amateur he always was on Woody Johnson's dime.

The Jets need to get a little lucky here. They need Petty to become their most significant draft choice, because he sure is playing a more significant position than any on Bowles' all-world defensive front.

"We weren't trying to compensate for the quarterback or not compensate for the quarterback," the coach said when asked if the drafting of Williams was the Jets' way of assembling a defense that would cover for the likes of Geno Smith. "We were just trying to take the highest (rated) player available."

At some point the Jets will need their quarterback, any quarterback, to be their highest rated player, just like Brady is at the top of their division and just like Manning is across town. The Patriots were able to address their defense with their first four draft choices, including three linemen to go after opposing quarterbacks, because they're all set with Brady, the four-time champ, on the other side of the ball.

Meanwhile, the Giants decided to better protect their own two-time champ, Manning, by spending their first-round pick on 6-foot-6, 329-pound Ereck Flowers of Miami, a bodyguard GM Jerry Reese called "a gigantic human being" and coach Tom Coughlin called "a battleship, an aircraft carrier ... the strongest guy in the draft."

The Jets have added quality players (Williams) to hit the quarterback, and they have added quality players (Darrelle Revis, Antonio Cromartie) to intercept the quarterback, and they have added quality players

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(second-round pick Devin Smith, veteran Brandon Marshall) to catch passes from the quarterback. But, of course, they haven't added a quality player to be the quarterback.

Unless that player turns out to be Bryce Petty.

"You have people that question you and that was their decision," Petty said. "So my job now is to prove to the other 31 teams what they're missing out on."

His job now is to develop into someone more valuable than Leonard Williams. If that doesn't happen, the Jets will continue their never-ending search for their next Joe Namath, a credible franchise quarterback to compete with the Bradys and Mannings of his craft.

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Total breakdown: Jets draft NT Deon Simon in seventh round (Rich Cimini) ESPN New York May 2, 2015

http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york-jets/post/_/id/51129/total-breakdown-jets-draft-nt-deon-simon-in-seventh-round FLORHAM PARK, N.J. -- A few quick thoughts on the New York Jets' seventh-round pick:

The pick: Deon Simon, NT, Northwestern State

My take: The Jets opened the draft by taking a defensive lineman (Leonard Williams) and they closed it by picking another. Why? This is a future pick. Nose tackle Damon Harrison will be an unrestricted free agent in 2016, and it'll be tough to re-sign him because of all the money they've invested (and will invest) in the other linemen. They can try to develop Simon for a year and see if there's anything there.

A space eater: Simon is a big dude -- 6-foot-4, 321 pounds. He plays with a lot of raw power; he did 35 reps on the bench press at the scouting combine. He's known as a run stuffer, but he has demonstrated some pass-rushing ability. He recorded 12.5 sacks over his final two seasons, an impressive total for an interior lineman. Simon is a project, but he has some tools. When you're picking in the seventh round, it's all a crapshoot.

Long road to the NFL: Simon, six years removed from high school, will be a 25-year-old rookie. He committed to Central Florida out of high school, but a knee injury and academic issues derailed his plans. He spent two years out of football, getting everything in order. Finally, he enrolled at Northwestern State. He played well in 2013, but he draft stock took a hit last season, as he missed five games with a sprained MCL. He finished with only 19 career starts in college.

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Total breakdown: Jets draft guard Jarvis Harrison in fifth round (Rich Cimini) ESPN New York May 2, 2015

http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york-jets/post/_/id/51113/total-breakdown-jets-draft-g-jarvis-harrison-in-fifth-round

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. -- A few quick thoughts on the New York Jets' fifth-round selection:

The pick: Jarvis Harrison, guard, Texas A&M

My take: I guess the Jets will keep drafting interior linemen until they hit on one. Harrison becomes the fifth in the past three drafts, joining Brian Winters, Oday Aboushi, Dakota Dozier and Will Campbell.

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Harrison (6-foot-4, 330 pounds) has the measurables, but there are questions about his durability and commitment to football.

Rolling the dice: Let's start with some of the concerns. We're talking about medical and conditioning issues. He's had surgery on both shoulders and he lost his starting job at the beginning of last season because he was out of shape after rehabbing from an injury. He eventually reclaimed the job, finishing 2014 with five starts at left guard and two at left tackle. Some evaluators wonder about his passion for football. In fact, he showed up late for his pro-day workout. On the upside, he's a good athlete with some position versatility, although he projects as a guard in the NFL. At A&M, 33 of his 37 starts came at left guard. If Harrison gets focused and responds to tough coaching, he could end up being a nice find in the fifth round.

How he fits: The Jets chose Harrison with the 152nd overall pick, obtained from the Houston Texans in the Friday night trade. He will join a crowded depth chart at guard. Chances are, he'll work behind free-agent addition James Carpenter at left guard. The other guards are Willie Colon, Aboushi, Winters, Dozier and free-agent pick up James Brewer -- a cast of thousands. General manager Mike Maccagnan has used a volume approach, hoping something sticks. If there's a criticism, it's that he didn't address the right tackle position in a meaningful way. Apparently, they're committed to Breno Giacomini for another year.

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Total breakdown: Jets draft QB Bryce Petty in fourth round (Rich Cimini) ESPN New York May 2, 2015

http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york-jets/post/_/id/51096/total-breakdown-jets-draft-qb-bryce-petty-in-fourth-round

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. -- A few thoughts on the New York Jets' fourth-round pick:

The pick: Bryce Petty, QB, Baylor

My take: No surprise at all. The Jets, looking for a long-term answer at the position, wanted to bring a young quarterback into the program. By waiting until the fourth round (the Jets actually traded up one spot), you're basically throwing darts. Petty is a major project -- hardly a sure thing -- but he provides a potential alternative to Geno Smith.

Not NFL-ready: Petty needs a lot of work. Even though he posted eye-popping numbers in Baylor's spread offense (61 touchdowns, 10 interceptions in two years as the starter), it came in a system that bears no resemblance to an NFL offense. It was an up-tempo, no-huddle attack that required very little reading of defenses. In fact, Petty took only 48 snaps under center last season (only five pass attempts). Much like Smith, who came out of a spread offense in 2013, Petty will have to learn the basic fundamentals -- i.e., how to call plays in a huddle, how to take five- and seven-step drops and how to read coverages. At the Senior Bowl, he struggled under center and reading defenses.

Petty, 23, six years removed from high school, won't be ready to compete until 2016, if then. On the positive side, he has strong intangibles and throws a good deep ball. He led the FBS last season with 20 touchdowns on passes thrown 20 yards or longer, including 13 that were 30 yards or longer.

Should Geno be worried? Yes, but he should be concerned by Ryan Fitzpatrick, not Petty. If Smith loses his starting job this season -- a distinct possibility -- it'll be to Fitzpatrick, a savvy if not strong-armed veteran who already knows Chan Gailey's system.

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Let's face it: If Smith still hasn't solidified his standing by the end of the year, he might not be around to compete with Petty. The Jets' new regime has an odd way of evaluating quarterbacks. It didn't consider Marcus Mariota worthy of a top-10 pick, yet its grade on Petty was so high that it felt compelled to trade up one spot. It smells of desperation.

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Jets trade up to draft Bryce Petty (Rich Cimini) ESPN New York May 1, 2015

http://espn.go.com/new-york/nfl/story/_/id/12806810/bryce-petty-drafted-new-york-jets

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. -- The New York Jets' unsettled quarterback situation became more interesting on Saturday when they traded up in the fourth round to select Bryce Petty of Baylor.

The Jets moved up one spot to select Petty, swapping places with the Jacksonville Jaguars. They also sent a seventh-round choice to the Jaguars.

Bryce Petty is a project who won't be ready until 2016, if then. If Geno Smith loses his job as the Jets' starting QB, it will be to Ryan Fitzpatrick, not Petty, Rich Cimini writes.

The Jaguars apparently received considerable interest from other teams that were presumably targeting Petty.

Petty was the fifth quarterback chosen, behind Jameis Winston, Marcus Mariota, Garrett Grayson and Sean Mannion.

"That was the longest 48 hours I've ever had in my life," Petty told reporters shortly after being selected.

Petty said the fall to the fourth round didn't shake his confidence.

"No, not at all," he said. "That's part of it, when people question you. My job is to prove to the 31 other teams what they're missing out on."

Petty will be added to a depth chart that includes incumbent Geno Smith and veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick, who was acquired in March in a trade with the Houston Texans.

The Jets haven't named a starter, saying Smith and Fitzpatrick will compete in training camp. Coach Todd Bowles has said Smith will go into training camp as the No. 1 quarterback, but he added that could change.

The Jets added Bryce Petty to their crowded quarterback mix. AP Photo/LM Otero

Smith, only 10-18 as a starter, is coming off another inconsistent season. The organization has questions as to whether he can be the long-term answer. By picking a quarterback in the fourth round, they have someone who might be able to compete for the job in 2016.

Petty passed for 8,195 yards in four seasons at Baylor, with 62 touchdowns and only 10 interceptions. The knock on him is that he's a system quarterback who might not be able to thrive outside a spread system.

Petty took issue with critics who say he can't play in a conventional offense.

"It's all about the person," he said. "My desire is to be the best, regardless of what system I'm in. What I was asked to do in college was different, but it's not because I couldn't do a pro-style offense or a West Coast offense or whatever you want to call it.

"That's what I was told to do, so I did it. ... Being in another system is part of the game. I want to match what I did in college."

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The Jets, under new offensive coordinator Chan Gailey, will operate an offense that incorporates some concepts of a spread offense.

The 6-foot-3, 230-pound Petty took a pre-draft visit to the Jets and said he was "excited" upon hearing Gailey's plans for the offense.

"When I came up on my visit, we did a little bit of a mini-install and there was actually a lot of the same kind of dynamics or schemes that we had at Baylor," Petty said. "It was a lot of the same things we did at Baylor."

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NJ ADVANCE MEDIA

Jets see Bryce Petty as long-term project, not immediate savior (Dom Cosentino) NJ Advance Media May 2, 2015

http://www.nj.com/jets/index.ssf/2015/05/jets_see_bryce_petty_as_long-term_project_not_imme.html

FLORHAM PARK — This ought to surprise absolutely no one, but the Jets didn't draft Baylor's Bryce Petty in the fourth round on Saturday with the idea that he'd be their starting quarterback this season.

So note to Jets fans preparing to clamor for Petty the first time Geno Smith throws an interception: Hold your fire. The organization intends to take the long view on Petty.

"He's got a lot to learn," head coach Todd Bowles said. "We're not looking forward for him to be a starter right now."

Bowles went on to reiterate what he said at the league meetings in Phoenix back in March: Smith, the turnover-prone incumbent, will enter training camp as the Jets' No. 1 quarterback, with veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick, who will be limited until training camp because of a leg injury, as the No. 2. Beyond that? Bowles said Matt Simms and Petty would "get some reps" and "battle it out."

Petty put up some monster numbers at Baylor, but he also played in a wide-open, up-tempo spread system that's about as far removed from a pro-style system as possible.

This has all the makings of a sound, confident strategy. Because if the Jets think highly of Petty but were to rush him, they'd run the risk of ruining whatever potential he might have, a factor that might have contributed to Smith's and Mark Sanchez's struggles in recent years. Obviously they can't project that Petty can develop into a franchise quarterback. But they clearly want to let him grow to see if he can become one. So: Patience, people.

General manager Mike Maccagnan said Petty has "a high ceiling" but that "there's going to be a learning curve" with him.

Petty, for his part, thinks he can make the transition to the NFL.

Petty was the fifth quarterback taken this weekend. Maccagnan would not say where the Jets had him ranked among the draft's available quarterbacks, but the Jets did think enough of him to trade up one spot with the Jaguars at the start of the fourth round. Maccagnan acknowledged the Jets made the trade because they had heard other teams were also interested in trading into that spot to take Petty, and that the return—a seventh-round pick only acquired the night before in a trade with the Texans—was worth parting with to move up that one spot.

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Petty first worked with something resembling a pro-style system at the Senior Bowl in January. His Senior Bowl team was coached by the Tennessee Titans staff, which included Kevin Patullo, who was hired the following week as the Jets' quarterbacks coach.

"Time will tell what kind of player he'll become, but we do think he has all the physical attributes and parts to be a good quarterback in this league," Maccagnan said of Petty. "It's going to be a maturation process from where he is in college ... but we thought he had all the raw potential and ability, that if you're going to invest time in a quarterback, he had all those attributes that would be very good to work with."

The Jets are switching to a spread-style system under offensive coordinator Chan Gailey this season, and Maccagnan said "there's things that [Petty] probably did in college, that, from a system standpoint, correlate to what we do" before mentioning that "a lot of the stuff, at an NFL level, may be a little more complex."

Bowles was asked if it was fair to say whether it would take more than a year for Petty to perhaps be in the mix as a potential starter.

"You've got to make progress before you can kind of make those kind of decisions, and we haven't even gotten him here to get him on the field yet," Bowles said. "So I don't know how fast that can happen."

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Rutgers center Betim Bujari accepts rookie minicamp tryout with Jets (Dan Duggan) NJ Advance Media May 2, 2015

http://www.nj.com/rutgersfootball/index.ssf/2015/05/rutgers_offensive_lineman_betim_bujari_signs_nfl_d.html

Betim Bujari won't have to travel far to pursue his NFL Dream. The Rutgers offensive lineman and Secaucus native has accepted an invitation to tryout at the Jets rookie minicamp next week.

Bujari started 36 games during his Rutgers career, mostly at center. The 6-foot-3, 298-pounder has versatility, as he also played guard during his career.

Bujari was an all-conference selection as a junior and he was named Rutgers' offensive line MVP last season. Before that, he was a four-year starter at Secaucus High.

Bujari participated in the Jets' local pro day on April 10. He felt positive about his NFL prospects after participating in Rutgers' pro day in March.

"I'm definitely optimistic,'' Bujari said after the Rutgers pro day. "What's killing me is not being a part of a team. My whole life, since Pee Wee (football) I've been a big part of a team. Now it's pretty much a waiting game. I'm hoping to get an opportunity.''

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NFL Draft 2015: Darryl Slater's grades for all of the Jets' picks (Darryl Slater) NJ Advance Media May 3, 2015

http://www.nj.com/jets/index.ssf/2015/05/nfl_draft_2015_darryl_slaters_grades_for_all_of_th.html

What's sillier than trying to project who will get picked in the NFL Draft?

Attempting to grade those selections just hours after they are made, of course!

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With that caveat in mind, let's offer some (very, very early) assessments for theJets' picks in this year's draft.

Take these with a giant grain of salt. We really won't be able to make a fair and final analysis on these players until a couple years down the road.

But for now, here's what we think about the Jets' first draft under general manager Mike Maccagnan:

First round: Southern California DL Leonard Williams

Scouting report

Grade: A

Analysis: The Jets were fortunate that Williams fell to them. He might end up being the best overall player in this draft. Sure, the Jets' defensive line is crowded with talented players, but that is a good problem to have. Coach Todd Bowles will figure out a way to deploy Williams, Muhammad Wilkerson, Sheldon Richardson and Damon Harrison.

Second round: Ohio State WR Devin Smith

Scouting report

Grade: B

Analysis: Is he more than just a deep-route guy? Even if that winds up being Smith's biggest strength in Year 1, it could be a valuable field-stretching asset for the Jets' offense. Smith's presence as a deep threat alone could make defenses play honest coverages, which might open up more opportunities for Brandon Marshall and Eric Decker.

Third round: Louisville OLB Lorenzo Mauldin

Scouting report

Grade: B+

Analysis: The Jets needed to get younger at outside linebacker, and they think Mauldin is able to play standing up, or rushing the quarterback from a three-point stance. That versatility will be important in Bowles' 3-4 defense. What does the arrival of Mauldin mean for aging outside linebackers Calvin Pace and Jason Babin?

Fourth round: Baylor QB Bryce Petty

Scouting report

Grade: B+

Analysis: Yes, he thrived in a spread offense at Baylor. Yes, there are questions about how he might transition to an NFL offense. Yes, he needs time to make that transition. But remember, the Jets' new offensive coordinator, Chan Gailey, is using a system with a lot of spread tendencies. That should ease Petty's rookie transition. Don't expect Petty to beat out Geno Smith for the starting job this summer.

Fifth round: Texas A&M OG Jarvis Harrison

Scouting report

Grade: B

Analysis: As long as his surgically repaired shoulders (both of them) hold up, he should be OK physically. The supposed issue for Harrison has been more on the mental side. He was criticized leading up to the

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draft for demonstrating lackluster work ethic. The Jets have veterans on the offensive line (Willie Colon, Nick Mangold and D'Brickashaw Ferguson) who can help Harrison along. But he has to want to push himself. He's got the talent, and maybe he should've been picked higher. Can he make the most of his skills, at a position where the Jets are looking for answers?

Seventh round: Northwestern State DT Deon Simon

Scouting report

Grade: B+

Analysis: Honestly, who really knows? Let's just say most observers of the Jets haven't spent a whole lot of time — any time? — studying this guy's film. But you can never have enough depth on the defensive line. If nothing else, he is a big body (6-foot-4 and 321 pounds) who can help at nose tackle.

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Jets trade final seventh-round draft pick to St. Louis Rams for running back Zac Stacy (Darryl Slater) NJ Advance Media May 2, 2015

http://www.nj.com/jets/index.ssf/2015/05/jets_trade_final_draft_pick_to_st_louis_rams_for_r.html

FLORHAM PARK — The Jets picked up a running back on the final day of the NFL Draft, but they didn't draft him.

On Saturday, as the draft neared its conclusion, they had two seventh-round picks. But they traded the final one, No. 224 overall, to the Rams for running back Zac Stacy.

That pick was acquired by the Jets in their offseason trade with the Bears for wide receiver Brandon Marshall. All the Jets had to give up for Marshall was a fifth-round pick this year. And they got the Bears' seventh-rounder, which the Jets turned around for Stacy.

(The reason the Jets wound up picking offensive guard Jarvis Harrison in the fifth round earlier Saturday was because they got that pick in a Friday trade with Houston.)

Stacy requested a trade after the Rams drafted running back Todd Gurley 10th overall on Thursday night.

After the pick, Stacy tweeted one word: "Yikes." He later deleted the tweet.

So the Jets finished this draft having made six picks, which is the same number they began it with. None of the picks were running backs. The Jets' final pick was No. 223, and they used it on Northwestern State defensive tackle Deon Simon.

Stacy joins a backfield that comprises, most notably, Chris Ivory, Stevan Ridley and Bilal Powell — all of whom are entering the final year of their contracts. Ridley is coming off a season-ending knee injury, and it is unclear when he will be able to practice again. Jets coach Todd Bowles had hinted that the Jets might try to pick up another running back.

The Jets also have running back Daryl Richardson, whom Stacy replaced as the Rams' primary back. As a rookie in 2012, Richardson ran 98 times for 475 yards. But Stacy saw more action in 2013, as Richardson was hurt and played in just eight games. Last season, rookie Tre Mason replaced Stacy as the Rams' top back.

Stacy, 24, was a fifth-round pick by the Rams in 2013. Stacy, who is 5-foot-8 and 224 pounds, had a strong rookie season in 2013: 250 carries, 973 yards and seven touchdowns. Last season, he played in 13 games, with five starts, and had 76 carries for 293 yards and one touchdown.

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Stacy has two years remaining on his rookie contract, with modest salary cap figures in both years: $629,125 and $719,125.

The Jets actually had three seventh-round picks entering Saturday, though they began the draft with two. They picked up another seventh-rounder (No. 229) in the Friday swap with Houston, as the Jets traded back in the third round. But the Jets turned around and handed that pick to the Jaguars, in order to move up one spot in the fourth round and pick quarterback Bryce Petty.

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NFL Draft 2015: Jets pick offensive guard Jarvis Harrison in the fifth round (Darryl Slater) NJ Advance Media May 2, 2015

http://www.nj.com/jets/index.ssf/2015/05/nfl_draft_2015_jets_pick_xxx_in_the_fifth_round.html

FLORHAM PARK — The Jets on Saturday afternoon picked Texas A&M offensive guard Jarvis Harrison in the fifth round of the NFL Draft. Harrison is 6-foot-4 and 330 pounds.

The Jets' offensive guard situation has been shaky for most of the past two seasons.

Willie Colon was the starting right guard for that entire span, but he sputtered last season. He is back with the Jets, for now, on a one-year contract. But he is 32, and is far from a lock to make the Jets' final roster, especially now.

Brian Winters was the Jets' left guard as a rookie in 2013. He struggled mightily. Last season, he played just six games before sustaining a season-ending torn anterior cruciate ligament in his knee. Oday Aboushi, another second-year pro, replaced him.

The Jets this offseason signed Seattle's James Carpenter in free agency. So he will occupy one of the starting guard spots this season. The other position is up for grabs between Colon, Winters and Aboushi. Now, Harrison gets a chance to factor into that competition.

Harrison missed Texas A&M's first two games last season, because of conditioning issues after he had offseason shoulder surgery. He started five games at left guard in 2014, and two at left tackle. In 2012 and 2013, Harrison started every game. He started five games as a redshirt freshman in 2011. Harrison was almost exclusively a left guard during his college years.

Harrison, 23, could be a "light on his feet" guard. Though he played just two years of high school football, he has played basketball — something that can be an asset for offensive linemen as they try to demonstrate the necessary quickness to play in the NFL.

But how much of an issue are Harrison's shoulders?

He said he had his right shoulder's labrum surgically repaired in January of 2012 and his left shoulder's labrum fixed in January of 2014.

"I haven't had a problem with them ever since," Harrison said during a conference call with reporters.

There is also the potential matter of his work ethic, or lack thereof.

Before the draft, an AFC executive said this to NFL.com: "I believe he has Pro Bowl-caliber talent, but his work ethic is a major concern for me. I know he loves basketball, but not sure if he feels the same about football. The talent? That's a given. He's really, really talented."

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Another AFC executive told NFL.com this: "You know what? I actually like the kid. I trust what our scouts have to say about him being lazy, but I don't think he's a character concern at all. I'm going to fight for him if he's still there in the fourth round."

As it turned out, Harrison went in the fifth round. He brushed off criticism of his work ethic.

"Everybody has opinions," he said. "Stuff don't get to me. I don't listen to stuff like that. It doesn't bother me, what people think."

Considering Harrison's talent level, though, does he think he should've been picked earlier?

"Possibly, yeah," he said, adding that he doesn't know why he slipped to the fifth round.

Harrison grew up in Navasota, Texas, a town of about 7,600 people, between Houston and Austin, and just 25 miles from Texas A&M.

"It's a small town where everybody knows everybody," Harrison said. "Pretty much everybody is family. Everybody is so close."

Harrison said growing up there "was wonderful." But it looks like he isn't nervous at all about moving to a much more populated area:

Harrison was the 16th pick of the fifth round, and 152nd overall. The Jets entered this draft without picks in Rounds 5 or 6. But they acquired a fifth-round pick Friday night, in a trade with the Texans that also resulted in the Jets moving down in the third round, from No. 70 to No. 82.

Harrison's fifth-round selection follows the Jets drafting Southern California defensive lineman Leonard Williams (first round), Ohio State wide receiver Devin Smith (second round), Louisville outside linebacker Lorenzo Mauldin (third round) and Baylor quarterback Bryce Petty (fourth round).

The Jets aren't scheduled to pick again until the seventh and final round, when they will select twice in succession (Nos. 223 and 224). They entered Saturday with three seventh-round picks, but they sent one of them (No. 229, which they got in that trade with the Texans) to Jacksonville, in order to move up one spot in the fourth round and pick Petty.

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Bryce Petty: Jets trade up to draft Baylor quarterback in fourth round (Dom Cosentino) NJ Advance Media May 2, 2015

http://www.nj.com/jets/index.ssf/2015/05/nfl_draft_2015_5_things_to_know_about_jets_second-.html

FLORHAM PARK — The Jets didn't take a quarterback in the first three rounds of the NFL Draft. But they wasted little time to get one in Saturday's fourth round by trading up one spot with the Jacksonville Jaguars to take Baylor quarterback Bryce Petty with the 103rd overall pick.

Petty is the fifth quarterback chosen in this year's draft, following Florida State's Jameis Winston (Round 1, No. 1 overall to the Bucs), Oregon's Marcus Mariota (Round 1, No. 2, Titans), Colorado State's Garrett Grayson (Round 3, No. 75, Saints), and Oregon State's Sean Mannion (Round 3, No. 89, Rams).

Most draft experts had pegged Petty as a fourth-rounder, but some had him going as high as the second round.

"That was the longest 48 hours of my life," Petty said in a conference call just after the Jets made the selection.

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Petty thrived in Baylor's spread system in college, and the Jets are installing a spread-type system this year under new offensive coordinator Chan Gailey, but Petty is considered a project. In an interview with NJ.com at the Senior Bowl in January, Petty acknowledged he had never played under center or done a seven-step dropback.

"He's got a long way to go," NFL Network analyst Mike Mayock said on television just after the Jets made the pick.

Petty joins a Jets quarterback group that includes incumbent Geno Smith, veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick, and Matt Simms. Fans shouldn't count on him to step in right away to be a starter, though that's not to say Petty won't develop into one a few years down the line.

In exchange for the Jaguars' pick at No. 103, the Jets sent Jacksonville their pick at No. 104, plus one of their three seventh-round picks (No. 229) for later Saturday. That also happens to be the pick the Jets got in Friday night's trade with the Texans.

If it seems odd the Jets would make a trade to move up one spot—and it does, because the Jaguars have Blake Bortles and weren't going to draft a quarterback at No. 103—NFL Media's Ian Rapoport has the answer:

The Jets still have a fifth-round pick (No. 152), plus two in the seventh round (Nos. 223 and 224).

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NEW YORK POST

Jets stockpiling RBs, Swing trade for young Ram (Brian Costello) New York Post May 2, 2015

http://nypost.com/2015/05/02/jets-stockpiling-rbs-swing-trade-for-young-ram/

The Jets did not draft any running backs, but they secured one at the end of the draft Saturday.

The team made a trade with the Rams for Zac Stacy, sending a seventh-round pick to St. Louis for the back. Stacy asked for a trade after the Rams took back Todd Gurley in the first round on Thursday.

“At that point in the draft we were weighing some of the players we were considering drafting and what they potentially would bring to the organization,” Jets general manager Mike Maccagnan said. “We thought the idea of bringing Zac in for that kind of investment would be very beneficial and increase the competition at that position. … We do think he’s a good caliber running back to throw into our backfield to make that position much more competitive.”

Stacy ran for 973 yards and seven touchdowns as a rookie in 2013, but saw his production and playing time drop off last year, when Tre Mason came to St. Louis. Stacy rushed for 293 yards and one touchdown last season.

Stacy, 24, joins a crowded backfield with the Jets. They already have Chris Ivory, Stevan Ridley and Bilal Powell. Ridley is recovering from ACL surgery and may not be back until training camp.

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Jets make splashes, grab QB Bryce Petty and Rams RB (Brian Costello) New York Post May 2, 2015

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http://nypost.com/2015/05/02/jets-pick-bryce-petty-as-new-quarterback/

The Jets’ quarterback situation grew a little more interesting Saturday.

The team moved up one spot in the draft to select Baylor quarterback Bryce Petty in the fourth round, taking a player who some believe had first-round talent but also comes with questions about his NFL readiness.

“You have people that question you and that was their decision, so my job now is to prove to the other 31 teams what they’re missing out on,” Petty said. “I’m so excited to be a Jet right now and get to further my playing career in New York, and that’s all I’m worried about now. I’m still very confident in my abilities. I think you have to, as any competitor, especially at quarterback and especially at quarterback in the NFL. You’re graded on two things and that is wins and losses.”

Jets general manager Mike Maccagnan made two trades Saturday, one for Petty and one for Rams running back Zac Stacy. He made three overall in the draft.

“Time will tell what kind of player he’ll become, but we do think he has all the physical attributes and parts to be a good quarterback in this league,” Maccagnan said of Petty.

Maccagnan said Petty has a “high ceiling.” Petty joins Geno Smith, Ryan Fitzpatrick and Matt Simms as quarterbacks on the Jets roster. He is a developmental quarterback who cannot be expected to play right away after playing in a gimmicky offense at Baylor — which is why Petty was there in the fourth round despite putting up gaudy numbers in college.

“He’s got a lot to learn,” coach Todd Bowles said. “We’re not looking for him to be a starter right now.”

Bowles said Smith will be the team’s No. 1 quarterback entering training camp with Fitzpatrick at No. 2 and Simms and Petty fighting for reps.

Petty, 23, was the fifth quarterback taken in this year’s draft. It is the third straight year the Jets have selected a quarterback, taking Smith in the second round of the 2013 draft and Tajh Boyd in the sixth round last year. Boyd did not make it out of training camp.

Petty was an All-American in 2013 and honorable mention last year. He completed 270-of-428 passes in 2014 for 3,855 yards, 29 touchdowns and seven interceptions. The biggest question mark about Petty is whether he was a system quarterback in college.

“What I was asked to do in college, it’s different, but it’s not because I couldn’t do a pro-style offense, that’s just what I was told to do so I did it,” Petty said. “And I did it to the best of my ability.”

The Jets sent a seventh-round pick and their fourth-round pick to the Jaguars to move from the 104th pick to the 103rd-overall pick to take Petty. The NFL Network reported the Browns also were trying to trade up to get Petty.

In the fifth round, the Jets selected Texas A&M guard Jarvis Harrison. The Jets need to start developing some talent along the offensive line, which is getting older. Harrison is 6-foot-4 and 330 pounds. He missed two games last year while recovering from shoulder surgery but started the final seven games, five at guard and two at tackle.

He is a big, athletic player, but questions about his attitude pushed him into the fifth round. Will he be motivated enough to excel in the NFL?

The Jets took one more player on Saturday, nose tackle Deon Simon in the seventh round.

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Maccagnan’s first draft with the Jets has to be seen as a success. They walked away with Leonard Williams, the defensive end widely considered the best player in the draft. They also potentially filled needs at wide receiver, outside linebacker, guard and quarterback.

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Jets pick Bryce Petty as new quarterback (Brian Costello) New York Post May 2, 2015

http://nypost.com/2015/05/02/jets-pick-bryce-petty-as-new-quarterback/

The Jets opened the third day of the NFL draft with a splash, selecting Baylor quarterback Bryce Petty after trading up one spot in the fourth round to get him.

Petty joins Geno Smith, Ryan Fitzpatrick and Matt Simms as the quarterbacks on the Jets roster. He is a developmental quarterback who cannot be expected to play right away after playing in a gimmicky offense at Baylor. That is the reason Petty was there in the fourth round despite putting up gaudy numbers in college.

“That was the longest 48 hours I’ve ever had in my life,” Petty said.

Petty, 23, was the fifth quarterback taken in this year’s draft. It is the third straight year the Jets have selected a quarterback, taking Smith in the second round in 2013 and Tajh Boyd in the sixth round last year. Boyd did not make it out of training camp.

Petty was an All-American in 2013 and honorable mention last year. He completed 270 of 428 passes in 2014 for 3,855 yards, 29 touchdowns and seven interceptions. The biggest question mark about Petty is whether he was a system quarterback in college.

“What I was asked to do in college, it’s different but it’s not because I couldn’t do a pro-style offense, that’s just what I was told to do so I did it,” Petty said. “And I did it to the best of my ability.”

The Jets sent a seventh-round pick and their fourth-round pick to the Jaguars to move from the 104th pick to the 103rd to take Petty. The NFL Network reported the Browns also were trying to trade up to get Petty.

“There are a lot of factions with Petty [in the scouting community],” a scout said in the Nolan Nawrocki draft guide. “You have all the naysayers that believe Art Briles’ quarterbacks can’t make it in the league because they haven’t yet, from [Robert GriffinIII] to Kevin Kolb to Case Keenum, from Baylor to Houston. You have the other group that sees a strong enough arm and good athlete but see the accuracy being off.

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NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Jets' first-round pick in NFL draft, Leonard Williams of USC, has always loomed large (Seth Walder) New York Daily News May 2, 2015

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/football/jets/jumbo-jet-first-round-pick-leonard-williams-stands-tall-article-1.2208209

At first, Leonard Williams was told he couldn’t play. Not because he was too slow or too short or lacked skill. He was just too big.

As a 200-pound 13-year-old, Williams was 20 pounds over the Pop Warner weight limit and turned away, prompting the large teenager to shed tears. Seven years later, and 100 pounds heavier, Williams still

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remembers the pang of rejection from that day but knows it all worked out for the best. And the size eventually started working to his advantage.

“I was really sad because they sent me home and I couldn’t play anymore,” he said. “It was kind of a turning point, I felt like it pushed me even harder to be the best that I could be when I finally got to play.”

Eventually when Williams was able to play organized football at Mainland High School in Daytona Beach, Fla., it set him on a course that ultimately ended with him being the sixth overall selection by Gang Green on Thursday night. The pick was lauded by virtually all pundits, considered a steal by most. Some thought Williams was the best pick in the draft.

“Outstanding pick,” an AFC scout said of the Williams selection.

By the time Williams’ name was read by Roger Goodell, he’d already accomplished plenty. He posted gaudy numbers (21 sacks, eight pass deflections, five forced fumbles and two interceptions) at USC, where he played for three years and earned the nickname “Big Cat.” He says it’s because he resembles a lion, and it’s easy to see why with one look at the lineman’s mane-like hair.

But long before he became part of a ferocious defensive line or earned a fun nickname, Williams was bouncing around the country while his family struggled to find stability. He was born in California, but moved to Michigan when he was 5, Arizona when he was 7 and finally Florida when he was 8. At one point his family lived briefly in a homeless shelter. Eventually, his family made their way to Daytona Beach, where they stayed, but the road that took them there helped mold Williams into the man he is today, he believes.

“Thinking back on it, I just know my mom and parents were really strong,” Williams told The News. “It grew us really strong.”

“A lot of people haven’t been through that type of stuff, and being in the position that I am now, I can’t forget where I came from,” he added. “We were in the shelters at one point, and now being able to provide my mom with a house and stuff like that, it means so much to me.”

In Daytona Beach, Williams attended Mainland High School, where his uncle Rock Russek said he was a force.

“He was unstoppable,” Russek said. “He was awesome from the beginning of the game to the end of the game.”

Williams played in the Under Armour Game as a senior, and that was when Russek realized his nephew was an exceptional talent.

“The defining moment (was) when I saw him at the Under Armour Game, the best of the best of high school kids, and he still dominated,” Russek said.

Later on Williams faced more adversity before his college career began. His father, Clenon Williams, was sentenced to prison in 2012 for multiple crimes, including robbery with a deadly weapon. Clenon’s current release date is Nov. 1, 2019, according to the Florida Department of Corrections. Though his father has been incarcerated for all of Williams’ time at USC, the two remain close.

“Me and my dad still have a great relationship even though he is incarcerated,” Williams said. “We’re able to talk on the phone a lot, I’m able to send him pictures and keep him updated with everything that I’m doing.”

Williams lived with Russek for a couple of years in high school. Even though having his father sent to prison was clearly difficult, Williams — according to Russek — didn’t let it affect his goals.

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“Leonard stayed focused on his dream. And no one can take that from him,” Russek said. “He’s had some strong male figures in his life. (His older brother) Nate was around, I was there.”

As of Saturday afternoon Williams hadn’t spoken to his father since being drafted, but said he believed his dad knew the news.

All of the moving around had another positive effect on Williams: it made him outgoing.

“It was kind of a blessing in disguise,” he said. “I felt like as a person, it allowed me to meet people a lot easier because I’ve been through a lot of transitioning into different schools. I’m pretty open and I’m a pretty personable person. A lot of people like me and I get along with a lot of people.”

Chris Wilson, the USC defensive line coach, backed that notion up. In an interview with The News, a single word kept coming from Wilson’s mouth to describe Williams: “fun.”

“When you move a lot... It gives you a sense of really who you are,” Wilson said. “Leonard’s really comfortable in his own skin.”

Other players gravitated toward Williams, Wilson said. And that’s one aspect of Williams that Wilson found particularly impressive: he was as good a teammate as he was a player.

Wilson was convinced that Williams would do well at the next level, comparing him to Tampa Bay’s Gerald McCoy and Philly’s Fletcher Cox.

“He whoops people’s butts,” he said of Williams.

And according to Williams, he does it all simply because he loves the game. Granted, the $16 million-plus contract he’s about to sign with the Jets is a nice perk, but he claims his journey has been just about football.

“I feel like time has gone by so fast. I remember my mom calling me the other day saying that she rode by my high school and saying it felt like just yesterday I was at Mainland playing high school football,” he said. “This process has gone by so fast, but what kept me going was just my passion and love for football. That’s really all I play the game for. It was never to go to the NFL and get a paycheck or anything like that it was just because I love football, I work hard at it and it eventually led me to this point.”

One adjustment he’ll have to make in the NFL: transportation. At USC the big-haired defensive lineman would longboard around campus, and doesn’t have a driver’s license. That isn’t going to fly in Florham Park, N.J., where it’s hard to get around without a car. So while Williams is learning a new defensive playbook this offseason, it sounds like he’ll be studying for the road test, too.

“I’m definitely going to get a car now,” he said.

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As Jets draft Leonard Williams, Muhammad Wilkerson could end up the odd man out (Manish Mehta) New York Daily News May 2, 2015

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/football/jets/mehta-jets-stacked-d-line-wilkerson-odd-man-article-1.2208212

Mike Maccagnan might as well bring Mo Wilkerson, Sheldon Richardson and Damon Harrison into his office and personally deliver the bad news:

Look to your left and look to your right, because one of you won’t be here next year.

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The Jets general manager received a gift from the NFL gods an hour into his first draft Thursday night when half-man, half-quarterback seeking missile Leonard Williams fell into his lap, leaving an unintended consequence: Somebody along Todd Bowles’ loaded defensive line will eventually have to go.

Wilkerson, arguably the best player on the roster this time last year, has learned a sobering lesson about the perils of trusting a billion-dollar organization. The Jets drafted, developed and reaped the benefits from Wilkerson’s skills for four years. Now, he’s the most logical candidate to be jettisoned after the 2015 season. It’s not personal, it’s business.

It makes little financial sense to give Wilkerson, who has skipped voluntary offseason workouts, a new contract this offseason unless he’s willing to accept a team-friendly (aka — below-market-value) deal. There’s no tug-of-war. The team, not the player, holds all the leverage now that it has unexpectedly added the best defensive lineman prospect in the draft.

The Jets have no sense of urgency to give Wilkerson, who’s scheduled to earn $6.97 million on his fifth-year team option, the big pay day he has wanted for the past year. Potential threats to hold out will fall on deaf ears.

Wilkerson likely isn’t going anywhere this season, so Bowles will reap the immediate benefits of lining up arguably the league’s most formidable defensive front. It’ll be a schematic nightmare for everyone, including the Patriots, who have been vulnerable to similar defensive structures in the past.

The Giants controlled the line of scrimmage with Justin Tuck, Osi Umenyiora and Michael Strahan in their Super Bowl XLII upset over New England. The Ravens’ defensive front has given Bill Belichick’s team problems in the postseason in recent years.

Bowles, who blitzed an NFL-high 47% of the time the last two seasons, could do more damage by bringing consistent heat up the middle on Tom Brady without dialing up exotic pressure packages. With Darrelle Revis and Antonio Cromartie on the back end, the defensive possibilities are frightening.

The Jets are intrigued by their new Fearsome Foursome, fully aware that you can’t double-team all of them. In a Utopian society, Maccagnan would keep everyone, but guys don’t play for free in this league.

The economics don’t add up. Somebody will have to go.

Although the new NFL TV packages have created significant annual growth in the salary cap — it’s projected to be more than $150 million in 2016 and exceed $160 million in 2017 — it still would be bad business for the Jets to invest monstrous long-term deals in two or three defensive linemen.

Wilkerson will likely be the least affordable option between him, Sheldon Richardson, Damon Harrison and Leonard Willaims.

Harrison, who will be an unrestricted free agent after this season, can likely be retained on a manageable extension, but the Jets will have to make a critical choice between Wilkerson and Richardson.

Maccagnan & Co. don’t have to pony up big bucks to Richardson for at least two more seasons. An affordable fifth-year team option in 2017 is also a possibility.

The pressure point to make a decision on Wilkerson has been delayed since Williams entered the equation. The team can simply evaluate the four-lineman set-up in 2015 before determining Wilkerson’s fate. If Williams excels and Richardson continues to ascend, Wilkerson will be expendable.

The Jets could slap the franchise tag on Wilkerson next offseason and trade him for at least a 2016 first-round pick that could help replenish their talent at a low cost. The 2015 tag for defensive ends was $14.813 million.

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The luxury of not paying a mega contract to a quarterback was offset this offseason by Revis’ five-year, $70 million deal that includes $39 million guaranteed. Contracts guru Jackie Davidson will be creative enough to make another mega deal fit under the cap, but she can’t print money.

It’s not practical to think that the Jets will dole out monster cash to Revis and two defensive linemen. If the Jets give Wilkerson the approximate $40 million to $45 million in guarantees he wants, it’ll set the baseline for Richardson’s deal a couple years later. Sooner or later, the Jets will actually have to invest big money in an offensive player or two. Maybe even a quarterback.

Wilkerson has earned a new contract, but there’s no greater myth in pro sports than loyalty.

Mike Tannenbaum once invited a player into his office, shook his hand and told him he was cut as the poor guy was bending down to take a seat. John Idzik forced Revis to interrupt his ACL rehab in Arizona and fly cross country when he knew he was going to trade him anyway.

Maccagnan has an embarrassment of riches along the defensive line.

He’ll enjoy it while he can.

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Jets get RB Zac Stacy from Rams for 7th round pick (Manish Mehta) New York Daily News May 2, 2015

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/football/jets/jets-rb-zac-stacy-rams-7th-pick-article-1.2208202

The Jets bolstered their backfield Saturday, trading their seventh round pick for Rams running back Zac Stacy.

Mike Maccagnan & Co. had inquired about disgruntled Rams running back Zac Stacy, per sources.

The 5-9, 224-pound Stacy, who rushed for 973 yards as a rookie in 2013 before dropping on the depth chart last season (293 yards, 1 TD), wanted out after St. Louis drafted Georgia RB Todd Gurley with the No. 10 pick on Thursday night.

The Rams shopped the 24-year-old Stacy, after he tweeted “yikes” after the Gurley pick. He later deleted the tweet.

Chris Ivory and Bilal Powell are the top two healthy running backs on the roster. Todd Bowles didn’t put a definitive timetable on Stevan Ridley’s return after suffering an ACL injury last year.

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Jets pick Baylor quarterback Bryce Petty in fourth round of NFL draft (Seth Walder) New York Daily News May 2, 2015

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/football/jets/jets-pick-baylor-quarterback-bryce-petty-article-1.2207816

The Jets may have a new quarterback, but don’t expect him to be on the field in a regular-season game right away.

The Jets selected former Baylor quarterback Bryce Petty in the fourth round of the NFL draft with the 103rd overall pick on Saturday. The Jets traded up one spot with the Jaguars, surrendering the seventh-round pick they acquired from Houston on Friday in the process.

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Petty was in the second-tier of this year’s QB draft class, and will probably be a developmental project behind Geno Smith and Ryan Fitzpatrick on the depth chart.

“He’s got a lot to learn,” Todd Bowles said of Petty. “We’re not looking for him to be a starter right now.”

Petty completed over 63% of his passes for 3,855 yards with 29 touchdowns and seven interceptions. However, he did it in the very unconventional spread Baylor offense, which operates at an very high tempo and with the quarterback in shotgun.

“What I was asked to do in college, it’s different but it’s not because I couldn’t do a pro-style offense...that’s just what I was told to do so I did it,” Petty said. “And I did it to the best of my ability.”

Maccagnan said that the quarterback fell to a point in the draft where he was worth the risk.

“There’s going to be a learning curve with him, and we’re very aware of that,” he said. “But we think in time, between the character and the physical attributes, we think he’s a guy that we’re very excited about.”

While Petty won’t find anything like the Baylor offense in the NFL, at least the Jets will run a spread offense under offensive coordinator Chan Gailey.

“When I came up on my visit, we did a mini install and it was actually a lot of the same dynamics or schemes that we had at Baylor that he was showing me on tape,” Petty said.

There was talk of Petty possibly being a second-round pick heading into the draft, with his name even being mentioned as a late-first rounder on draft day.

“That was the longest 48 hours I’ve ever had in my life,” Petty said.

“My job is to prove the other 31 teams what they’re missing out on,” he added. “I’m so excited to be a Jet right now.”

“We know from our standpoint he has very good physical attributes for the position, he has size, he has stature, he’s an athletic kid, he has very good arm strength,” Maccagnan said. “He can physically make all the throws you want him to make.”

The GM added that they were impressed by Petty’s intelligence, as well.

Bowles reiterated that in the upcoming starting quarterback competition Smith would get the first-team reps and Fitzpatrick would work with the second team.

The Jets traded up one pick because the Browns were also trying to trade up for Petty, according to NFL.com.

The Jets selected Texas A&M guard Jarvis Harrison in the fifth round and Northwestern State DT Deon Simon in the seventh round.

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NEW YORK TIMES

The Jets’ New Man Seems to Have a Plan (Ben Shpigel) New York Times May 2, 2015

http://www.nytimes.com/pages/sports/football/index.html

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FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — Beyond their personalities and pedigrees, there seems to be another significant difference between Mike Maccagnan and his predecessor as the Jets’ general manager, John Idzik.

Maccagnan has a strategy to restore the Jets to prominence, and he has a keen sense of how to execute it.

Aggressive in free agency, when he upgraded the secondary by luring Darrelle Revis and Antonio Cromartie back to One Jets Drive, Maccagnan has approached the draft with equal decisiveness.

He said the Jets would take the best player available, and they did, snatching defensive end Leonard Williams of Southern California, even if it meant buttressing what was already the strongest part of the team.

Maccagnan said he wanted to trade back to add more picks, and he did, swapping thirdrounders with Houston to gain two extra selections on Saturday.

He said he would mine the draft for value, and he did, choosing the hybrid defensive end Lorenzo Mauldin of Louisville, a potentially chaoscausing edge rusher, in the third round.

After taking over in January, Maccagnan met with the new coach, Todd Bowles, and his staff to gauge what kind of players they needed to run their systems. That guided him as he overhauled the scouting department. He and the scouts discussed the playerevaluation process, with Maccagnan wanting to know what they looked for and what they prioritized. They watched hours of film together to make sure they viewed prospects the same way.

From his time working in Houston, where he conducted studies on projecting the success of 34 outside linebackers, Maccagnan recognized the importance of not just adding talented players, but players who fit the scheme. Bowles said Mauldin was a prime example.

“The tenacity this guy plays with and the toughness he brings,” Bowles said, “he was perfect for us right at the time we took him.”

The Jets have not received much production from their drafted players in recent years — one Pro Bowler, Sheldon Richardson, since 2007 — and Idzik’s missteps in that area precipitated his demise in the job and prompted Woody Johnson, the team’s owner, to hire Maccagnan as his replacement.

The Jets are still determining whether Geno Smith, Idzik’s most prominent pick, remains a part of their future. Through the first two days, the Jets abstained from drafting a quarterback, joining most of the league in staying away from the perceived second tier behind Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota, but they moved up one pick Saturday in a trade with Jacksonville to select Bryce Petty from Baylor in the fourth round.

Across his last two seasons, Petty threw for 61 touchdowns and 8,055 yards, but at this stage he is akin to Geno Smith when Smith came out of West Virginia — a prospect who needs time to learn progressions and reads after playing in a spread system. At Baylor, Petty never once called a play in a huddle.

“It’s all about the person,” Petty said Saturday. He added: “Being in another offense is part of the game. I want to master that system, just like I mastered what we did in college.”

The Jets were impatient with Smith, but there is no urgency, perceived or otherwise, for Petty to make the transition so soon to an N.F.L. offense. He can afford to study the playbook and listen to Chan Gailey, the offensive coordinator, and watch Smith and Ryan Fitzpatrick, who will compete in training camp for the starting job.

The winner will be throwing to the best collection of receivers a Jets quarterback has had in some time, a group that gained a dose of serious speed with the arrival of Devin Smith. Drafted 37th overall, he

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averaged 37.9 yards on his 30 touchdown catches for Ohio State — “the productivity was kind of rare,” Maccagnan said — and his ability to stretch the field has earned comparisons to the Vikings’ Mike Wallace.

Joining the new acquisition Brandon Marshall and the incumbents Eric Decker and Jeremy Kerley, Devin Smith should boost a passing offense that has finished 30th or lower the last three seasons.

The last time the Jets selected a fleet receiver in the second round, in 2012, that player, Stephen Hill, proved little more than a onedimensional downfield threat who did not even catch the passes thrown his way. By the time he was released last summer, Hill was little more than a decoy. To succeed in the N.F.L., Devin Smith must run every route. He cannot always rely on his speed. From scouting him in workouts and at the Senior Bowl, Maccagnan came away impressed by his hands and his physical skills, and he said he was pleased with the routes Smith ran at Ohio State.

Whenever people praise Maccagnan for his work so far, he thanks them, then reminds them that the Jets are undefeated, but also winless. “It doesn’t mean a lot right now,” Maccagnan said recently, but it is a promising start

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SATURDAY’S SPORTS TRANSACTIONS

BASEBALL American League

BOSTON RED SOX — Placed C Ryan Hanigan on the 15-day DL. Recalled C Blake Swihart from Pawtucket (IL). TORONTO BLUE JAYS — Selected the contract of RHP Scott Copeland and OF Ezequiel Carrera from Buffalo (IL). Optioned LHP Andrew Albers and OF Dalton Pompey to Buffalo. Designated RHP Matt West and 1B/3B Andy Wilkins for assignment.

National League

COLORADO ROCKIES — Designated RHP Jorge Rondon for assignment. Called up LHP Ken Roberts from Albuquerque (PCL). MILWAUKEE BREWERS — Activated OF Carlos Gomez from the 15-day DL. Designated INF Luis Jimenez for assignment.

Atlantic League

LONG ISLAND DUCKS — Signed OF Prentice Redman. Place RHP Mark Rogers on the inactive list.

Frontier League

RIVER CITY RASCALS — Signed LHP Taylor Hoskinson and LHP Jakob Izold. TRAVERSE CITY BEACH BUMS — Signed RHP Chris Motta. WASHINGTON WILD THINGS — Signed C John Fidanza, RHP Joe Iorio, and RHP Ernesto Zaragoza. WINDY CITY THUNDERBOLTS — Signed OF Sheehan Planas-Arteaga.

BASKETBALL National Basketball Association

NBA — Suspended Milwaukee F Giannis Antetokounmpo one game, without pay, for running over Chicago F Mike Dunleavy in a game on April 30.

FOOTBALL National Football League

SEATTLE SEAHAWKS — Agreed to terms with LS Nate Boyer, T Jesse Davis, WR Austin Hill, S Keenan Lambert, S Ronald Martin, LB Quayshawn Nealy, RB Thomas Rawls, CB Trovon Reed, LB Alex Singleton, DE Tory Slater, RB Rod Smith and FS Triston Wade.

Canadian Football League

WINNIPEG BLUE BOMBERS — Signed WR Lavasier Tuinei.

HOCKEY National Hockey League

NEW YORK RANGERS — Recalled C Ryan Bourque from the Hartford (AHL).

Daily Clips Cont.

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ECHL

ECHL — Fined Allen coach Steve Martinson, Allen players D Garrett Clarke and LW Spencer Asuchak undisclosed amounts for their actions during and after a game on May 1.

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