Transcript of the New York Jets first-round news conference with general manager Mike Tannenbaum and head coach Eric Mangini and members of the Jets media on Saturday:
Tannenbaum: As everyone knows now, we selected Darrelle Revis with the 14th pick. We made a trade with Carolina and we thank them. We think it’s a trade that will be, hopefully, good for both sides.Â
On behalf of the whole organization, Darrelle is a guy that we spent a lot of time on. We liked the tape on him initially, Eric and I like him as a person, and as everyone knows, that is really important to us. So as a player and as a person we think he’s a good fit.
Studying all the successful teams in this league, they consistently have depth at corner. Having multiple corners that can play well is a common element of those teams and in free agency it’s a premium position. So, on account of all those factors and the totality of the information we had, collectively as an organization we made this decision.Â
In talking over the last day with Joey [Clinkscales] and Terry [Bradway], Eric [Mangini][ and Woody [Johnson] last night, we felt having the flexibility with four first-day picks, we wanted to keep all our options open. We felt the opportunity was there and that’s why we made the trade.Â
On when they started talking with Carolina …
Tannenbaum: We had preliminary talks with a number of teams during the week, which, I think, is in due diligence. You don’t really get specific until today. Certainly, we thought it was a possibility, but you never know what is going to happen. I think I referenced Ozzie [Newsome]’s comment the other day: You never know when there is going to be a curveball in there.
I was really pleased with our preparation. I probably bounced a zillion ideas off of Eric. Do you like this? Do you not like this? What about this? What about that? I was comfortable with our preparation and when the opportunity presented itself, we acted accordingly.
On selection of Darrelle Revis …
Mangini: We went through a lot of different scenarios during the week. As Mike said, we spent a lot of time together over the course of the week, probably more time than either of us wanted. But we looked at a lot of different situations, we went through a lot of different scenarios, trading up, trading back, and I think that is part of the process. We talked through all these things and thought this was a good situation for us. We’re really excited about Darrelle and look forward to getting him here to start working.
On talking to other teams …
Tannenbaum: We talked to a number of teams; I’m not going to comment on anything specifically. So, again, we always have the lines of communication open with a number of teams. This was the best fit for Carolina and for us, and again the fact that he’s a punt returner, that was something else that excited us about Darrelle. That we have two more picks on the first day, those were both important elements in the decision making process for us.Â
On why they chose to trade …
Mangini: Again it’s one of those things, as you’re talking through different scenarios, as you’re talking to different teams, there are different people listed on the draft board and it was one of those things where this was a good trade opportunity for us and we really like the player so we went ahead and executed.Â
On what they like about him …
Mangini: We really liked him on tape in terms of his toughness, his play at the line of scrimmage, his athleticism, his size, his speed — all those things were very good. Then we factor in his special teams value, the return ability that he has, and more importantly than that; we spent a lot of time with him. He spent a day here with us and we talked to him prior to then. We’d done our research and we liked him as a person. To me, the most important thing is the core values and he has those. Combine those with the other aspects and it was a solid pick.
On what separated him from other players …
Tannenbaum: Again, it went to the totality of the information. Eric described the punt-returning ability, the ability to play tough Northeast football at the University of Pittsburgh. Those other players we think are going to be good players as well, but again it wasn’t any one single element, it was a collective body of information.
Just one thing I wanted to point out. Eric and I wanted to send out a heartfelt apology because our wives, Julie and Michelle, planned this incredible Draft Day party. They were ready to go at 5, 5:30, and I think we screwed up their Draft Day party so I’d like to send out our apology for that.
On early picks changing their plan …
Mangini: Like I said, we run a lot of different scenarios through the course of the week. We discuss a lot of different things that we do and you don’t know what you’re going to get with the picks in front of you. We just saw an opportunity and the opportunity presented itself, again we decided to execute it and we couldn’t be happier with the player and with the situation.Â
On his personality …
Mangini: We asked a lot of different questions throughout that interview just trying to get a feel for him. I wouldn’t say that it’s one unique thing that stood out over the others. Again, it was the whole experience, the whole conversation, the whole visit. And not just with me, but with Bob [Sutton], Mike MacIntyre, Mike Westhoff, Joey Clinkscales, Terry [Bradway] and all of us collectively.
On why he fit into the system …
Mangini: I think that his athletic ability, his physical play and his durability are real positives and then, as I said, his ability to contribute on special teams which is so important. Also, most importantly, him as a person.
On competing for a position …
Mangini: He’s going to come in, he’s going to compete, but we think that he has excellent ability. He’s got a lot of hard work ahead of him and we have a lot of hard work as well. We’re going to do that together, in order for him to reach his potential. So he’s going to come in a compete with everybody else and find a way to help us win games. You’d love to have some consistency there but sometimes the way the game unfolds, skill sets dictate who plays and to me the most important thing is to get the best guy on the field to help us win on that day. So he’s going to have the opportunities that everybody else does to start.Â
On why it took the full allotment of time after the trade before making the selection …
Tannenbaum: I think 15 minutes is allocated to the team in the first round and we used the time to make sure all the T’s were crossed, all the I’s were dotted. We talked to the player, talked to the agent, talked to the owner, talked to the head coach. We just wanted to make sure that everything was in place, so just to be thorough.Â
On the possibility of making another move …
Tannenbaum: That certainly wasn’t our intention when we made the trade. We were happy with the player we took and I wouldn’t read anything into taking that much time.
On where they seem him playing …
Mangini: He’s a good player with a lot of ability so we’ll try him in different spots and see where he fits. But his athleticism and the things that he brings to the table in terms of his overall style of play could work on either side. A lot of time you’ll have corners in games where you may want to match them up against specific receivers, you can’t count on where that guy is going to be. We always build in the flexibility so you can play on the left and the right.Â
On Revis’ maturity …
Mangini: It goes back to the research we had done on his character prior to ever meeting the player. It really goes back to our scouts, who do a good job. We look to everyone we possibly can to gather information on the players on the draft board. Then we had the interview process, spending time with him to actually confirm those things and to get to know him, not just as a player but as a person.
Tannenbaum: Eric and I both believe in the philosophy that for a person, how they treat a waiter or a waitress is really who they are as human beings when no one is around looking. Ironically, I think the only night that I’ve been out of the office here and into New York City was the same night that he had flown in for his visit and we actually had the same exact car service driver. So after he brought Darrelle out to long Island, he was bringing me back to Long Island from the city and I asked him what he thought of him and he said great things about him. That’s not why we picked him, but that was a nice piece of information to have.
Again, Eric and I believe how you treat other people when people aren’t around is important and it was just another test he passed. … [The car service driver] will be coming in another half an hour or so to talk.
On what will happen next …
Tannenbaum: We’ll be up again at 63, a few hours down the road. Typically, things begin to heat up around then so we’re going to keep a close eye on things. As Eric had mentioned, we spend a lot of time together and discuss a lot of scenarios into the second and the third round. There are a couple of ideas we have, so we’re going to see what happens.
When we had our predraft press conference, I referenced the second round of the 2006 draft, in the same round we traded up and down simultaneously. So again, I wouldn’t rule anything out. I think having two more picks on the first day, after making the trade gave us the reassurances to go ahead and make it, that we weren’t putting all our eggs in one basket.Â
Eric and I both had the opportunity to say hello to [Darrelle]. It was pretty quick, but that’s protocol when we’re on the clock making sure we’ve touched base with the player.Â
On Brady Quinn …
Tannenbaum: We were sitting there at 25 for a long time and as we’ve talked about, curveballs were going to be there. Eric mentioned the thoroughness of our scouts and I take that a step further and I feel really good about our scouts’ thoroughness and our scenarios.Â
On being interested in Quinn …
Tannenbaum: We were interested in acquiring Darrelle Revis and that’s what we went ahead and did.
Mangini: I think it goes back to what Mike said. We consider all the different options. Each pick is going to be like that, guys are going to come up that maybe you hadn’t expected and you discuss those things. But what’s most important is that we’re excited about Darrelle and that’s the pick we made.