Jets Can’t Afford Repeat of Idzik Disaster With Deep Receiver Class

The last time the New York Jets had a serious need at wide reciever and headed in to the NFL draft with a loaded class, things could not have gone much worse.  In one of the deepest classes in NFL history, former Jets General Manager John Idzik laid an egg despite having 12 draft picks to select a quality receiver.

Looking for pass catchers, the Jets used picks 104, 115 and 209 to select Jalen Saunders, Shaq Evans and Quincy Enunwa respectively.  Saunders was gone within a couple of months and finished his NFL career with 1 catch for 7 yards.  That gave Saunders 1 catch and 7 more yards than Evans, who never logged an NFL reception.

The only quality player in the bunch was Quincy Enunwa, but his injury history is well documented with a very real chance he’ll never suit up for the Jets again.

FIFTY FIVE wide receivers were invited to the NFL Combine. Wow. This class is something else.

— Mike Clay (@MikeClayNFL) February 8, 2020

With a new Sheriff in town, the Jets are once again in need of multiple receivers with a loaded class approaching.

With NFL combine invites going out, teams will be bringing in a whopping 55 receivers to take up look at up close and personal.  The class will be highlighted by Jerry Jeudy of Alabama and Oklahoma’s Cee Dee Lamb, but there are plenty of good receivers to be had beyond the top 10 or 15 where Lamb and Jeudy are projected to go.

From Colorado’s Laviska Shenault and Alabama’s Henry Ruggs III, all the way down to Gabriel Davis (UCF), Tyler Johnson (Minnesota) and Jauan Jennings (Tennessee), look for plenty of receivers with a variety of skill sets to climb up and down draft boards as Joe Douglas and the Jets wait to start building around Sam Darnold.

Hitting on some receivers in the draft would be new territory for the Jets.  Not only did Idzik bomb with his loaded class, but former GM Mike Maccagnan took a shot just a few years back by choosing ArDarius Stewart and Chad Hansen.  That class wasn’t as deep, but both players were still huge busts.  Stewart is out of the NFL and Hansen is still hoping to find his way on to an active roster as he kicks around from one practice squad to another, currently in Houston with the Texans.

Glenn Naughton

Glenn was Born in the Bronx, New York and has followed the Jets religiously despite being stationed in several different countries and time zones around the world. He now resides in England and has been a JetNation member since 2005. Glenn will bleed green with the rest of us through the highs and lows.

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