I've been looking up draft info on the Jets from Rounds 1 to 4 dating back to when Woody Johnson became the owner. There was one good draft among the first 6 of his tenure. The rest were misses. A few decent picks, but overall very bad in my opinion.
1) The 2000 Draft: 4 1st rounders.
DE Shaun Ellis (2x Probowl), OLB Jon Abraham (3x Probowl), QB Chad Pennington, TE Tony Becht.
Not much for the Jest fan to complain about regarding this draft. Outside of the tight end, they did well with this talent for a few years.
My Final Thought: Good
2) The 2001 Draft: 4 picks in the first 4 rounds.
WR Santana Moss, RB Lamont Jordan, OT Kareem McKenzie, DB Jamie Henderson
Of course, much better receivers like Reggie Wayne, Steve Smith, & Chad Johnson were passed over in favor of the man who shared the same last name as Randy, but not the same level of talent. Regardless, Moss was decent but became a ProBowler after leaving the Jest. McKenzie did nothing for the Jest but played a role in helping the Giants win those 2 SB's against the Pats, so... Damn him! The other 2 were wasted picks.
My Final Thought: Bad
3) The 2002 Draft: 4 picks in the first 4 rounds.
DE Bryan Thomas, S Jon McGraw, TE Chris Baker, DT Alan Harper
Recognize any of those names? .... me neither. Aaron Kampman, who was a Pro Bowler and rock on the Packers Defensive Line for about 5 years, was available in this draft, but fell to the 4th round while Thomas spent 10 years being a massive dissapointment for the Jest. Then, of course, there is Ed Reed, FS, future Hall Of Famer, right? Well fear not, the Jest got their guy Jon McGraw, he of 10 career interceptions, 3 with the Jest.
My Final Thought: LOL!!!
4) The 2003 Draft: 3 picks in the first 4 rounds
DT Dewayne Robertson, LB Victor Hobson, RB B.J. Askew
At this point Woody's Johnsons were making it clear that their draft strategy was going to set this organization back for years to come. Robertson wasn't awful, but he came in with a lot of hype and didn't pan out to be the super great player the Jest expected him to be. Also at this point, Jason Witten was available, as was Anquan Boldin. Could have been a big help to Chad Pennington at the time. So it's fitting that the Jets ended up selecting Victor Hobson, a linebacker who while probably overperformed as a Jet, was not a difference maker in any way shape or form. Also, the Jest drafted QB Brooks Bollinger in the 6th round as 3rd string backup to Pennington..
My Final Thought: Thumbs down
5) The 2004 Draft: 4 picks in the first 4 rounds
LB Jonathan Vilma, CB Derrick Strait, WR Jericho Cotchery, OT Adrian Jones
Jonathan Vilma was very succesful while and after playing with the Jest. But outside of that, this was a QB's draft, and the Jest weren't going to do much better than what was available to them after the first round. Also, this was the season Chad Pennington suffered his first rotator cuff injury after signing a 7 year contract before the season. A precursor of unfortunate events to come.
My Final Thought: They need a QB!
6) The 2005 Draft: No 1st Rounder, but 4 picks through the 4th round
K Mike Nugent, CB Justin Miller, DT Sione Pouha, S Kerry Rhodes
Herm Edward's last draft that he oversaw as coach of the Jest. Miller and Rhodes ended up making the Pro Bowl in 2006 together, so not all was lost here with the Jest. Of course, they flamed out just as quickly as they sparked. Pouha spent much of his Jest career injury riddled. And then there's the fact that the Jest used their first pick of this draft on a Placekicker.
My Final Thought: Just End The Suffering
I haven't got the stomach to go through all the Jest drafts up to now as I don't really want to dive too deep into the swamp of historical suckage the Jest has created for us all to see. I'm sure Mangini's collectively were the best ones, while Rex oversaw much of the disasters the Jest have been riddled with in recent years. But it's interesting to see the science behind the incompetence that is the New York Jest. They don't believe in drafting a great QB out of College and thus are in the same hell hole with that position that they're in today. And based on their draft strategies they don't believe in having a difference maker on offense whatsoever. They instead overdraft who they believe are defensive stalwarts, and outside of a lucky few, they all turn out to be average to decent at best. It's an ongoing systemic tide of futility that Woody Johnson has overseen as far back as his beginnings as an NFL owner.
