Sullivan: This is what you call a great Jets draft night
FLORHAM PARK – The top of the draft board was barreling at full speed Thursday night, an unexpected trade between the second and third teams on the clock shaking up the quarterback landscape, an unrealized prediction for a trade involving the fifth team on the clock taking the first wide receiver off the board. Only five picks into the first round of the NFL Draft, it was clear we were in for a rollicking night, full of drama and intrigue befitting one of the best nights on our sports calendar.
It is a night that has not always been kind to the Jets, the NFL's longtime leaders in draft-night boos.
But not this year. Not this draft. Not this time. For a franchise that spent the 2016 season doing everything wrong, for a team that struggled to win five measly games a year ago, for a fan base whose default setting is to boo everything, this would serve as "opposite night." This was a chance to celebrate good fortune over misfortune, to take the gift of Jamal Adams and welcome him with open football arms.
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That’s exactly what GM Mike Maccagnan and head coach Todd Bowles did, as no-brainer of a first-round draft decision as this franchise could have ever dreamed of making, a choice that was no choice at all once the first five dominoes fell. There the Jets' brain trust sat, watching Myles Garrett go No. 1, watching Mitchell Trubisky go No. 2, watching Solomon Thomas go No. 3, watching Leonard Fournette go No. 4 and watching Corey Davis go No. 5, their war room mood rising one more level of euphoria with each pick. Suddenly, this most unfortunate franchise was about to benefit from this series of most fortunate events, about to add the standout safety from LSU who they never thought would be there, or theirs, for the taking.
“We felt very fortunate that Adams fell to us at that spot,” Maccagnan was saying later, behind a microphone inside the Jets facility, his coach sitting to his left, smiles on both their faces. “It’s interesting, we do a lot of these mock drafts, projections, we gather information … in a lot of our projections we never had him really getting to us. I think really when Chicago moved up and made the move they made [to take Trubisky with the second overall pick], it sort of set in motion the domino effect of who falls where.
“Again, we were quite happy. Jamal was really, in our minds, a very, very good player on many levels.”
Even Jets fans can’t boo this one. The Jets filled one of their most glaring needs, and filled it not merely with a player who has skills on the field, but who has been lauded for his personality in the locker room. He has ties to the area – Adams said in a conference call that his mother is from Yonkers, he has a sister who is from New Jersey, and of course his father, George, was a onetime draft pick of the Giants who was part of the 1986 Super Bowl team – and described himself as a perfect fit for his new team.
“I’m beyond happy,” he said. “Just ready, ready to get started.”
He joins a secondary that desperately needs his help. For all the depth and talent the Jets have on their defensive line, there were so many problems in the defensive backfield that Bowles’ defense could barely generate any pressure on opposing quarterbacks. The addition of Adams should help change that, and change it right away.
“He’s an outstanding player obviously,” Bowles said, “smart, fast, tough, physical. He’s an alpha, good on and off the field. He checks all the boxes, and is a really a good football player.
“I’m happy. He was one of the guys we had targeted very high. For him to fall to us, we really weren’t expecting him to fall to us that far. I’m extremely happy.”
A dose of good luck for a hard-luck franchise, one that might even benefit Adams as well, given that he personally expected to be included among the top five picks and will no doubt be driven to prove he should have been.
“If I sat here and told you I wasn’t surprised I’d be lying,” he said. “I was definitely surprised that I slipped, but at the same time everything happens for a reason, God has a plan and I just trust the process. … [The Jets] definitely showed interest when I went on a visit. It was exciting to get up there and visit Jersey. They were definitely saying if I slipped to six, no questions asked they’d come to get me. They kept their word and delivered.”
Now it's his turn. Buckle up Jets fans. This should be fun.
Email: sullivan@northjersey.com