For the second consecutive April and the third time in four years, the Jets own the No. 6 overall selection in the NFL Draft.
General manager Mike Maccagnan found a pair of foundational pieces with his first two 6s in DL Leonard Williams and S Jamal Adams. Williams, acquired with Maccagnan's first draft pick in 2015, is widely considered one of the better interior players in football. Although limited to two sacks in 2017 after battling through injuries early and seeing consistent double-team attention, Williams had 25 QB hits and continued to be stout against the run.
In his first professional season, Adams finished with 82 tackles including nine tackles for loss, two sacks, six pass defenses, two fumble recoveries and a forced fumble. The Jets have arguably the most talented youthful tandem at safety in the NFL as Marcus Maye, a second-round pick from Florida last April, was also an impact contributor in his rookie campaign.
In his first three drafts as general manager, Maccagnan has addressed each of the three levels of the defense with Darron Lee (D1, No. 20 in 2015) sandwiched between the Williams and Adams picks.
The Jets also own a pair of second-round picks, the fifth (No. 37 overall) and 17th (No. 49 overall) in Round 2. The latter was obtained from Seattle in the Jermaine Kearse-Sheldon Richardson swap that included the Jets sending their seventh-round pick to the Seahawks.
