A Brief Historical Look At The NY Jets Pre-Draft Visits

Over the last few days, I have seen a lot of people asking what the significance is of the pre-draft visit. Will we definitely select a player we have invited to visit the facility? Do most of our actual selections visit the Jets? All good questions, and all questions I had no answer to. I tried to rack my brain to remember if Quinton Coples, or Mo Wilk visited us, but I just couldn't put my finger on the answer.

Tonight I decided to look through the historical data associated with Pre-Draft visits, to see if we usually draft from the pool of players we invited to the facility. I have tried to find the most up to date historical list, but of course there may be some discrepancies at certain points. All data was taken from either ESPN or Pro Football Talk:

Lets start with the most recent draft, 2013:

*This list only includes players who actually visited the facility. It does not include any private work-outs that were held.

2013- Taken From ESPN/Draft Insider

Geno Smith, Quarterback, West Virginia

Dee Milliner, Cornerback, Alabama

Oday Aboushi, Offensive Tackle, Virginia

William Campbell, Defensive/Offensive Line, Michigan

Sheldon Richardson, Defensive End, Missouri

Did not visit, but were selected:

Brian Winters, Offensive Guard, Kent State

Tommy Bohanon, Fullback, Wake Forrest

2012 - Taken From Pro Football Talk

Josh Bush, Safety, Wake Forrest

Quinton Coples, Defensive End, North Carolina

Stephen Hill, Receiver, Georgia Tech

Did not visit, but were selected:

Demario Davis, Inside Linebacker, Arkansas State

Terrance Gannaway, Running Back, Baylor

Robert Griffin, Offensive Tackle, Baylor

Antonio Allen, Safety, South Carolina

Jordan White, Wide Receiver, Western Michigan

2011- Taken From ESPN

Bilal Powell, Running Back, Louisville

Kendrick Ellis, Defensive Tackle, Hampton

Muhammad Wilkerson, Defensive End, Temple

Did not visit, but were selected

Jeremy Kerley, Wide Receiver, TCU

Greg McElroy, Quarterback, Alabama

Scotty McKnight, Wide Receiver, Colorado

What conclusions can you draw from this? I really don't know. We have a very small sample size to work with, especially considering we changed GM after the 2012 draft and before the 2013 draft. Very quick conclusions would suggest that John Idzik likes to draft prospects he has met and is familiar with, especially ones who have visited the facility. 5 of the 7 selections he made in 2013 visited the Jets pre-draft, in comparison to 6/11 in the last two years under Mike T.

Like I said, you can't draw many conclusions from this. If the lists I referenced were accurate, then it gives you a little peek into how Idzik is working. We'll know a lot more after this draft.