Ranking Recent Jets Fifth Round Picks

We are getting late into the Draft. By the fifth round, the pickings are slim. Finding somebody who can contribute in a meaningful way is a win. The good teams still find ways to do it. How have the Jets been in recent seasons? Let's rank the fifth round picks over the last decade.

1. Jeremy Kerley, 2011

Kerley has turned out to be a solid option out of the slot for the Jets. Although he has not proven to be much of an asset as a punt returner, he has prototypical tools for a slot receiver and a third or fourth option in a passing attack.

2. Oday Aboushi, 2013

The jury is still very much out on Aboushi. He did improve a lot from year one to year two. As a rookie in preseason, he looked like a cut candidate. In his second year, an injury to Brian Winters put Aboushi in the starting lineup. Aboushi's play was not great. He really struggled at times in pass protection. Still, there were signs of life, particularly as a run blocking. If he shows the same improvement from year two to three as he did from one to two, he might develop into a good starter. If not, he still might stick in this league as a backup.

3. John Conner, 2010

A lot of hype surrounded this pick. Conner was a star of Hard Knocks as a rookie. Sitting behind Tony Richardson for a year was supposed to be a learning experience. Conner lasted just over a year as a starter before he was let go. Given that the Jets replaced him with Lex Hilliard, that was probably a mistake, though. Conner is a credible lead blocker, but he doesn't look like he's going to be the top level fullback Rex Ryan thought he saw on film leading the Jets to draft him.

4. Jason Pociask, 2006

Blocking tight ends are not in high demand. The Jets were hoping they found a good one in Wisconsin product Pociask in 2006, but he only lasted one season and played in four games for the Jets.

5. Erik Ainge, 2008

There were a number of people who liked Ainge as a late round quarterback prospect in 2008. He struggled with substance abuse issues and injuries that helped cut his career short before he got a real chance, though.

6. Jeremiah George, 2014

George didn't even make it to the Week 1 roster for the Jets in 2014. The Jaguars signed him off the Jets' practice squad a few weeks later. Unless some of the remaining players get better, I feel like we're going to see an NFL Network special, "The Idzik 12" on the Jets' 2014 Draft class in a few years.

7. Andre Maddox, 2005

One round after taking Kerry Rhodes, the Jets decided to double dip at safety in the middle rounds by selecting Maddox. They went one for two. While Rhodes developed into a good starter, Maddox tore his ACL in training camp his rookie season and never played in a regular season NFL game.