New York Jets Draft Pick Impact Rating

On a scale of 1 to 10, I'd like to rate the chances of the six players the Jets picked having regular playing time and making an impact on the roster.

Leonard Williams 10/10

There isn't any question about it. As long as he doesn't get hurt, Leonard Williams is going to see regular snaps, and there is a good chance he will make an impact as a rookie playing alongside Muhammad Wilkerson and Sheldon Richardson. The Jets are going to run a defense with multiple fronts, and there are definitely enough snaps to go around for all of the linemen. I'm looking forward to a Wilkerson/Williams/Richardson/Coples defensive line of first rounders on passing downs.

Devin Smith 7/10

Smith is probably going to enter Florham Park fifth on the passing game hierarchy behind Brandon Marshall, Eric Decker, Jeremy Kerley, and Jace Amaro. He will definitely have chances to earn a bigger role, though. If he is ready off the bat, he could develop into the best deep threat the Jets have and free up Marshall to move into the slot and create mismatches. That's the nice thing about actually having good players on the team. It takes the pressure off rookies to contribute right off the bat. If they do contribute, they can take the team to another level. Chan Gailey liked to load the field with receivers when he was in Buffalo this should give Smith a fair amount of playing time.

Lorenzo Mauldin 4/10

Mauldin might be a backup, a situational player, and a special teamer at least to start as a rookie with Calvin Pace and Jason Babin on the roster.

Bryce Petty 2/10

My hunch is that Petty would need to surprise the coaching staff to have a chance to start. He needs to blow people away by his ability to pick up NFL concepts instantaneously. Right now the smart money would seem to be on Geno Smith or Ryan Fitzpatrick. The new regime can't have a ton of belief in Petty or it wouldn't have passed him over three times. The reason I'll give Petty a 2 here is it's possible he'll get some action late in the year in the event Smith and Fitzpatrick both fail, and the Jets fall out of the Playoff race. That is a distressingly realistic possibility.

Jarvis Harrison 3/10

The state of the guard position reminds me a lot of wide receiver last year. There are plenty of bodies, but it isn't clear there is any quality. James Carpenter presumably will start at one guard slot. The other is less clear. I don't think you can count on a fifth round rookie to lock up a starting spot, but Harrison does have the natural ability to win a competition.

Deon Simon 1/10

I think Simon will have done well if he makes a spot on the team. More likely, he is bound for the practice squad where the coaching staff will work on his technique. The odds of Damon Harrison being a Jet in 2016 probably just went down with the addition of Williams so the coaching staff might work with Simon in hopes he can be part of the mix at nose tackle a year from now.