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In my personal opinion, the Jets had a strong draft. They had a template for what they were looking for and they filled it while not reaching in a draft that was light on some of the teams more obvious needs.
I don't like draft grades, as I believe you can't judge a team's draft until 3-4 years down the road. However people love to hear what others think of their teams efforts, and Mel Kiper was very positive when grading the Jets:
New York didn't address its top two needs -- QB and OT -- with this class, but here's why I'm not faulting the strategy: The Jets clearly went best-player-available throughout the class, and they didn't reach. That's hugely important for a team with one of the worst all-around rosters in the league. So while I don't think their quarterback of the future is on their roster, I can't knock not seeing the value in taking a developmental signal-caller when Christian Hackenberg is already that guy. And in one of the worst offensive line classes in recent history, they didn't try to get a raw prospect in the middle rounds. They stuck to their board, and I can respect that.
Jamal Adams is simply a fantastic player and value at No. 6 overall, and Marcus Maye at the top of the second round is right where I thought he'd go. This puts the roster spots of Calvin Pryor and Marcus Gilchrist in tenuous positions, but New York is at least willing to see its flaws and try to correct them. Ardarius Stewart, Chad Hansen and Jordan Leggett all should help the passing game -- and whoever's throwing them the ball. Leggett, in particular, could be a starter when the season begins.
Credit general manager Mike Maccagnan, too, for trading down and acquiring extra picks four times, and picking up an extra fifth-round pick in 2018. He knows the roster's deficient, and this isn't a one-year fix.
It's hard to disagree with anything that Kiper says there. The Jets drafted based on value, they brought in some excellent foundation pieces that can develop as this team grows. It's never nice to admit that the team you follow won't be competitive, but it's going to take a couple of off-seasons for the Jets to climb to the top. Quick fixes rarely ever work, Maccagnan has taken a more long-term pragmatic approach to building a solid roster with good depth and big potential.
I like the draft and like Kiper, if I were forced to grade it...I'd probably give it a B+ as well.