The Jets whose importance leaped from how draft shook out

The 2017 NFL Draft is in the rearview mirror for the Jets. Here are a few of my takeaways from their draft:

1. Safety first … and second: Like most observers, I was surprised and a little confused when the Jets took Florida safety Marcus Maye in the second round on Friday after taking LSU safety Jamal Adams in the first round on Thursday. It appeared coach Todd Bowles, a former safety, had taken over the Jets war room.

After a few days to think about it, I am OK with the Jets doing this. My thought entering this draft was the Jets had to come away with three players who could be immediate contributors in 2017. If Adams and Maye are two of those three, who cares that they are both safeties? They can be on the field at the same time. Every safety these days is described as “interchangeable,” meaning they can play both strong and free safety. We will find out if that is true with these guys.

The only thing standing in their way for immediate playing time is if Calvin Pryor and Marcus Gilchrist remain on the roster. Maybe not for long. Pryor has been inconsistent, and Gilchrist is coming off a major knee injury. The Jets likely will hold onto everyone through training camp and then make a decision during the final roster cuts whether to keep Pryor and/or Gilchrist. Bowles said he likes to play three safeties, so it is not a foregone conclusion that both will be cut, but one probably will be.

I don’t pretend to know Adams and Maye as players well. I did not break down their game film, so the question here will be whether the Jets made the correct evaluation on the players, not whether the philosophy of taking two players at the same position is sound. If they both become longtime starters, Mike Maccagnan nailed it. If they don’t, it will be more a failure of their scouting abilities than of their draft philosophy.

2. What does Belichick know? I am not one of those people who believes everything Bill Belichick touches turns to gold. I don’t think every player he signs is destined for a Pro Bowl. However, I think it has to give teams pause that Belichick basically punted on this draft, only taking four players. He traded the rest of his picks, some in deals for established NFL talent such as Brandin Cooks and others to move up in this draft.

The art of trading down often is associated with Belichick. It is something Maccagnan did plenty of this draft. He traded down four times and out of this year’s draft for a 2018 pick once.

By all accounts, scouts and GMs thought this was a deep draft with lots of talent in the middle rounds, so you have to wonder if Belichick saw something others didn’t. It could be Belichick sees the window closing on Tom Brady’s run and is going after another Lombardi Trophy by getting proven players. Or maybe he didn’t think this draft was as loaded as others did.

3. The QB question: For months, we wondered whether the Jets would take a quarterback. I did not think they would, but I was not certain after they spent so much time visiting with the top quarterbacks in the draft.

Now, it sets up like this: The 2017 season is all about finding out about Christian Hackenberg. Josh McCown probably will start the season, but Hackenberg will play at some point, probably before Halloween. If the Jets like what they see, they can move forward with him. If he is terrible, the 2018 QB class is expected to be a special one, and the Jets should be near the top of the draft.

4. The next big needs: The Jets roster remains one of the worst in the NFL. They could only do so much in the draft. The biggest needs they failed to address in this draft in my view are:

• Plug-and-play corner: They took two developmental cornerbacks in the sixth round in Jeremy Clark and Derrick Jones. Neither of them will be expected to contribute in 2017. That leaves them with Morris Claiborne, Buster Skrine, Marcus Williams and Juston Burris as their top corners. Bowles’ defense runs on corners.
• Pass rusher: Where is the outside rush coming from on this team? They’d better hope Lorenzo Mauldin makes a big leap in Year 3.
• Offensive line depth: The Jets did not draft one offensive lineman. They are thin at that position group. When does Maccagnan start rebuilding the line with young players?

5. Lots of Leggett: I think the player besides Adams and Maye who has the best chance to have an immediate impact is Clemson tight end Jordan Leggett, taken in the fifth round. It is simply about opportunity. Austin Seferian-Jenkins is the top tight end on the Jets roster, and he will be suspended for the first two games of the year. The Jets could still add a veteran (keep an eye on Gary Barnidge, recently released by the Browns), but I still think Leggett will be given a chance to play meaningful snaps right away.