The Raiders decided to trade back into the first round of the draft to improve the tight end position.  Dustin Keller is a big target at 6′2″, 248 pounds and he has the speed (4.55 40) to get down the field.  Keller played in 46 games (26 starts) at Purdue and he caught 142 passes for 1,882 yards (13.3 avg) with 16 TD grabs.  Keller will likely bump Chris Baker out of the starting lineup as the Jets want a bigger threat for either Chad Pennington or Kellen Clemens to throw to.

The Jets coveted running back Darren McFadden but the hopes to draft him ended with the 4th pick of the draft when the Raiders selected him.  The Jets then recovered to take the defensive player who might have the largest upside in the draft.  Vernon Gholston is 6′4″, 265 pounds and he run a freakish 4.5 40.  The Jets will initially probably use him at DE but they might convert him to outside linebacker at some point.  Gholston played in 28 games (25 starts) in his career at Ohio State and he made 87 tackles, 30.5 tackles for a loss, had 22.5 sacks, batted down 2 passes and he recovered a fumble.  Gholston is just scratching the surface of his potential and he was a solid pick for the Jets.

The Jets have traded DT Dewayne Robertson to the Broncos for a late round conditional draft pick in 2009.  The pick can escalate to as high as a 2nd rounder based on his performance with the Broncos in 2008.  Robertson played in 16 games (15 starts) for the Jets last season and he made 57 tackles and had 4 sacks.  Robertson played in 77 games (75 starts) for the Jets in his career and he made 256 tackles, had 14.5 sacks and he defended 1 pass.  Only time will tell if this will be a good trade or not for the Jets.

The Jets kept making trades to move up in the draft last season and when it was over they only added 4 players, but two of them could be future Pro Bowlers.  CB Darrelle Revis was the first round pick of the Jets.  He played in 16 games (all starts) for the Jets last season and he made 87 tackles, forced a fumble, defensed 17 passes and intercepted three passes.  Inside linebacker David Harris was the 2nd round pick of the Jets and he was one of the best backers in the NFL when the Jets inserted him into the starting lineup.  Harris played in 16 games (9 starts) for the Jets last season and he made 126 tackles, had 5 sacks, forced 2 fumbles and defensed 3 passes.  Last year was just the tip of the iceberg for the Jets as Harris will be one of the best linebackers in the NFL for a long, long time.  OT Jacob Bender was the 6th round pick of the Jets and he played in 2 games (0 starts).  He has the look of a career backup for the Jets.  WR Chansi Stuckey spent all of his rookie season on the Injured Reserve List.

GRADE FOR THE 2007 SEASON:  A

GRADE FOR THE FUTURE:  A

The Jets have signed 30-year old TE Bubba Franks.  Franks will give either Chad Pennington or Kellen Clemens a nice, big target on short passes over the middle as Franks is 6′6″, 265 pounds.  Franks played in 8 games for the Packers last season and he caught 18 passes for 132 yards (7.3 avg) with 3 TD grabs.  He has now played in 114 games in his NFL career and he has caught 256 passes for 2,300 yards (9.0 avg) with 32 TD grabs.  This was a solid signing for the Jets who needed some help at the TE position.

The Jets have signed RB Jesse Chatman to a 1-year deal.  Chatman gives the Jets a power back to get the tough yards as he is 5′8″, 233 pounds.  Chatman played in 14 games last season for the Dolphins and he carried the ball 128 times for 515 yards (4.0 ypc) with 1 TD run.  He also caught 27 passes for 161 yards (6.0 avg).  Chatman has now played in 55 games in his NFL career and he has carried the ball 207 times for 943 yards (4.6 ypc) with 4 TD runs.  He also has caught 37 passes for 276 yards (7.5 avg).  This signing further proves that the Jets off-season goal was to improve the running game on offense.

The Jets have signed fullback Tony Richardson to a 1-year deal.  The 36-year old Richardson will give the Jets a real fullback who is a good blocker to lead the way for Thomas Jones and Leon Washington in 2008.  He played in 14 games for the Vikings last season and he carried the ball 7 times for 13 yards (1.9 ypc).  He also caught 11 passes for 89 yards (8.1 avg).  He has now played in 186 games in his NFL career and he has carried the ball 407 times for 1,601 yards (3.9 ypc) with 15 TD runs.  He also has caught 201 passes for 1,498 yards (7.5 avg) with 9 TD grabs.  This was a good move for the Jets who are trying to improve their running game this off-season.

The Jets have signed CB Andre Woolfolk.  Woolfolk is a former first round pick of the Tennessee Titans who never quite panned out.  Woolfolk did not play at all last season.  In 2006 he played  in 10 games last season for the Titans and he made 5 whole tackles.  He has now played in 39 games in his NFL career and he has made 132 tackles, defensed 18 passes, forced 1 fumble and intercepted 3 passes.  It’s doubtful that Woolfolk will be anything more than a nickel or dime back with the Jets this season.

The Jets have signed OLB Calvin Pace to a 6-year, $42 million dollar contract.  Pace played in 16 games last season for the Cardinals and he made 93 tackles, defensed 6 passes, had 6.5 sacks, forced a fumble and intercepted a pass.  He has now played in 67 games in his NFL career and he has made 186 tackles, defensed 12 passes, has 14 sacks, forced 5 fumbles and picked off a pass.  The Jets probably overpaid a little bit but Pace could be a impact player for their defense.

The Jets have continued to revamp their offensive line with the addition of tackle Damien Woody.  30-year old Woody is a large man at 6′3″, 340 pounds who should help out big time in the running game for the Jets.  He signed on for 5 years and $25.5 million bucks.  He played in 13 games (8 starts) last season for the Lions.  Woody has now played in 128 games (121 starts) in his NFL career.  This was a solid move for the Jets who are doing a good job improving the offensive line which was a big weakness for them last season.