New York Jets Select Marshon Lattimore In Louis Riddick Mock Draft

The New York Jets select Marson Lattimore in Louis Riddick’s mock draft.

The New York Jets are in a peculiar position heading into the 2017 NFL Draft. They are in the early stages of a rebuild, lacking the key component of a good team; a franchise quarterback. They could have a chance to land that franchise quarterback in this year’s draft.

If they decide that their franchise quarterback isn’t in this draft, they could look to trade down. They would land more selections to help speed up their rebuild, adding more young talent into the fold.

The Jets hold a lot of power in this draft as they could really change the tides of the first round. Will they take a quarterback, making other teams scramble? Or will they trade out of the spot with a quarterback-needy team looking to land their own franchise quarterback? The Jets could stay pat and not select a quarterback at all, addressing one of their other needs instead.

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The third selection is what ESPN’s Louis Riddick has them doing. Riddick made a mock draft that was different from your regular run of the mill mock. Instead or predicting where players may go, Riddick made his selections based on the team’s needs.

There are a number of directions the Jets could go based on that criteria. Outside of the defensive line, the Jets could use an upgrade. With the sixth overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, Riddick has the Jets addressing their defensive backfield selecting Marshon Lattimore of Ohio State.

Here is what Riddick had to say about the selection.

"Todd Bowles wants his corners to play in-your-face, bump-and-run coverage. Lattimore is a pure man-to-man corner with tremendous quickness, speed and agility. His history of hamstring injuries is the only concern."

Injury concerns are not something you want to see when investing a first round pick on a player. But, the talent for Lattimore may be too much for the Jets to pass up should he still be on the board when they are selecting.

The Jets secondary, which was expected to be a strength, was a disaster last season. Darrelle Revis played so poorly he was released this offseason. The overhaul Mike Maccagnan made during the 2015 offseason hasn’t panned out as hoped.

Antonio Cromartie was released after one season. Buster Skrine hasn’t been great when pushed into a bigger role outside the slot. Safety Marcus Gilchrist has been a disaster, and Calvin Pryor has regressed in a big way.

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The defensive backfield, whether it be a safety or corner, is a major concern for the Jets. Adding a player of Lattimore’s pedigree would be a great addition to the team. With arguably the best defensive line in the NFL, the Jets need to shore up the rest of the defense. Lattimore would be a good first step in that direction.

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