DraftFix: Who has been the Jets' best ever draft pick in each round?

Looking back over the Jets' draft history is a wasteland of bad assessments and missed opportunities. However, they nail a pick every now and again.

Let's try and figure out who the best player selected in each round has been in team history.

Note: We can only consider 1967 onwards, because the Jets did not pick in the NFL draft until then, so great Jets like Joe Namath, Emerson Boozer and Gerry Philbin can't be considered.

Also, for the purposes of this list, we're just looking for the best player (as a Jet) so a player picked in the top five won't lose their spot to a slightly inferior player picked at the end of round one on the basis that the later pick was better value.

1st Round

When Mike Tannenbaum traded up to number 14 to grab Darrelle Revis, he picked up a polarizing talent, who would go on to establish himself as the best cornerback in the league and arguably one of the best we've ever seen until he tore his ACL in his fifth season and then got traded.

It seems funny now, but at the time we were all excited over how good he was at returning punts.

The end of Revis' Jets career was ignominious and his ill-fated return in 2015 probably does more harm than good to his legacy as a great Jet, but he was a rare talent and the team hasn't really been relevant since he first departed.

Honorable Mentions: Marvin Powell, Freeman McNeil, Aaron Glenn, Nick Mangold, D'Brickashaw Ferguson.

2nd Round

It says a lot about the Jets' franchise that their best ever second round pick was also a polarizing figure whose Jets tenure ended under a cloud. However, it's again a player who was arguably the best in the league at what he did.

Defensive end Mark Gastineau was a three-time all-pro who went to five pro bowls - including one where he racked up four sacks, an impressive feat because the players actually used to try in those days.

Honorable Mentions: Wesley Walker, Rich Caster, David Harris, Marcus Maye.

3rd Round

The best third round pick in team history was a Jets lifer who racked up 14 interceptions and 52.5 sacks from the linebacker position.

While he may also be remembered for a certain hit with far-reaching consequences, Mo Lewis was an all-pro and went to three pro bowls - a number which should have been considerably higher. He helped four different Jets teams reach the postseason.

Honorable Mentions: James Hasty, Laveranues Coles, Kyle Clifton, Demario Davis.

4th Round

Remember back in the mid-2000's when the Jets could only seem to find good players in the fourth round? Well, prior to that, they had actually struggled to find anyone useful in that part of the draft. In fact, no player drafted by the Jets in the fourth round has ever been to a pro bowl, apart from Leon Washington, who only went as a kick return specialist.

Offensive tackle Jason Fabini gets the edge over Washington though, because of his longevity. He was a starter with the Jets for eight years with four of those teams reaching the playoffs.

Honorable Mention: Jerricho Cotchery, Kerry Rhodes, Leon Washington.

5th Round

As bad as the fourth round was, the fifth round has been even worse for the Jets. Maybe the best player they ever picked in that round was wide receiver Tony Martin, who didn't make the roster after his rookie training camp and instead was a success with Miami and went on to be an all-pro with the Chargers. Jonathan Goodwin was another former Jets fifth rounder who went on to make a pro bowl.

Of the players the Jets actually hung onto, it's running back Adrian Murrell we've selected as the best. He played on some pretty rough teams with the Jets but put together back-to-back thousand yard seasons before moving on to Arizona at the end of his fifth year as a Jet.

Honorable Mention: Marcus Coleman, Erik Coleman, Jeremy Kerley.

6th Round

By contrast, the Jets have had some good successes in the sixth round, headlined by defensive lineman Joe Klecko, who was famously a pro bowler at three different positions.

In nine years as a starter, Klecko was an all-pro twice and a four-time pro bowler, with his best season probably 1981 where he led the Jets with 20.5 sacks as the Sack Exchange was unleashed upon the world.

Honorable Mention: Terance Mathis, Marvin Washington, Folorunso Fatukasi.

7th Round

Once again, there's an obvious choice for the best seventh round pick in team history and it came in the Jets' first ever NFL draft in 1967.

Defensive lineman John Elliot was an all-pro and pro bowler in 1970 having been an all-AFL first teamer in 1969 and second teamer in 1968. He was a key member of the Jets' defense in their Super Bowl run.

Honorable Mention: Jason Ferguson, Dwayne White, Abdul Salaam.

After the 7th round

These days, the draft ends after seven rounds and then you're onto undrafted free agents. We broke down the best UDFAs in Jets history here.

The draft used to have a lot more rounds though. Joe Fields was famously picked in the 14th round, Randy Rasmussen was selected in the 12th and Dan Alexander went in the 8th.

Super Bowl hero Dave Herman was actually a 27th round pick, although to be fair that was back when the Jets were in the AFL so there were far less teams. Herman was only the 211th overall pick, whereas Fields went 349th.