Revenge Of The Birds Community Mock Draft: 29th Pick, New York Jets

With the 29th pick of the Revenge of the Birds community mock draft, the New York Jets select...

Jerry Hughes | Outside Linebacker | TCU

GM: Drullin'OverDaCards

Strengths: In his last two seasons at TCU, Hughes established himself as one of the top pass rushers in the nation. He led the country with a total of 26.5 quarterback sacks during that time and 36.0 other tackles behind the line of scrimmage. Hughes had multiple-sack performances in eight of those 26 games. Hughes also is a force against the run. TCU led the nation in 2008 and ranked third in 2009 in run defense. During those 26 games, opponents managed to gain 100 yards on the ground vs. the TCU just seven times. Hughes also looks fluid dropping back and changing directions though his natural burst and explosion are much more evident moving forward as a pass rusher. In college he was a relentless performer who simply overwhelmed tackles. Hughes also looked to make plays on the ball and force fumble. I also think Hughes could be very useful on special teams. He was a high school running back that was converted to a DE in college and will likely play OLB in a 3-4 in the pros. Hughes is listed as a defensive end on some boards but plays like an outside linebacker. He has better speed than he is given credit for. He chases the ball like a LB and with his history as a high school RB looks good catching the ball and running with it.

Weaknesses: His height is only 6’ 1 3/4". He only had a 4.7 sec 40 yd dash (Hughes appears to have excellent acceleration though).

Why the Jets will draft him: Simply put the Jets and Rex are in serious need of a pass rusher. Despite the fact they had one of the best defenses in the league last year they only registered 32 sacks last year tied (with 4 other teams)  for 18th in the league. The Jets need to improve the pass rush and put some pressure on the quarterback. The Jets could also use better pass coverage from its OLBs which Hughes has also looked good in. Hughes could well be for the Jets and Rex what Terrell Suggs was to the Ravens when Rex was there.

Big thanks to Drullin'OverDaCards for making the pick for the Jets. That puts toolman234 on the clock while the Saints and Colts are on deck. I need all of the picks sent sometime today or early tomorrow in order to be finished by then. Please send them to revengeofthebirds@gmail.com. The picks are after the jump...

1. St. Louis - Sam Bradford, QB
2. Detroit - Russell Okung, OT
3. Tampa Bay -  Ndamukong Suh, DT
4. Washington - Bryan Bulaga, OT 
5. Kansas City - Eric Berry, S
6. Seattle - Gerald McCoy, DT 
7. Cleveland -  Jimmy Clausen, QB
8. Oakland - Trent Williams, OT 
9. Buffalo - Bruce Campbell, OT 
10. Jacksonville - Joe Haden, CB
11. Denver - Rolando McClain, LB
12. Miami - Earl Thomas, S
13. San Francisco - C.J. Spiller, RB
14. Seattle - Dez Bryant, WR 
15. New York Giants - Derrick Morgan, DE 
16. Tennessee - Sean Weatherspoon, LB
17. San Francisco - Anthony Davis, OT
18. Pittsburgh - Kyle Wilson, CB
19. Atlanta - Brandon Graham, DE
20. Houston - Taylor Mays, S
21. Cincinnati - Jermaine Gresham, TE
22. New England - Sergio Kindle, OLB
23. Green Bay - Jason Pierre-Paul, DE
24. Philadelphia - Mike Iupati, OG
25. Baltimore - Jared Odrick, DT
26. Arizona - Dan Williams, DT
27. Dallas - Charles Brown, OT
28. San Diego - Terrence Cody, DT
29. New York Jets - Jerry Hughes, OLB
30. Minnesota - tooman234
31. Indianapolis - TheAngelsColts
32. New Orleans - Reo Hayes