April 19 in Jet History: Draft Day 1997
Apr 19, 2016 5:51:13 GMT -5
Bing© in Buffalo Chairman likes this
Post by Lithfan on Apr 19, 2016 5:51:13 GMT -5
APRIL 19, 1997
Draft Day, 1997. Two days earlier, the Jets, coming off of a disastrous 1-15 campaign, owned 6 picks in the upcoming draft, including #1 overall (they lost 1 pick to NE as compensation for signing HC Bill Parcells as HC & GM). Rather than stay at number 1, Bill decided to trade back to accumulate more picks in the draft.
So, during the week leading up to the draft, Parcells sent the #1 overall pick (Orlando Pace) to the Rams in exchange for a package including #6 overall. He traded back a second time, sending # 6 overall (Walter Jones) to Tampa and coming away with the 8th pick plus another mid-round pick. By the time the wheeling and dealing was done, the Jets had moved down 7 slots in the first round, but ended up with 11 picks:
1.8 James Farrior LB Virginia
2.31 Rick Terry DT North Carolina
3.80 Dedric Ward WR Northern Iowa
4.102 Terry Day DE Mississippi St.
4.104 Leon Johnson RB North Carolina
5.131 Lamont Burns G East Carolina
5.145 Raymond Austin DB Tennessee
6.164 Tim Scharf LB Northwestern
6.191 Chuck Clements QB Houston
7.202 Steve Rosga DB Colorado
7.229 Jason Ferguson DT Georgia
First and last picks turned into decent players: Farrior had his best seasons after leaving the Jets and signing with the Steelers as a free agent, and Jason Ferguson was a nice find in the 7th. The only other guys to make any kind of contribution were Dedric Ward and Leon Johnson in limited roles with the team.
Draft Day, 1997. Two days earlier, the Jets, coming off of a disastrous 1-15 campaign, owned 6 picks in the upcoming draft, including #1 overall (they lost 1 pick to NE as compensation for signing HC Bill Parcells as HC & GM). Rather than stay at number 1, Bill decided to trade back to accumulate more picks in the draft.
So, during the week leading up to the draft, Parcells sent the #1 overall pick (Orlando Pace) to the Rams in exchange for a package including #6 overall. He traded back a second time, sending # 6 overall (Walter Jones) to Tampa and coming away with the 8th pick plus another mid-round pick. By the time the wheeling and dealing was done, the Jets had moved down 7 slots in the first round, but ended up with 11 picks:
1.8 James Farrior LB Virginia
2.31 Rick Terry DT North Carolina
3.80 Dedric Ward WR Northern Iowa
4.102 Terry Day DE Mississippi St.
4.104 Leon Johnson RB North Carolina
5.131 Lamont Burns G East Carolina
5.145 Raymond Austin DB Tennessee
6.164 Tim Scharf LB Northwestern
6.191 Chuck Clements QB Houston
7.202 Steve Rosga DB Colorado
7.229 Jason Ferguson DT Georgia
First and last picks turned into decent players: Farrior had his best seasons after leaving the Jets and signing with the Steelers as a free agent, and Jason Ferguson was a nice find in the 7th. The only other guys to make any kind of contribution were Dedric Ward and Leon Johnson in limited roles with the team.
