The 2014 NFL draft went down as a pivotal one in New York Jets history – and not for positive reasons.
Dubbed the “Idzik 12” for its whopping total of 12 players selected by second-year general manager John Idzik, the Jets’ 2014 draft class turned out to be a total dud. It laid the foundation for many years of ineptitude in the future.
The class is best known for the long list of no-names selected by Idzik later in the draft, but its ineptitude began in the first round. With the 18th overall pick, the Jets selected Louisville safety Calvin Pryor.
The “Louisville Slugger” laid some hard hits in his Jets tenure, but his overaggressive play style led to numerous missed tackles and coverage busts. Pryor lasted just three seasons with the Jets, playing 44 games (38 starts). After leaving New York, Pryor would play two games with the Jacksonville Jaguars. He did not appear in another NFL game after turning 26.
Pro Football Focus recently published a “2014 NFL Redraft,” and the Jets, of course, opted for a different direction with the 18th overall pick. In PFF’s re-draft, the Jets selected LSU wide receiver Jarvis Landry.
Landry was originally selected in the second round (63rd overall) by the Jets’ bitter rivals, the Miami Dolphins, for whom he played four seasons. In 48 games, Landry caught 400 passes for 4,038 yards and 22 touchdowns, earning three Pro Bowl trips.
The LSU product gave the Jets trouble in his heyday. In 10 career games against the Jets, Landry averaged 6.0 receptions for 74.5 yards, helping his teams to a 6-4 record.
The Jets could have used Landry’s help back in 2014, as they fielded a bare-bones receiving unit that year. Free agent pickup Eric Decker had a strong season, but Decker’s 962 receiving yards were more than double any other player on the team. Jeremy Kerley placed second on the team with 409 yards.
The lack of support at wide receiver made life difficult for second-year quarterback Geno Smith. After showing promise in his rookie year by leading the team to eight wins, Smith failed to improve in 2014, and the Jets finished 4-12.
For many years following the 2014 season, it seemed as if Smith was a subpar quarterback who was always destined to fail in New York, regardless of who the Jets surrounded him with. But after his recent resurgence with the Seahawks, one cannot help but wonder if Smith could have panned out in New York with a better supporting cast.
With a lack of young talent at wide receiver in the 2014 season, the Jets made big moves at the position in 2015, trading for veteran Brandon Marshall and drafting Ohio State’s Devin Smith in the second round. Marshall would deliver one of the best single-season performances in Jets history in 2015, but he quickly declined after that. Smith was a bust, catching just 10 passes in a Jets uniform.
As NFL fans and analysts, we love to grade draft picks immediately after they are announced, but the true impact of a draft pick cannot be felt until many years down the line. Once the dust finally settles, it is fascinating to look back and analyze the domino effect of each selection.