The first round of the NFL Draft seemed to suggest Rex Ryan still wields enormous power in the Jets organization after the team used its first two picks on defense. Yet in speaking to reporters for the first time since the end of the team’s dreadful season, owner Woody Johnson didn’t mention Ryan’s name once despite being asked about the lightning rod of a coach.
“It’s the way the board lines up,” he said Thursday at the Hoboken Boys & Girls Club to announce plans for the Super Bowl XLVII Legacy Project. “They spent months now, as Terry Bradway told everybody, 5,000 reports, 300 schools, 45,000 hours, plus, plus, plus effort to line up the board. And basically, we go by the board. Whatever it says, we go. We went for the players first, quality of player and rate on that player No. 1, and that’s the way we do it.”
Johnson praised the work done by new general manager John Idzik in tabbing Alabama cornerback Dee Milliner with the ninth overall pick and Missouri defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson at No. 13. Thursday night, the Jets selected West Virginia quarterback Geno Smith in the second round with the 39th pick.
Johnson said the organization was thrilled it was able to select Milliner, a 5-foot-11 shutdown All-American corner who will be linked to Darrelle Revis, the star defensive back the Jets traded to Tampa Bay for a pair of draft picks.
“The way I would look at it, he was a top guy on our board and we’re happy to have him,” Johnson said. “He’s a great football player. He’s been at a great program in Alabama and coaches and the scouts loved him. We never thought we’d get him, so we’re really happy to have him.
“He’s at the complex now. I’m about to see him for the first time. He’s a football player. He loves it, he’s dedicated and that’s half the battle.”
Johnson evaded questions about Revis, speaking broadly about moves the team has to make to compete.
“Every decision has been well thought out,” he said. “I’m really confident in John and his team that they’re looking at every decision from all perspectives and angles in the attempt really to make the team better.”
When asked about quarterback Tim Tebow’s status, Johnson wouldn’t give a direct answer either.
“We haven’t made that determination now,” he said.
Johnson was joined by Jets players Vladimir Ducasse and Hayden Smith, Giants owners John Mara and Jonathan Tisch, Giants players Steve Weatherford and Mark Herzlich, Jets legend Curtis Martin, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie to announce a $2 million grant to raise money for areas in need in New York and New Jersey. The NFL and NY/NJ Host Committee donated $1 million each to the Legacy Project.
zbraziller@nypost.com