(
)
John Idzik has been pointing to this day since taking the job as Jets general manager nearly 100 days ago.
Idzik was officially hired to replace Mike Tannenbaum on Friday, Jan. 18. Three days later, he was on a plane bound for Mobile, Ala., to watch Senior Bowl practice and begin evaluating players he might select in the NFL Draft, which begins tonight.
“The draft will be very important to us,” Idzik said at his introductory press conference. “That will be a lifeline for us, year-in and year-out.”
This Sunday marks the 100th day Idzik has been on the job. Most of that time has been spent tearing down the Jets’ roster from last year’s 6-10 team and fixing the salary-cap situation. All of that culminated this week with the trade of star cornerback Darrelle Revis to Tampa Bay.
Now, the rebuilding begins.
Sure, the Jets added a few free agents in the last six weeks, but none of them is seen as a long-term Jet. With the ninth and 13th picks in the first round tonight, Jets fans will begin to see what Idzik’s vision is for the future of this team.
So, which direction will he go? No one seems to know.
Idzik has proven to be a very good poker player during his time on the job. He’s hard to read, even for people within the Jets organization. A source said this week Idzik has been a “one-man show” and has not told many people what he is planning.
He could go a number of ways with the picks tonight and throughout the next three days. The Jets’ list of needs basically sounds like a depth chart: QB, WR, TE, G, T, RB, OLB, CB, S.
“They have as many needs as any team in the National Football League, so many question marks, so many areas they could go,” ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. said.
Kiper said the Jets have the worst team in the NFL on paper. Make no mistake, this year’s draft is not about finding a few complementary pieces, it is about finding building blocks for the next decade.
With that in mind, it makes a lot of sense for the Jets to trade one of the top two picks to a team looking to move up in Round 1 and acquire more picks. The Jets, league sources said, have called around to let it be known they are open to moving, but finding a trade partner will be dictated by how the picks before the Jets fall.
If the Jets hold on to both picks, the positions they are expected to target are: outside linebacker, guard, tight end or wide receiver. They could surprise everyone and take a quarterback, but it seems unlikely because of the uncertainty surrounding this year’s QB class.
The Jets have not had a strong pass rusher since John Abraham left in 2006. LSU’s Barkevious Mingo and Georgia’s Jarvis Jones could fill that need. Both starting guards from last year are gone, leaving the possibility they could take Alabama’s Chance Warmack or North Carolina’s Jonathan Cooper.
NFL Network analyst Mike Mayock said yesterday he believes the Jets could take 5-foot-8 wide receiver Tavon Austin out of West Virginia, but if they are frightened off by his size, Notre Dame tight end Tyler Eifert (6-6, 250) makes a lot of sense.
“I think Eifert — his game, size and what he does fits today’s NFL to a T,” Mayock said. “He is a vertical tight end that can catch the football, can get by as a blocker.
“If you’re worried about the wide receiver class, and the way I’m looking at it, you need Sanchez to be more productive and you don’t like the guys on the edge, I plug Eifert in the middle.”
Idzik began to write his legacy as Jets GM on Sunday when he sent Revis packing. Tonight, he adds another chapter. The Jets can’t afford for it to be a dud.
brian.costello@nypost.com