The Jets own the 16th selection in Thursday’s NFL Draft, and there is no shortage of players the team could select, nor is there a shortage of players who would “love” to play for coach Rex Ryan next season.
At the EA Sports NCAA Football ’13 draft party at Lavo on Tuesday night, The Post caught up with several prospects who could be on the board when the Jets select at No. 16, including Alabama’s Mark Barron and Courtney Upshaw, Notre Dame’s Michael Floyd and Memphis’ Dontari Poe.
The Jets figure to be in the mix for all of these players, looking to fill holes on defense, particularly in the secondary, a place where Barron could step in and play immediately in Ryan’s defense.
“If I go to the Jets, I’m going to come in and do the best I can,” Barron said. “Whether I’m asked to blitz or whatever, I’ll do it and be good at it. I love the blitz, if that’s the case and that’s what [Ryan] will have me doing, I’ll love it.”
Barron would join a secondary that features one of the NFL’s best defenders, Darrelle Revis. With offenses planning around the All-Pro corner, Barron, a playmaker in his own right, could fit in nicely at safety.
“[Darrelle Revis] has a tremendous impact on the entire defense,” Barron said. “Just like [Revis] is viewed as the best player, I want to establish myself as the best player. It’ll be good to have someone out there like that to take the pressure off.”
Upshaw, who was on the same defense as Barron and played linebacker at Alabama, is another player the Jets could add as a pass rusher. Upshaw is just as enthusiastic about the Jets as they are about him.
“It means a lot to know that for one team, if any, their focal point is on me,” Upshaw said. “The way [the Jets] get out there on defense, the way Rex runs his defense, I’d love to play for him. When Rex comes out there and gives his famous speech saying ‘We’re going to win the championship,’ I love it.”
Upshaw, listed at 6 feet, 1 inches, said he doesn’t believe the critics when it comes to his size and will thrive on offenses that may not game plan specifically for him.
“[I compare myself] to Lamar Woodley, him being a so-called ‘shorter player,’ I hear that knock on me every day, being a shorter player but he gets after it, he’s relentless,” Upshaw said of the Steelers linebacker. “I’m sure that if [opposing offenses] don’t account for me then they will really be sleeping on me because I feel I can come in and produce in the game. I’m positive [the Jets] are going to get a good player.”
If the Jets opt to pass on Barron and Upshaw, they could still select a defensive player. Memphis defensive tackle Poe turned heads by running a 4.98 40-yard dash and bench pressing 225 pounds a combine-high 44 times. Poe has recently fallen down draft boards because he did not play in a BCS conference and has been labeled as a “workout warrior.”
“I’ve done things like [the combine performance] before so it wasn’t a shock to me,” Poe said. “It was just something that the world didn’t see and it was showcasing that.”
For a 6 foot, 4 inch, 348-pound defensive tackle, Poe did not express much anger about the scouts who are discrediting his pedigree and phenomenal workouts leading up to the draft.
“To be honest, there’s not too much that I want to say, for me to prove myself it will be when I get drafted and when I start playing on the field, that’s what I’m most anxious about,” Poe said. “Whenever I’m on the field pretty much I’m in a happy place in my life.”
Poe compared himself to one of Ryan’s former players with the Ravens and said he admires Ryan’s defensive schemes.
“I like the way Haloti Ngata plays, he’s just a freakish athlete, he kind of does things that are not expected of him, I like the way he plays a lot,” Poe said. “[Ryan] does a lot of things with his defense that I like, he mixes it up.”
The Jets could leave their defensive needs to the later rounds. If Notre Dame receiver Floyd is available when New York is on the clock, the team could bring in another offensive weapon for Mark Sanchez and Tim Tebow.
Floyd said his style fits in perfectly with the Jets mentality.
“[The Jets] are like the rough and tough kind of guys, the receivers, and they establish their whole game with that mentality, being a downhill kind of team, roughing opponents up,” Floyd said. “I think I can fit well there because I’m that kind of guy who can block, catch balls and do everything.”
Floyd did not show any concern over a potential two-quarterback system with Sanchez and Tebow, and views the unique scheme as a potential advantage.
“I think it’s just another guy that the defense has to worry about,” Floyd said. “That leaves guys in one-on-one coverage and a little bit more wide open than if one of them wasn’t in the game.”
Floyd would also have an advantage over many of the other potential Jets targets in this draft because of his experience in dealing with being in the national spotlight at South Bend.
“Playing at Notre Dame will help me a lot, knowing that I have experience already with people always looking at you and what you do, what you say,” Floyd said. “I think I’ll be able to handle [the media] pretty well.”