NFL

Draft expert: Jets could take multiple wideouts

It’s no secret wide receiver is the No. 1 position of need for the Jets. NFL Network analyst Mike Mayock thinks they need so much help at the position that they could use multiple picks in May’s NFL Draft to address the holes.

The Jets have the 18th pick in the first round. Top wide receiver Sammy Watkins from Clemson is expected to be gone at that point, but Mayock thinks the Jets will have some good options left at that spot, name-dropping USC’s Marqise Lee, Texas A&M’s Mike Evans and Florida State’s Kelvin Benjamin.

“I wouldn’t be surprised at all, if the Jets pick multiple wide receivers this year,” Mayock said in a conference call with reporters Tuesday. “You’re sitting there at 18, I’ve said earlier I think any one of three receivers sitting there. Marquise Lee who is a different guy that fits in that slot, outside and helps in the return game, versus the two big-bodied guys – Evans and Benjamin.

“I think all three of them are talented enough to work with that group. (Jeremy) Kerley’s already a slot, [Santonio] Holmes is at the end of his career, Stephen Hill’s an outside guy. I just think you pick less about X’s and O’s … my perspective would be you can’t go wrong with Marquise Lee or Mike Evans.”

The Jets’ top offseason priority has to be finding some people for quarterback Geno Smith to throw to. Smith struggled at times in his rookie season, but he had very little firepower around him. The Jets are expected to release Holmes in the coming weeks. Hill’s season was cut short for the second straight year by knee problems. Kerley and David Nelson are the team’s only reliable receivers, but both are better suited for complementary roles.