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The Jets raised some questions as they searched for answers on the final day of the NFL Draft.
They took players in the fourth and fifth rounds who could lead to interesting roster decisions. With their fourth-round pick (No. 126 overall), the Jets selected Louisville running back Bilal Powell, adding to an already crowded backfield. One round later, they picked TCU’s Jeremy Kerley, a kick return specialist.
The addition of Powell to LaDainian Tomlinson, Shonn Greene and Joe McKnight could mean the Jets are thinking of parting ways with Tomlinson, who has one year left on his contract. The selection of Kerley might be a sign the Jets do not believe they will be able to re-sign Brad Smith, an unsigned free agent.
Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum and head coach Rex Ryan danced around personnel questions, saying they were limited in what they could say because of the uncertain labor situation.
“You never really know what’s going to happen, what our roster is going to look like in the fall,” Ryan said. “To us, when Mike and I talk about putting this team together, give us the best players. Who are the best players? Those are the ones you keep.”
Tannenbaum said Powell was the best available player on the Jets’ draft board and the Jets like to have depth at running back in Ryan’s “Ground and Pound” attack. Both men said they felt they took a strength of the Jets and made it stronger.
“We’re going to give [Powell] an opportunity,” Ryan said. “Shonn Greene to me, wow, I think he’s ready to be that bell cow and all that, but not at the expense of our football team. We’ve got to have fresh backs as the year goes on. One of the reasons we do so well in December and January is because we have fresh running backs.”
The Jets used all of their picks of Day 3 of the draft on offense after using their picks on Thursday and Friday on defensive linemen.
With the first of their two picks in the seventh round, the Jets took Alabama quarterback Greg McElroy at No. 208 overall. With their final pick at No. 227 overall, they selected Colorado wide receiver Scotty McKnight, a close friend of Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez.
Powell has an interesting back story, reminiscent of the movie “The Blind Side.” Growing up in Lakeland, Fla., Powell was a member of a gang and was stabbed after his sophomore year of high school. He ignored academics and was on a bad path.
He turned his life around after moving in with one of his assistant football coaches and embracing Christianity.
“I think he realized at one point in his life between his sophomore and junior year that if I don’t change my life a little bit I’m not going to live much longer,” said Keith Demyer, his head coach at Lake Gibson High School.
At Louisville, Powell had a limited role during his first three years. He was out of shape and began to lose some of his speed. Charlie Strong took over as the coach before Powell’s senior season, and the running back thrived in the coach’s system.
In Rex Ryan’s three drafts as head coach, the Jets have taken four running backs.
In the fifth round, the Jets traded with the Eagles to move up eight picks to No. 153, where they took Kerley, a versatile receiver and return man. They swapped fifth-rounders with Philadelphia, and sent them their sixth-round pick for the Eagles’ seventh-rounder.
The Jets end the draft without having added any depth at defensive back or offensive line. When free agency begins, those positions are likely targets.
“The offseason did not end tonight,” Tannenbaum said. “We’re going to wait for the next set of rules and we’ll be prepared.”
brian.costello@nypost.com