TE FILLS NEED
THE JETS kicked off the third and final day of the NFL Draft Saturday afternoon by selecting Miami (FL) tight end Chris Herndon with the No. 107 overall pick in the fourth round.
With Austin Seferian-Jenkins leaving in free agency, the Jets had a need at tight end, and they added a weapon for Josh McCown — or Sam Darnold — in Herndon, a big target at 6-foot-4, 253 pounds.
Herndon caught 40 passes for 477 yards and four touchdowns in 11 games for the Hurricanes last year before suffering a torn MCL in the regular-season finale against Pitt on Nov. 24. The injury prevented Herndon from participating in the Combine or any other predraft events, which he believes led to him falling into the fourth round.
He is happy with his progress in the rehab thus far.
“I’ve been doing full workouts,” Herndon said in a conference call. “I’ve been jumping, I’ve been cutting. I feel like I’m good to go, but it all depends on what the coaches and training staff think I can do.”
General manager Mike Maccagnan tentatively expects Herndon to be fully ready in 4-6 weeks.
Herndon considers himself a “great blocker.” He looked up to Antonio Gates and Tony Gonzalez, two of the best all-around tight ends the game has ever seen, as a youngster. Maccagnan called Herndon a “dual guy” who can affect the game both as a receiver and blocker.
“I put a lot of effort into it,” Herndon said of his blocking. “I’m not scared to get down there and put my hand in the dirt.”
The Jets also drafted a tight end last year when they selected Jordan Leggett in the fifth round. The Clemson product missed all of last season with a knee injury that eventually required surgery. Leggett will now have competition.
“He’s probably a little more athletic than some of the tight ends we have,” Maccagnan said of Herndon. “And probably a better pass receiver.”
Maccagnan got busy later Saturday, making three trades, two with the Vikings and one PHOTO BY AP with the Colts.
Both deals with Minnesota were pick swaps. The Jets then traded their seventh-round pick (No. 235) to Indianapolis for 26-year-old defensive end Henry Anderson, who totaled three sacks in three seasons for the Colts.
Anderson (6-6/287) suffered a severe throat injury this past season. He will arrive in Florham Park and undergo a physical. If he fails the physical, Anderson will go back to the Colts, and the Jets will receive a 2019 seventh-round pick as compensation.
“We thought, for the value, it was a good opportunity to maybe add a guy, and we’ll see how he plays for us,” Maccagnan said of Anderson. “Potentially young enough to invest in going forward.”
With back-to-back-picks in the sixth round — one of which was acquired in the second of the two draft-day trades with the Vikings — the Jets selected Tulane cornerback Parry Nickerson with No. 179 and UConn defensive lineman Foley Fatukasi with No. 180.
Nickerson (5-10/182) ran a 4.32 40-yard dash at the Combine, tied for the fastest time of any player. He played outside for the Green Wave, but Todd Bowles believes he’s capable of moving into the slot if necessary. Nickerson, who underwent multiple left knee surgeries in college, hauled in 10 interceptions in his final two seasons at Tulane.
“I’m a consistent, lockdown playmaker,” Nickerson said.
Fatukasi is 6-4, 318 and was born and raised in Far Rockaway, Queens.
“To be here back home,” Fatukasi said, “it’s a surreal feeling.”
Finally, with pick No. 204 in the sixth round, which they also received from Minnesota, the Jets drafted running back Trenton Cannon out of Virginia State, a historically black university that plays in the Division II CIAA.
Cannon is 5-11, 185 and ran a 4.41 40-yard dash at the Combine. He rushed for 1,638 yards and 17 touchdowns last season and also ran back two kickoffs for TDs.
The Jets targeted Cannon as a punt and kick return specialist. They waived 2017 punt and kick returner JoJo Natson on Friday. Special teams coach Brant Boyer worked out Cannon personally during the predraft process.
“Our focus is to see how he impacts us as a returner,” Maccagnan said. “That’s the part where we’re very interested to see how he does.”