POD Community Mock Draft: Pick No. 17

With the seventeenth pick of the 2009 Pride of Detroit Community Mock Draft, the New York Jets select Southern Cal quarterback Mark Sanchez.

Here is LestersRevenge's reasoning for the pick:

This pick is a no brainer. The Jets come into the season with three unproven QBs in Clemens, Ratliff and Ainge after the departure of the Brett Favre experiment. The team seems high on Clemens and Ratliff but that can be interpreted as "coach speak". I don't think Rex Ryan has seen enough film on either player to be that excited. The number two quarterback in this draft has fallen in their lap and the Jets will be thrilled to grab him. Wide receiver is a glaring need and HB would draw serious consideration here. While there could be a run on wide receivers at the tail end of the draft with possibly the Ravens, Dolphins and NY Giants all taking wide receivers, the Jets are fortunate to have a wide receiver need in a deep wide receiver draft. There will still be talent at wide receiver for the Jets in round two with the possibility of Kenny Britt or Derrick Williams. There is talk of adding a running back for depth but I don't think you draft depth in the first round. Thomas Jones had a great year last year and Leon Washington is a great change of pace back even though he is in a contract year. I think they address RB next year.

Defensively, the Jets need an inside linebacker to complement Harris and Suggs and James Laurinaitis could garner some attention. A good corner opposite Darrelle Revis could be an option as well and the Jets have a need at DE like every other team in the NFL. The Jets added two solid defensive players in Suggs and Jim Leonhard in the offseason to help solidify that defense so I think they look at offense in the first part of this draft.