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With the 18th pick in Pride Of Detroit's 2014 NFL mock draft, the New York Jets select Oregon State wide receiver Brandin Cooks. JWurm is serving as the Jets' general manager, and his reasoning for the pick is below.
The Jets need help on offense. A lot of help. Outside of Eric Decker, the Jets don't have much to work with at the receiver position. Stephen Hill is slated to start, and that's certainly not ideal. In 23 games, Hill has only caught 45 balls for 594 yards and 4 touchdowns. Not what you want from a No. 2 wideout.
They don't have much to work with at the corner position, either, after letting Antonio Cromartie go. With Justin Gilbert being the only corner off the board, and knowing Rex Ryan's love of drafting defensive players, it was tempting to go corner here, but I decided to work on the offense and go with a receiver. The choice came down to Marqise Lee, Brandin Cooks and Odell Beckham Jr.
I decided to go with Cooks. The Jets need a receiver who can stretch the field vertically, and Cooks can do that. He pulled in 128 receptions for 1,730 yards and 16 touchdowns last year at Oregon State. He should complement Decker nicely. Size is a bit of an issue at 5'10, but he reminds me of Tavon Austin with better hands and should give the Jets a bit of a deep threat on the offensive side.
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Check out the 2014 POD Community Mock Draft tracker for a look at all of the picks.