Two more wide receivers are set to visit the New York Jets next week as LSU's Odell Beckham Jr. and Oregon State's Brandin Cooks get a chance to sell their draft value to the NFL club that needs a first-round-caliber wide receiver perhaps more than any other.
Jets coach Rex Ryan has made little secret of the team's desire to upgrade at the receiver position, and the free-agency acquisitions of Eric Decker and Jacoby Ford have done little to quell speculation that the Jets will target a receiver with the No. 18 overall pick. Beckham and Cooks are projected as mid-to-late first-round talents who could be readily available to the Jets at No. 18. The club also has hosted Texas A&M receiver Mike Evans for a visit.
Their visit, along with that of Michigan State cornerback Darqueze Dennard, was confirmed via Twitter by New York Daily News beat writer Manish Mehta.
Beckham and Cooks enjoyed explosive junior seasons at the college level last year, with Cooks leading the entire NCAA in receiving yardage (1,730), and Beckham ranking 22nd with 1,152. If their big-play ability translates well to the NFL, either could greatly assist in the development of Jets second-year quarterback Geno Smith. NFL Media analysts Daniel Jeremiah and Charles Davis have projected the Jets to take Beckham at No. 18 in their most recent mock drafts, while analyst Bucky Brooks is predicting a different receiver for the club in Southern Cal's Marqise Lee.
Dennard, among the draft's top cornerbacks, would fill a need for the Jets, as well.
Just not the one so many expect them to fill.
*Follow Chase Goodbread on Twitter **@ChaseGoodbread.*
