The New York Jets will host two of the NFL draft's elite prospects this week in Alabama wide receiver Amari Cooper and Stanford offensive tackle Andrus Peat.
The Jets hold the No. 6 overall pick in the draft and have needs all over the field. But in Cooper and Peat, strong candidates to fill two of them will see the Jets facility Thursday, according to Newsday's Kimberely A. Martin.
For the Jets to land Cooper, West Virginia wide receiver Kevin White would probably need to be the first receiver chosen in the draft. The Oakland Raiders are expected to address a dire need at the receiver position with the No. 4 overall pick, where it could have its choice between White and Cooper, who are regarded as the draft's top two at the position.
All six NFL Media analysts who have compiled mock drafts project Oakland to pick a receiver at No. 4, and four of the six believe it will be White, who ran a 4.35 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine last month. That would leave Cooper available to new Jets coach Todd Bowles, although the club could see fit to draft one of the draft's elite pass rushers in that spot and wait until later in the draft to select a receiver, considered the deepest position in the draft class.
As for Peat, NFL Media mock drafts project him anywhere from No. 9 to the New York Giants to No. 25 to the Carolina Panthers. Conceivably, the Jets could trade down from the No. 6 pick and select Peat at a cheaper price, and add one or more picks later in the draft.
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