New York Jets executives sounded thrilled on Friday after trading up five spots in the second round to nab speedy Georgia Tech wide receiver Stephen Hill.
"We feel real fortunate to get Stephen Hill in the second round," Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum said. "We had to move up a little bit to make sure that we got him, but we are really excited to get Stephen. He has a chance to come in, play right away and start right away."
Hill, who stood out at the 2012 NFL Scouting Combine in February, only had 28 receptions in 2011, the result of playing in a run-first college offense.
"We studied that quite a bit and obviously looked at (Denver Broncos WR) Demaryius Thomas who recently went through it as well. ... We brought (Hill) in here for a private workout. Sanjay Lal, our receivers coach and Brendan Prophett went down (to Georgia Tech) for another workout. We really feel he can run all the routes we'll ask in our offense. Again, he was a very good blocker in a run-oriented offense. He has very good football acumen and we feel the transition can happen really quickly," Tannenbaum said.
"We felt like this will make Santonio Holmes better since all of the coverage won't have to go his way. We are really excited that he was there for us."
New York drafted Demario Davis of Arkansas State with its third-round pick. Davis played outside linebacker in college, but he is expected to play inside with the Jets, backing up Bart Scott and David Harris.
"I want to clarify that Bart Scott will be here this year," Tannenbaum said. "Demario brings a skill set. He can run, he can hit and get sacks."
After drafting defensive end Quinton Coples in the first round, then Hill and Davis on Friday, Tannenbaum was in a jovial mood.
"I want to go out on a limb here and make a bold prediction. Tomorrow, in the fourth round, we are going to aggressively go after an athletic, back-up, left-handed quarterback," he told reporters. He was joking, we think.
