Jets Draft CB Kyle Wilson with Pick 29

With the 29th pick in the 2010 NFL Draft, the New York Jets select ... Kyle Wilson, cornerback, Boise State.

As a defensive-minded coach, Rex Ryan has a motto: You can never have too many corners. With that thought in mind, the Jets selected Wilson with their first-round pick.

Wilson was projected as a top-15 talent on many draftboards, but he slipped to the bottom of the round -- and the Jets gladly broke his fall.

"In this case, the board and the need aligned," general manager Mike Tannenbaum said.

The Jets took an unusual approach to the first round too. For a change, they didn't do anything. They just waited ... and waited ... until Boise State's Kyle Wilson, whom they rated as the most physically skilled cornerback, fell to them Thursday night with the 29th pick.

Sometimes you get lucky. And sometimes you benefit from another team's indecision. If it weren't for a heated debate in the Browns' war room -- yes, the Browns -- things might have turned out differently for the Jets and Wilson.

Picking seventh overall, the Browns narrowed their choice to two cornerbacks, Wilson and Florida's Joe Haden. It apparently was a tough call because, according to a league source, the discussion became rather intense. Why is it that former Jets coach Eric Mangini, who gifted his former team the pick last year that brought Mark Sanchez to New York, always winds up playing a role in the Jets' draft?

Anyway, the Browns chose Haden. At that moment, in the Jets' draft room, Rex Ryan began to hope.

"We were looking at that board and I just said, 'Hang in there, hang in there,'" Ryan said. "And that's exactly what happened."

Wilson, from Piscataway, N.J., is an aggressive cornerback, regarded as an excellent team leader. He can be too aggressive at times, but he had four interceptions last season. With Darrelle Revis and Antonio Cromartie on the team, Ryan, wasting no time, named Wilson the starting nickel back. He's also a terrific punt returner and, unless something crazy happens, he'll wrest that job from Jim Leonhard. But that's just a bonus; Wilson's real value is at cornerback. 

He's also an outstanding punt returner. That, too, fills a need for the Jets.

Wilson had 11 interceptions at Boise State and returned three punts for scores during his career. He became a starter in the second half of his freshman season and helped lead Boise State to a Fiesta Bowl victory over TCU to cap his college career.

"To be honest, I feel right at home," Wilson said. "I couldn't have dreamt it any better. It's pretty surreal right now."

Fantastic pick by the Jets. I give it an A.

I love this pick because cornerbacks are like catchers in baseball, you can never have enough of them. Wilson is a fantastic cornerback that is great in man-to-man or zone coverage and many had him rated ahead of Joe Haden on their draft boards.

The nickel back is a very important position in Coach Ryan's scheme and Wilson is the perfect guy to fit that role. Last year in the AFC Championship game, Peyton Manning absolutely torched the Jets cornerbacks -- Dwight Lowery, Lito Sheppard, and Drew Coleman.

"Clearly," Ryan said, "that was an issue."

Not anymore.