CB Dwight Lowery
After remaining quiet in the second and third rounds, the Jets drafted San Jose State cornerback Dwight Lowery in the fourth.
Lowery (6'1", 185) started 25 games at San Jose State and his 13 interceptions rank fourth in school history. During his senior season, he became the team's punt returner and averaged 14.4 yards an attempt. He also collected four picks during the '07 campaign along with 44 tackles.
"When you watch him on tape, you see that he has some savvy," Mangini said of Lowery. "He disguises coverages, walking out and walking back. He makes some things look different than what he's really playing. He's got good ball skills, he's got good instincts. Those things that you see on tape, you're always looking for in that position."
"He is athletic and he has very good hands," said Jets director of college scouting Joey Clinkscales. "He is an instinctive player and I think his instincts have carried him a long way, so I think he'll come in and be able to compete."
It didn't take Lowery long to make an impact at San Jose State. He won a starting job at LCB and then went out and tied for the national lead with nine interceptions. He went on to become the first player in school history to be named to the American Football Coaches Association All-America squad in consecutive seasons.
"My whole college career I've had good ball skills," Lowery said. "I hope to bring that with me to the New York Jets."
Before arriving at SJSU, Lowery played free safety at Cabrillo College. In addition to setting the California Community College Football Conference record with 439 return yards on 13 interceptions, he scored on a blocked punt, a blocked field goal and a kickoff return. The Jets like the versatility he displayed on the collegiate level.
"He is a physical guy and he is a guy with size," Clinkscales said. "In the NFL, you have big guys playing corner and small guys playing safety, so it just depends on where the coaches see him."
If recent history is any indication, Lowery will be a prospect to keep your eye on. Leon Washington, the Jets' 2007 MVP, was a fourth-round pick out of Florida State in 2006; Kerry Rhodes, one of football's best young players, was selected in the fourth round out of Louisville in 2005, and Jerricho Cotchery, who has hauled in 82 receptions each of the past two seasons and whose 1,130 receiving yards paced the Jets last season, was a fourth-round addition out of N.C. State in 2004.
"I've actually never been to New York," Lowery said. "I look forward to seeing the place and playing for the Jets."
The Jets got their second day under way with a trade in the fourth round. In exchange for the No. 102 overall selection, the Green & White acquired one of the Packers' fourth-round selections, No. 113, and a fifth-round pick, No. 162 overall. The Jets, who originally acquired that same No. 113 pick from the New Orleans Saints in the Jonathan Vilma deal, sent it to Green Bay as part of the package to move up in the first round and draft Purdue TE Dustin Keller.
More to come ...
