Updated, 2:47 p.m. ET
For their first selection today in the third and final day of the NFL Draft, the Jets stayed with their defensive theme in two of the previous three rounds and selected cornerback Juston Burris of North Carolina State in Round 4 with the 118th pick overall.
Burris (6'0", 212) joins the party at CB that is emceed by Darrelle Revis and has a large group of contenders for the other starting corner and slot position. The newest Jets DB already knew who would be with him in the DBs meeting room.
"You've got one of the best cornerbacks in the game in Darrelle," he said, "and to be able to learn under guys like him and Buster Skrine, Dexter McDougle, Dee Milliner and Marcus Williams, guys that have played this game and being some of the better corners, it's just a great opportunity."
"We're excited about bringing Juston into the organization," general manager Mike Maccagnan said this afternoon. "He's a good prospect who fits what we do in terms of style of play, and he also has a little bit of safety in his background early in his career, but we're going to start him out at corner."
Head coach Todd Bowles said Burris is versatile enough to move inside as well, which he did in certain packages for the Wolfpack. Said Bowles: "He's big, he's long, he's got long arms, great eyes and ball skills."
Burris after a redshirt freshman season played in all 51 games and started the last 41 and 43 in all through his redshirt senior season with the Wolfpack. He totaled six interceptions and 31 pass breakups in his career. At the NFL Combine he ran a 4.53-second 40 and his 19 reps in the benchpress were tied for third-most among all DBs.
The pick was announced to the draft crowd in Chicago by Bart Scott, Jets linebacker from 2009-12 and now a CBS analyst.
For the second time in three rounds a team traded with the team ahead of the Jets to make a pick. This time it was the L.A. Rams who jumped to 117 in a trade with the Bears to take WR Pharoh Cooper.
Burris is the 10th NCSU player drafted all-time by the Jets, following the selections of WR Jerricho Cotchery in 2004 and DB Andre Maddox in '05.
The Jets have drafted 118th only once before, when they took G Joe Wysocki out of Miami in 1975. But the Green & White have done well in the neighborhood, drafting RB-KR Leon Washington at 117 in 2006 and LB Troy Benson (1985) and RB Adrian Murrell (1993) at No. 120.
