With the 16th pick in the 2012 Cincy Jungle Mock Draft, Kenneth Taylor selected for the New York Jets, who earned the No. 16 overall pick by finishing the 2011 season with an 8-8 record.
With the No. 16 pick in the 2012 Cincy Jungle Mock Draft, the New York Jets select...
Courtney Upshaw, OLB, Alabama
The Jets have 2 desperate needs. One is a RT to replace Wayne Hunter and the other is some peace and quiet. We tried to work out a deal for Anthony Collins, but the Bengals wouldn't budge. Riley Rieff is off the board, so there isn't a RT prospect that really fits in at 16. On defense our top choice would have been Melvin Ingram, but he's gone. We were also looking at Malcolm Floyd & Mark Barron, but surprisingly enough they are both off the board as well. At the end of the day, we fell back to the guy we were looking at back in February.
Upshaw was considered a good fit for the Jets before the Senior Bowl. Coach Ryan has well-known fondness for Upshaw and his pass rushing abilities. He's a fast, athletic OLB who has terrorized top-tier offenses for 2 straight years. He's had 16.5 sacks, 32.5 tackles for loss, and 6 forced fumbles in the last two seasons at Alabama. His ability to put pressure on opposing quarterbacks, no matter the quality of o-line or the stage he's on, makes him a special player.At the Senior Bowl Upshaw stood out as a force to be reckoned with. He missed the combine due to knee tendonitis, which may have still been slowing him down at the Alabama pro day. He wasn't terribly impressive on the track, but on the field in high profile games he was a monster. His blend of speed and bullrushing power are exactly what we're looking for at OLB.
Courtney Upshaw Highlights:
Joe Goodberry's Instant Analysis:
Jets desperately need a pass rusher and they tap the Alabama pipeline in selecting Courtney Upshaw. Upshaw may never be a 10-sack guy, but he'll be great against the run, add physicality and always give maximum effort. Good pick and good value here.
Grade: B+
Value: -1
Draft Overview:
| # | Team | Picked By | Name/Positon of Pick |
| 1 | Indianapolis | Alex Neyer | Andrew Luck QB |
| 2 | Washington | David Farrelly | Robert Griffin III QB |
| 3 | Minnesota | Palewook | Matt Kalil OT |
| 4 | Cleveland | Jason Garrison | Justin Blackmon WR |
| 5 | Tampa Bay | Andrew Bernius | Morris Claiborne CB |
| 6 | St. Louis | Jim0ijk | Quinton Coples DE |
| 7 | Jacksonville | AK513 | Melvin Ingram DE |
| 8 | Miami | Dan Lockhart | Trent Richardson RB |
| 9 | Carolina | Jason Blanton | Luke Kuechly LB |
| 10 | Buffalo | Casey Penn | Michael Floyd WR |
| 11 | Kansas City | Kenneth Taylor | David DeCastro OG |
| 12 | Detroit (projected trade) | Andrew Perrotta | Stephon Gilmore CB |
| 13 | Arizona | Dan Wolford | Riley Reiff OT |
| 14 | Dallas | Joshua Foster | Michael Brockers DT |
| 15 | Philadelphia | Travis Parker | Mark Barron S |
| 16 | New York Jets | Kenneth Taylor | Courtney Upshaw OLB |
| 17 | Cincinnati (from Oakland) | Jason Garrison | |
| 18 | San Diego | Anthony Knox | |
| 19 | Chicago | Steve Whited | |
| 20 | Tennessee | Jeff Welch | |
| 21 | Cincinnati | Jason Garrison | |
| 22 | Cleveland (from Atlanta) | Jason Garrison | |
| 23 | Seattle (projected trade) | Jared Egner | |
| 24 | Pittsburgh | Jason Garrison | |
| 25 | Denver | Jared Morgan | |
| 26 | Houston | Brett Kollman | |
| 27 | New England (from New Orleans) | Anthony Knox | |
| 28 | Green Bay | Travis Castleman | |
| 29 | Baltimore | Jason Garrison | |
| 30 | San Francisco | Chris Brown | |
| 31 | New England | Anthony Knox | |
| 32 | New York Giants | Matt Leitner |