Jets will save first-round pick for other positions than CB

Having traded for Antonio Cromartie from the San Diego Chargers, the New York Jets now have a powerful support to starting cornerback Darrelle Revis and save a first-round pick that could give them a choice in filling in other positions from next month’s draft.

“We thought corner was an absolute must,” Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum said on ESPN New York. “We felt that we had to improve that position. So Cromartie was the key to the offseason because, looking at our options, it was the Cromartie trade -– or it was the 29th pick in the draft. To get that out of the way, we really enhanced our draft because now we can say that whatever happens in the draft, we can take whoever we want. Move up, move down we can get what we want. Without Cromartie, at the 29th pick in the draft, we would have taken a corner.”

Previously, Tannenbaum believed his only other option to upgrade the cornerback position was to use the team’s first-round pick, 29th overall. Now he could use it to target wide receivers who can help quarterback Mark Sanchez improve the team’s passing game. That could be a good news to the Minnesota Vikings who hold the No. 30 pick and need help in the secondary. It’s been expected that Rutgers CB Devin McCourty will put on the purple NFL jersey to start his NFL career.