As they did a few weeks ago, our friends at SB Nation have selected Notre Dame tight end Kyle Rudolph for the New York Jets with the 30th selection of the first round in the most recent SB Nation Mock Draft.

The rationale comes from the ‘If you can’t beat ‘em — at least in the regular season — join ’em’ school of thought:

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: some smart team is going to take Rudolph in the first round, pair him with a good tight end, and emulate the Patriots’ two-TE offense. Who better than their division rival Jets, who might lose Braylon Edwards at wide receiver this off-season?

If the Jets choose not to go defense with this pick, which seems to be the majority opinion of what they will do when the 2011 NFL Draft happens in April, Rudolph seems like a solid choice.

The Jets do need more weapons for young quarterback Mark Sanchez, especially if they lose Edward, Holmes or both. And New England did show how well a two-tight end short passing attack can function.

Your thoughts, Jets fans?