With their third-round pick in the 2011 NFL Draft (94th) overall the New York Jets addressed their need for a nose tackle by drafting mountainous Kenrick Ellis, a 6-foot-5, 346-pound defensive tackle from Hampton.
“We really feel that with him and the addition of Muhammad (Wilkerson), we have added youth and athleticism up front to a group we thought was good and now, hopefully, we have made that position better,” said Jets GM Mike Tannenbaum. “We thought that we were just a little short and a little concerned about the depth up front so both these players are going to help us.”
Ellis is one of those ‘high-risk, high-reward’ players who comes with character concerns.
Tannenbaum said the Jets are “comfortable” with Ellis.
“Based on all the information we have, we feel good about the player. We feel that it was appropriate to take him where we took him and we will move forward from there,” Tannenbaum said. “He is going to come in here with a clean slate and we are going to move forward together.”
In looking at what the Jets have done thus far, they had questions on the defensive line. It is obvious they targeted trying to address them.