Looking back at some of the biggest draft steals in NY Jets history

By Ian Roddy — 4/14/2024

It’s funny how time slows down in the weeks leading up to the NFL draft as anticipation grows around the football world.

Yesterday, we at Jets X-Factor looked back at some of the biggest draft busts in New York Jets history, but today, we’re taking more of an optimistic look back in time — the biggest draft steals in Jets history!

Keep in mind that these are only draft steals, so we aren’t including undrafted free agents, otherwise you’d see names like Wayne Chrebet and Bryce Huff.

Joe Klecko, DE, 6th round (144th overall) in 1977

Finally a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Klecko was a dominant force off the edge for the Jets during their “New York Sack Exchange” era.

Something that often gets lost in Klecko’s incredible production is the fact that he fell all the way to the sixth round of the 1977 draft. He went on to terrorize the league for the rest of his career, though, earning four Pro Bowl nods, making first-team All-Pro twice, and finishing runner-up to Lawrence Taylor for the AP Defensive Player of the Year award in 1981 after getting 20.5 sacks.

Jason Fabini, OT, 4th round (111th overall) in 1998

Fabini might not have been an era-defining force like Klecko, but the 1998 fourth-round pick was an immediate starter for the Jets and served as a fixture on their offensive line for eight seasons, starting in every game he played. For a franchise that’s long been starving for quality O-line play, the thought of getting a high-end, durable, eight-year starter in the fourth round sounds like the stuff of fairytales

Laveranues Coles, WR, 3rd round (78th overall) in 2000

The Jets took a chance on Coles despite league-wide concerns surrounding his arrest and suspension from the Florida State football team in-season, just over six months before the draft. Their gamble paid off — Coles turned out to be an exemplary player, and not to mention highly productive for a third-round pick.

Whether it was Chad Pennington, Vinny Testaverde or Brett Favre under center, Coles was always a favorite target of whoever was throwing him the rock. In eight seasons for the Jets, he managed to break the team’s top-five receiving list in yards, receptions and touchdowns, and he still sits at second in targets, behind only Jets X-Factor’s own Wayne Chrebet.

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