It is officially three weeks to go until the NFL Draft kicks off in Kansas City! Whilst the Jets don’t have the two top-10 picks they had one year ago, excitement is still high as the team looks to the college ranks for some new additions to the roster.

In 2022, of course, the team selected Sauce Gardner and Garrett Wilson with their first two picks and the results could not have turned out much better. Two Rookie of the Year awards, numerous franchise rookie records shattered and a foundation for the future of both the offence and defence seemingly installed.

That pair of draft picks may end up going down in history as two of the best that the green and white ever made, but before we jump the gun on the two young stars,

5 – Darrelle Revis – Cornerback – 2007 NFL Draft – #14 Overall

Darrelle Revis will get his well deserved moment in the sunshine in Canton, Ohio later this year when he is officially inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. This comes on the heels of his induction into the Jets Ring of Honor, and he is widely regarded as one of the greatest cornerbacks ever to play the game.

The Jets actually traded up to get Revis in 2007, moving from 25th overall to 14th in order to snap up their lockdown corner. They would trade up again in the second round, to select linebacker David Harris, and the pair would go on to form the backbone of the elite Jets defence that took them to back-to-back Championship games in 2009 and 2010.

4 – Mark Gastineau – Defensive End – 1979 NFL Draft – #41 Overall

A member of the famed New York Sack Exchange and one of the most iconic New York Jets of all time, Mark Gastineau played for 10 seasons with the Jets and set an NFL record in 1984 with 22 sacks – a record that would stand for 17 years.

Gastineau wasn’t even the first Jets defensive line selection in the 1979 draft. Their first round pick was used on Marty Lyons, who would join Gastineau in forming the Jets fabled defensive front. It was a franchise-altering draft for the Jets, but the jewel was undoubtedly Gastineau who is one of the best second round draft picks in NFL history.

3 – Wesley Walker – Wide Receiver – 1977 NFL Draft – #33 Overall

One of the best receivers in franchise history, Walker spent his entire 12-year career with the New York Jets, racking up 8,306 yards and 71 touchdowns – both second in team history behind the legendary Don Maynard.

A second round selection at number 33 overall, Walker represented incredible value given the impact he had on the team over the course of his career. But he wasn’t the only selection from the 1977 draft to leave a lasting legacy with the Jets…

2 – Joe Klecko – Defensive End – 1977 NFL Draft – #144 Overall

Joe Klecko will enter the Pro Football Hall of Fame alongside Darrelle Revis later this year, 36 years after his final game as a New York Jet. Another member of the New York Sack Exchange, Klecko didn’t receive the acclaim that Gastineau did but had the longevity and the consistency to become an all-time Jets great.

The fact that he was drafted in the sixth round, at 144th overall, just adds to his extraordinary legacy. An inner-circle Jets legend selected at such a late point in the draft makes him an undoubted top pick in Jets drafting history.

1 – Joe Namath – Quarterback – 1965 AFL Draft – #1 Overall

We are cheating slightly here, as Namath was selected in the AFL Draft, which took place at the same time as the NFL Draft, a few years before the AFL-NFL merger. But few players can be said to have had such a profound impact on the Jets or indeed the league as a whole.

Selected as the top pick in 1965, Namath took just two years to become the first professional quarterback to throw for 4,000 yards – a record that stood for 12 years – and he famously guided the Jets to their first, and to date only, Super Bowl title, upsetting the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III. Holder of numerous franchise records, Namath more than lived up to this billing as the number one selection.

Get in touch with us on Twitter to let us know what you make of the list and which players you most fondly remember being drafted by the Jets during your time as a fan. We will be checking in on social media each Monday with our prospect profiles and publishing new draft articles every Wednesday too – stay tuned!