Jets fill position of need with Arian Smith pick but may have reached to do it

The Jets had a need for speed, and they may have reached to fill it.

New Jets general manager Darren Mougey selected Georgia wide receiver Arian Smith in the fourth round on Saturday.

Smith is a speedster that can take the top off of defenses.

He ran the 40-yard dash in 4.36 seconds at the scouting combine.

But Smith had 10 drops and 48 receptions last season. He was projected as a potential seventh-round pick by some draft analysts.

Smith also has a long medical history with three surgeries in college and a list of injuries including a broken fibula, torn meniscus, fractured wrist and high-ankle sprain.

The Jets see a player that can add a dimension to their offense that they don’t have enough of: speed.

“Elite speed. He has an explosive element,” Mougey said. “When you have a piece like that on offense, it allows you to do more. Whether you’re taking the top off or you’re taking shots or you’re getting him on speed sweeps, quick smokes, just elite speed.”

Georgia receiver Arian Smith, who was drafted by the Jets, catches a pass during the NFL Combine. Getty Images

Both Mougey and coach Aaron Glenn acknowledged he needs to work on his hands after his drop issues at Georgia.

“The one thing is that this player is very self-aware,” Glenn said. “It starts there. He knows he has to get better at that. I’ve lived through this with Jameson Williams. When he came into the league, everybody talked about his drops. He worked on it tirelessly every day in practice and I see this player doing the same thing. If you’re self-aware and understand that you have an issue, you know you can get better, that’s the start. I know this player is going to get better at that.”

The belief was the Jets might take a quarterback at some point in this draft, but they ended up not selecting one.

Mougey said they could sign an undrafted free agent quarterback.

“We talked about a lot of the quarterbacks going into this draft and throughout the process,” Mougey said. “We’ll see after the draft if we address that with these undrafted free agents.”

The Jets will be signing Missouri quarterback Brady Cook, who went undrafted. Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

They are signing Missouri QB Brady Cook, who went undrafted.

Jordan Travis, a fifth-round pick a year ago, remains a mystery.

Travis sat out last season recovering from a gruesome leg injury he suffered in college in 2023.

Mougey refused to give any update on Travis’ current status.

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“I won’t speak on any of the players medical publicly,” Mougey said.

Defensive tackle was another spot the Jets did not address in this draft.

Mougey said they believe in the players they signed in free agency — Jay Tufele, Derrick Nnadi and Byron Cowart — to fill roles next to Quinnen Williams.

“We feel good about the group,” Mougey said. “The guys that are in that room, a lot of those guys have played — Jay, Nnadi, Cowart. Those guys have played in the NFL. They know how to play the game.”

The Jets took four players from the SEC and three players from the ACC. … The Jets are signing Missouri QB Brady Cook, who went undrafted.