The Jets had one of the final picks of Day 2 of the NFL Draft, and used the No. 101 overall selection in Round 3 to take Ohio State tight end Jeremy Ruckert.
The selection was announced by Jersey City’s own Shaheen Holloway, who was recently named head coach at Seton Hall after leading St.
Peter’s to the Elite 8.
A local kid from Lindenhurst, N.Y., Ruckert was the 2017 New York State Gatorade Player of the Year and a USA Today first-team High School All-American, and was the top tight end prospect in the country in the Class of 2017.
Ruckert was an Honorable Mention All-Big 10 selection in 2021 (his second straight such selection) after notching 26 receptions for 309 yards and three touchdowns in an explosive Buckeyes offense.
For his career, Ruckert 54 receptions for 615 yards and 12 touchdowns – a latter total second only to Jake Stoneburner (13) on OSU’s all-time list for tight ends – and was a three-time Academic All-Big Ten selection.
Ruckert’s NFL.com scouting report gave him an overall grade of 6.24 (will eventually be an average starter), and said that he “should be able to find a home as an in-line worker” as he “blocks with good aggression” and “is not as explosive in his route-running as his testing might indicate but will catch what is thrown his way even though he might never be much of a volume target.”
The report tabbed him as having “TE2 potential,” and he joins a Jets team that signed both Tyler Conklin and C.J. Uzomah in free agency this season.
He joins RB Breece Hall, selected with the No. 36 overall pick, as Gang Green’s only selections on Day 2 after the team made three picks in the first round. The Jets enter Day 3 with just two selections, Nos. 111 and 117 in the fourth-round, after making deals to move up to get that third first-rounder and move up two spots to get Hall on Day 2.
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