The New York Jets need to add offensive help in this draft, and two highly touted pass-catchers visited with team officials on Thursday.
Florida State wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin and Washington tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins were meeting with the team, the New York Daily News' Manish Mehta reported via Twitter.
Benjamin (6-foot-5, 240 pounds) is considered one of the top six or seven wide receivers, while Seferian-Jenkins (6-foot-5½, 262 pounds) is one of the top three tight ends.
The Jets signed wide receiver Eric Decker in free agency and he immediately became the best receiver on their roster; the likely starting tight end is Jeff Cumberland. So, yes, the Jets -- who own the 18th pick in the first round -- need a receiver (or two) and a tight end.
Still, neither Benjamin nor Seferian-Jenkins is worth the No. 18 selection. Benjamin appears to be a prospect who should go late in the first round, while Seferian-Jenkins once was seen a fringe first-rounder who now likely fits best in the second round.
In a recent teleconference, NFL Media analyst Daniel Jeremiah said Benjamin was "a little bit of a polarizing player." While Benjamin lacked consistency and focus for much of his career at FSU, he became a huge weapon -- literally and figuratively -- in the second half of the 2013 season. He is a matchup nightmare because of his size and has embraced a "Baby Megatron" moniker. Whether he can become a legitimate go-to receiver is still a question, but his red-zone potential is a big selling point.
In addition, there is some thought that Benjamin could function as a flex tight end.
"Some teams look at him and say, 'He looks like a tight end; why don't we just play him as a flexed-out tight end?'" Jeremiah said Wednesday on NFL Network's "Path to the Draft."
Seferian-Jenkins missed the workouts at February's NFL Scouting Combine after a medical test showed he had a stress fracture in his foot; he had surgery and also missed the Huskies' April 2 pro day. He said earlier this month that he expected to be healthy by "April 25 or 26" for a medical re-check.
The Jets are doing their due diligence on most of the top prospects at wide receiver and tight end. In addition to Benjamin, they have been connected with Texas A&M's Mike Evans (who will be long gone by pick No. 18), USC's Marqise Lee, LSU's Odell Beckham and Jarvis Landry, Oregon State's Brandin Cooks, Colorado's Paul Richardson and even Murray State's Walt Powell. Beckham, Benjamin, Cooks and Lee are possibilities at No. 18, with Benjamin likely ranking fourth on that list.
At tight end, they also have brought in Texas Tech's Jace Amaro and Iowa's C.J. Fiedorowicz and had a representative at North Carolina star Eric Ebron's pro day. If Ebron is available, he is worthy of the No. 18 pick. No other tight end should go in the first round -- unless a team wants to take a chance on Benjamin at that position.
The Jets pick 17th in the second round (49th overall); if they take a wide receiver in the first round, it wouldn't be a surprise to see them taking a tight end in the second round. Conversely, if they somehow manage to grab Ebron in the first round, a second-round wide receiver would be a smart move.
Mike Huguenin can be reached at mike.huguenin@nfl.com. You also can follow him on Twitter @MikeHuguenin.
