jets

Rex Ryan Talks Draft Picks on Letterman: ‘Everybody’s Made Mistakes in Their Lives’

The Jets made some headlines during the draft, not just for the players they selected, but for the backgrounds of some of those players. In the third round, for instance, they chose Kenrick Ellis, a nose tackle from Hampton who’s facing a felony charge stemming from an arrest following a campus altercation last year. And seventh-round pick Scotty McKnight was nearly expelled from high school after writing gruesome, threatening things about a teacher in a journal that was supposed to remain private, but didn’t. (He says it was meant as a “private prank.”) So we took notice when, during Rex Ryan’s appearance on The Late Show With David Letterman last night, the host (who didn’t get into specifics, and may not have even meant to reference the above picks) asked Ryan if the team looks into a potential pick’s background, and whether a team can help a player mature. See his answers — both the clichéd one about how they ask if a player’s willing to give everything he’s got, and the slightly less clichéd one about the maturing process young players must go through — below. (And for more of Ryan — including some talk about the Sal Alosi incident, and about how he plans on beating the Giants and Patriots — click here.)

Rex Ryan Talks Draft Picks on Letterman: ‘Everybody’s Made Mistakes in Their Lives’