NEW YORK (April 21, 2005) -- The New York Jets finally filled their need at tight end.
The Jets acquired Doug Jolley from Oakland on Thursday in exchange for their first-round pick in the 2005 NFL Draft. The deal, agreed upon the night of April 20, was completed the next morning when Jolley passed his physical.
Oakland gets the 26th overall selection, moving back into the first round after trading the No. 7 overall pick to Minnesota for Randy Moss in March.
New York also gets a second-round (47th overall) and two sixth-round picks (182, 185) from Oakland, while the Raiders get a seventh-round selection.
"This is a guy we have liked for a long time and feel he can add something to the tight end position," Jets general manager Terry Bradway said.
Jolley, a second-round pick out of BYU in 2002, had 27 catches for 313 yards and two touchdowns last season. In 47 career games, Jolley has 90 catches for 972 yards and five scores. Oakland has been busy in the days leading up to the draft. On April 19, the Raiders sent cornerback Phillip Buchanon to the Houston Texans for two draft picks.
The Jets spent most of the offseason going after a tight end after losing starter Anthony Becht as a free agent. Chris Baker was the only player on the roster with any significant game experience at the position.
They went after restricted free agent Jeb Putzier last month, but the Denver Broncos matched the Jets' five-year offer.
Jets general manager Terry Bradway seemed unconvinced about the tight ends available in the draft, acknowledging nobody on the board would be able to immediately wrestle the starting job away from Baker. But because new offensive coordinator Mike Heimerdinger uses sets with two tight ends, getting more bodies was a priority.
Now, the Jets won't have a first-round pick for the first time since 1999, when their selection went to New England as compensation for hiring coach Bill Parcells.
"We didn't feel like for this draft the value was going to be there at 26," Bradway said. "We felt it was more of a second-round draft. We think Heath Miller is a fine player but we like Doug Jolley more. That's why it's an easy one."
In the Buchanon deal, the Raiders got Houston's 47th overall pick in the second round, then gave that pick to the Jets, and a third-round selection.
Oakland finished 5-11 last season. The team is only 9-23 over the past two seasons for the worst two-year record since Al Davis arrived in 1963 to coach and eventually own the Raiders.
Jolley was unhappy with his playing time in Oakland, saying coach Norv Turner seemed to shift the focus more toward the receivers toward the end of the season.
"As the season wore on, he wasn't getting me the ball like he told me he was going to," Jolley said. "I don't know what the reason was. In the last part he was using me more in pass protection. I think he just wanted to go downfield to guys like Jerry Porter more often.
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