Auburn football: Jamien Sherwood drafted by NY Jets with expected LB switch

Auburn football was absent on the first night of the NFL Draft, but nights 2 and 3 have provided Tiger fans with a momentary moment of happiness seeing an Auburn man realize his NFL dream.

On night two, Anthony Schwartz was the first name taken off the board from AU, being taken at the #91 selection to the Cleveland Browns. As part of the Dawg Pound, Schwartz joins an explosive WR room that features big-play threats in Odell Beckham Jr., Jarvis Landry, and Donovan Peoples-Jones.

On day 3, the next name to fly off the board has been revealed. While many expected Seth Williams to be a potential day 2 pick, he has now fallen down to at least the fifth round (as of this writing) and remains on the board.

Instead, the second man selected from the Auburn football family was S Jamien Sherwood, who apparently is set to make a position switch when he gets to the NFL:

Sherwood ran an underwhelming 40-yard-dash time, and was not seen as able to keep up with the fleet of foot receivers at the professional level. The Jets were in need of a strong presence in the middle after having a bottom-seven defense in 2020.

New York was particularly weak in pass coverage, ceding the fifth-most yards of any defense. That included giving up passing 34 touchdowns while only collecting 10 interceptions. The Jets now have a player who profiles as a speedster that loves contact.

Sherwood could compete for minutes as the Will LB and has the versatility to be a nickel or dime back depending on the coverage scheme.

The NY Jets are far from a contender (unless Zach Wilson pans out better than their last top three QB selection), but Sherwood has landed with an aspiring Robert Saleh-coached outfit that is looking to get Gang Green back to glory.