Jets land Lorenzo Mauldin in draft trade with Texans

Lorenzo Mauldin is a New York Jet after the team went wheeling and dealing on Friday night in the third round of the NFL Draft.

The Jets traded their original third round pick (No. 70) to the Houston Texans for their third round pick (No. 82), a fifth round pick (No. 152), a seventh round pick (No. 229) and wide receiver DeVier Posey. The deal to move back featured a familiar trading partner for Mike Maccagnan, the Jets first-year general manager. Maccagnan was previously the director of college scouting with the Texans.

With the pick obtained from the Texans, the Jets selected Mauldin, addressing depth concerns at outside linebacker.

The week before the draft, Maccagnan said he was open to moving back in the draft in order to obtain more picks. In his deal with the Texans he not only got a third round selection but added a fifth round pick (the Jets were without one in this draft) as well as another seventh round pick, to give the Jets three picks in the draft’s final round.

In Mauldin, the Jets have a bit of a project. He played primarily as a defensive end at Louisville but transitioned to outside linebacker during the Senior Bowl. Known as a hard hitter, his selection represents the second straight year that the Jets have taken a defensive player from Louisville as last year, they selected safety Calvin Pryor in the first round.

Forgotten in the trade, the Jets also pulled in a wide receiver who will challenge to make the 53-man roster. Entering his fourth year in the league, Posey has 22 career catches for 272 yards. He has yet to score an NFL touchdown.