With their first pick on day 3 at pick 187 the New York Jets select Safety Josh Bush from Wake Forest. Bush is the 3rd ACC player the Jets have taken in this draft.
Basic information from NFLDraftScout.com
Height: 5-11
Weight: 208 lbs.
Arm Length: n/a
Hand Length: n/a
Combine Numbers
40-yard dash: 4.51
Bench: n/a
Vertical: n/a
Broad: n/a
Shuttle: n/a
Cone: n/a
Overview
A three-year starter, Josh Bush was a two-star CB recruit out of high school, choosing Wake Forest over James Madison, Appalachian State and East Carolina. After redshirting in 2007, he saw limited time as a back-up DB in 2008 as a redshirt freshman, recording 17 tackles. Bush moved primarily to free safety in 2009 as a sophomore and started 6 games, finishing with 25 tackles and 1 INT. He played both cornerback and free safety in 2010 as a junior with 8 starts, recording 33 tackles. Bush had his best season in 2011 as a senior free safety, finishing with 59 tkls, 2.0 tackles for loss, 5 pass break-ups and a team-best 6 interceptions, earning First Team All-ACC honors.
Bush wasn’t a top recruit, but fought his way onto the field and put in his time on special teams, culminating with a First Team All-Conference senior season in 2011. He is tough, but needs to show he can stay healthy and do a better job finishing tackles once he gets his hands on the ballcarrier. Bush is a good (not great) athlete and shows the awareness and range to be effective in the second half of the field with experience at both cornerback and free safety. He doesn’t look like much but can be a later round free safety pick with his heady, competitive skill-set.
Analysis
Strengths: Flexible athlete with good foot quickness and rangy speed to cover a lot of ground. Shows good awareness to watch the eyes of the quarterback, track the ball in the air and go get it. Does a nice job fighting for positioning in coverage, using his body to box-out the receiver. Flashes a tough, competitive drive and gets the most out of his ability. Has versatile experience with experience at both free safety and cornerback – 27 career starts in the secondary. Had a productive senior season, finishing second in the ACC in interceptions with six – totaled 115 return yards on interceptions, averaging almost 20 yards per return.
Weaknesses: Bush has only average size and strength, lacking ideal muscle tone throughout his frame. Struggles on an island and doesn’t have the recovery speed to hold up in man coverage. Has choppy footwork and doesn’t look natural in his transition, opening his hips too early in coverage. Played mostly in the second half of the field with little experience blitzing or in press. Needs to do a better job breaking down in space and tackling through the ballcarrier in order to finish. Has some questionable durability and was often banged up over his career (hamstring and shoulder issues). — Dane Brugler
