With the No. 9 overall pick in the 2013 NFL draft, the New York Jets selected cornerback Dee Milliner from the University of Alabama. Milliner is SB Nation's top corner in this draft class, and SB Nation's Dan Kadar rates him as the fourth-best player in this year's draft.
2013 NFL Draft results: Dee Milliner selected by Jets with the 9th pick
The New York Jets used the No. 9 pick to select Alabama cornerback Dee Milliner.
Wesley Hitt
Roll Bama Roll on Dee Milliner
You're Dee Milliner, age 17. You're universally considered one of the two best defensive back recruits in the country, a five-star prospect across the board. You have your choice of school, but hometown Alabama has Dre Kirkpatrick one year ahead of you. What do you do? Milliner chose to stay home and go with the Tide irrespective of depth chart, and cashed in magnificently. In three years, he established himself as the unquestioned best defensive back in America and an NFL-prototype shutdown corner, all while winning a pair of national titles. Nick Saban has a way of doing that. Milliner turned heads at the Scouting Combine with a 4.37 40-yard dash and so did not need to do any drills at the Alabama Pro Day. His 4.37 was tied for the sixth-fastest in Indianapolis this year, and second-fastest among cornerbacks, after the 4.36 of Darius Slay from Mississippi State.
The Jets traded shutdown corner Darrelle Revis to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and have now replaced him with Milliner. They still have a first-round pick as well, which they could use to upgrade the offense.
Now that Revis is gone, Milliner will be able to step in and start from day one. However, he will have some big shoes to fill.
In a prospect profile on SB Nation, this was the conclusion and pro comparison for Milliner:
Milliner is the top defensive back in the 2013 NFL Draft, but he doesn't grade out as high as Patrick Peterson or Morris Claiborne have in recent seasons. A draft that isn't top-heavy in the first round could push him up the board a bit, and it's tough to see the latest Alabama stud fall any farther than No. 12.
Pro Comparison: Ike Taylor, Pittsburgh Steelers
Combine Results
Height: 6'1
Weight: 201 pounds
40-yard dash: 4.37 seconds
Vertical: 36 inches
Broad jump: 122 inches
Milliner turned heads at the Scouting Combine with his time in the forty, solidifying his status as a top prospect.
Cornerbacks rarely go this high -- only Quentin Jammer, Terence Newman, and Patrick Peterson are corners to be picked in the top five during this century, but everything set up nicely for Milliner. The prospects at the top of the draft at positions considered to be more important, like quarterback, tackle, and defensive end, weren't as overwhelming as in other years. That allowed Milliner to move up draft boards and land where he did, with an opportunity to start from day one.
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