The NFL Draft picture is beginning to get a little bit clearer.

Only in the NFL does a No. 1 pick get introduced four days prior to the actual draft, but that’s what happened yesterday as the Miami Dolphins reached a five-year, $57.75 million contract with Michigan left tackle Jake Long, rendering Saturday’s draft selection a mere formality.

It’s not unusual for the team with the No. 1 pick to negotiate with potential selections prior to the draft, however reaching an agreement so far in advance is pretty much unprecedented.

More importantly, what this means for Jets fans is that with Jake Long off the board, the Jets are guaranteed to have a wide variety of defensive and offensive studs available to them at No. 6, such as DT Glenn Dorsey, DE Chris Long, LB, Vernon Gholston, QB Matt Ryan, and RB Darren McFadden.

Given head coach Eric Mangini’s emphasis on the defensive side of the ball, it shouldn’t surprise anyone if the Jets go ‘D’ with their pick, and Scouts Inc.’s Jeremy Green has them snaring Gholston, a versatile pass rusher out of Ohio State, in EPSN.com 12th annual interactive mock draft.

However in these last few days leading up to the Draft, there has been significant buzz that Gang Green could select McFadden or Ryan should either slip to them at No. 6. McFadden himself stoked that fire yesterday when he said of the Jets, “I feel like if I’m there at No. 6, they’re going to take me…I wore green and white in high school, so, hey, it might be another fit here.”

Character has been a big question mark in regard to McFadden, but Darren is confident he has eased any concerns Team Tangini might have about his makeup. “I feel like they’re pretty convinced I’m a great guy who just made mistakes,” he said.

Meanwhile, by all accounts the organization is not enamored with third-year quarterback Kellen Clemens, and may even be leaning toward restoring Chad Pennington as the starter next season. According to SI’s Peter King, the Jets “love” Matt Ryan, and reports from Baltimore have been floating the rumor that the Jets could select Ryan at No. 6 and turn around and ship Pennington to the Ravens, perhaps for a second round pick. Take that one with a grain of salt until further notice.