NFL Draft 2013: Dee Milliner Doesn’t Want to Be Compared to Darrelle Revis
By Josh Hill
The New York Jets had two first-round picks to play with on Thursday and they ended up double dipping on defensive prospects. The reason they had those two picks was thanks to a trade with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in which the Jets shipped Darrelle Revis to Tampa. New York wasted no time in drafting his replacement, Alabama cornerback Dee Milliner.
But while the comparison is inevitable, Milliner doesn’t want to hear any lines being drawn between how Darrelle Revis played and how the Milliner era in New York will go.
“Revis did what he did. I’m going to come in here and do what I do,” Milliner said after being drafted ninth overall by the Jets on Thursday. “Go out there and make plays and do the best I can do and be the best I can be.”
But while Milliner comes off as having a care-free attitude, he admits he was nervous when his name was called and hoped he wouldn’t get booed by Jets fans.
“I know they’re crazy about their selections,” Milliner said. “I’m just glad they welcomed me here.”
And more than welcomed he appears to be. Jets fans are looking for anything that can claw them out of the rut they’ve found themselves in, a rut that even claimed the fandom of Fireman Ed last season. However, even if fan morale bottomed out last season, Milliner is optimistic that things will change and is looking forward to playing in front of the Jets faithful week in and week out.
“It will be a great fanbase here in New York. The fans love you. … It’s just going to feel great.”