Jarvis Harrison

The Jets picked Jarvis Harrison on Saturday. (AP Photo | Julio Cortez)

FLORHAM PARK -- The Jets on Saturday afternoon picked Texas A&M offensive guard Jarvis Harrison in the fifth round of the NFL Draft. Harrison is 6-foot-4 and 330 pounds.

The Jets' offensive guard situation has been shaky for most of the past two seasons.

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Willie Colon was the starting right guard for that entire span, but he sputtered last season. He is back with the Jets, for now, on a one-year contract. But he is 32, and is far from a lock to make the Jets' final roster, especially now.

Brian Winters was the Jets' left guard as a rookie in 2013. He struggled mightily. Last season, he played just six games before sustaining a season-ending torn anterior cruciate ligament in his knee. Oday Aboushi, another second-year pro, replaced him.

The Jets this offseason signed Seattle's James Carpenter in free agency. So he will occupy one of the starting guard spots this season. The other position is up for grabs between Colon, Winters and Aboushi. Now, Harrison gets a chance to factor into that competition.

Harrison missed Texas A&M's first two games last season, because of conditioning issues after he had offseason shoulder surgery. He started five games at left guard in 2014, and two at left tackle. In 2012 and 2013, Harrison started every game. He started five games as a redshirt freshman in 2011. Harrison was almost exclusively a left guard during his college years.

Harrison, 23, could be a "light on his feet" guard. Though he played just two years of high school football, he has played basketball -- something that can be an asset for offensive linemen as they try to demonstrate the necessary quickness to play in the NFL.

But how much of an issue are Harrison's shoulders?

He said he had his right shoulder's labrum surgically repaired in January of 2012 and his left shoulder's labrum fixed in January of 2014.

"I haven't had a problem with them ever since," Harrison said during a conference call with reporters.

There is also the potential matter of his work ethic, or lack thereof.

Before the draft, an AFC executive said this to NFL.com: "I believe he has Pro Bowl-caliber talent, but his work ethic is a major concern for me. I know he loves basketball, but not sure if he feels the same about football. The talent? That's a given. He's really, really talented."

(Click here for a scouting report on Harrison.)

Another AFC executive told NFL.com this: "You know what? I actually like the kid. I trust what our scouts have to say about him being lazy, but I don't think he's a character concern at all. I'm going to fight for him if he's still there in the fourth round."

As it turned out, Harrison went in the fifth round. He brushed off criticism of his work ethic.

"Everybody has opinions," he said. "Stuff don't get to me. I don't listen to stuff like that. It doesn't bother me, what people think."

Considering Harrison's talent level, though, does he think he should've been picked earlier?

"Possibly, yeah," he said, adding that he doesn't know why he slipped to the fifth round.

Harrison grew up in Navasota, Texas, a town of about 7,600 people, between Houston and Austin, and just 25 miles from Texas A&M.

"It's a small town where everybody knows everybody," Harrison said. "Pretty much everybody is family. Everybody is so close."

Harrison said growing up there "was wonderful." But it looks like he isn't nervous at all about moving to a much more populated area:

Start spreading the news, I'm leaving today.

I want to be a part of it, New York, New York @nyjets #NFLDraft @FantasyHub — Jarvis Harrison (@J_Harrison51) May 2, 2015

Harrison was the 16th pick of the fifth round, and 152nd overall. The Jets entered this draft without picks in Rounds 5 or 6. But they acquired a fifth-round pick Friday night, in a trade with the Texans that also resulted in the Jets moving down in the third round, from No. 70 to No. 82.

Harrison's fifth-round selection follows the Jets drafting Southern California defensive lineman Leonard Williams (first round), Ohio State wide receiver Devin Smith (second round), Louisville outside linebacker Lorenzo Mauldin (third round) and Baylor quarterback Bryce Petty (fourth round).

The Jets aren't scheduled to pick again until the seventh and final round, when they will select twice in succession (Nos. 223 and 224). They entered Saturday with three seventh-round picks, but they sent one of them (No. 229, which they got in that trade with the Texans) to Jacksonville, in order to move up one spot in the fourth round and pick Petty.

Darryl Slater may be reached at dslater@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @DarrylSlater. Find NJ.com Jets on Facebook.

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