Joe McKnight moving to cornerback

Joe McKnight finally will see the field more – just not at running back.

Rex Ryan said Wednesday that the Jets’ third-year player will see “a ton” of time at cornerback in light of losing All Pro defensive back Darrelle Revis (torn ACL) for the season.

McKnight, who lost his third-down role to second-year back Bilal Powell, still will have a role on offense. But the team also is “teaching” him how to play corner, the coach said.

“Not quite a full-time capacity,” Ryan explained, “but he’s going to be over there a ton. In the meetings and everything else.”

McKnight almost was a cornerback at USC, but his college coach, Pete Carroll, thought he had all the necessary skills to be a running back.

Ryan believes the opposite still is true as well.

“He’s got the speed, size, athleticism, ball skills – everything you look for in a corner,” the Jets coach said. “And so, I don’t think there’s any reason not to think that Joe McKnight couldn’t be a corner.

“It’s just going to take time obviously. But I think with (secondary coach) Dennis Thurman and with Jimmy O (assistant defensive backs coach Jim O’Neill) over there, I think we’ve got great teachers of the game and I think it’ll be interesting.

“But I definitely would not bet against Joe McKnight becoming a good corner.”  

McKnight -- drafted 112th overall in the fourth round by the Jets in 2010 -- was a high school cornerback and was also used as a defensive back in emergency situations by the Jets.