It’s difficult to gauge who was most excited yesterday afternoon when the Jets drafted Miami linebacker Jonathan Vilma with their first-round pick.

Vilma, of course, was thrilled, having told former Miami teammate and current Jets’ receiver Santana Moss back in January that he wanted to be a Jet.

“I told Santana I wanted to come there since January,” Vilma said. “I told him to relay the message to coach [Herman] Edwards. It’s a perfect fit.”

Moss, watching the draft at home in Miami with his father, was delighted, because he was the one who, by way of Vilma’s request, relayed Vilma’s desire to be a Jet to coach Herman Edwards.

Jets defensive end Matt Walters, another Hurricanes alum, was ecstatic enough at the news that he said, “I’ll go to war with Jonathan Vilma, and I’ll sign that statement.”

Edwards and Jets GM Terry Bradway were happy because they filled a position need with a player they say they’ve been targeting for two years.

The generally dry-as-unbuttered-toast Jesse Kaye, the Jets’ director of scouting who’s been closely watching Vilma for two years, was so giddy about Vilma that he said, “This guy’s got me excited. This is a football player. Talking to the people [at Miami] this is the guy that leads and stirs the pot.”

Now after all of that, if Vilma can just play, come in and at least push underachieving linebacker Sam Cowart to the point where he’s at least sharing time with him as well as becoming a special teams star.

The Jets, who many speculated would trade down to get Vilma – projected by most to be selected somewhere from 14 to 20 in the first round – wasted little time making their pick, using fewer than five minutes of their allotted 15 to make the pick.

“We would have made it with 14:55 remaining if we could have,” Bradway said. “But we wanted to talk to Jon and Mitch [Frankel, Vilma’s agent].”

As expected, the two top-rated cornerbacks in the draft – Virginia Tech’s DeAngelo Hall and South Carolina’s Dunta Robinson – were gone by the time the Jets’ pick arrived, making Vilma the obvious option. And, Bradway said, he was concerned about trading down and losing out on Vilma.

The Jets last used the 12th overall pick in the draft in 2000, when they chose defensive end Shaun Ellis, who went to the Pro Bowl last season.

The last time the Jets picked a linebacker in the first round was in 1997, when Bill Parcells tabbed James Farrior with the eighth overall selection. Prior to that, they picked Marvin Jones with the fourth overall choice in the 1993 draft.

The Jets have now picked a defensive player with their first-round pick in each of the last three seasons.

The first order of business for the Jets this offseason was to purge their linebacking corps of incumbent veteran starters Mo Lewis and Marvin Jones, both of whom were released as soon as the offseason began.

The Jets kept Cowart and promised to move him to the inside, but both Edwards and Bradway said they plan on Vilma competing for the starting job.

Vilma strongly seconded those thoughts, saying, “I expect to start. That’s what I’m going up there for. That’s not being cocky or conceited, but the way I play I should find myself on the field somewhere. I expect my role to be bringing leadership, consistency, energy . . . a rookie with fresh legs ready to go.”

There has been some talk among some NFL GMs and personnel people that because of Vilma’s size (6-01/2, 233) and terrific sideline-to-sideline speed, he might be converted into a strong safety.

Bradway, asked that specifically, said, “Oh no. This guy is a linebacker.”

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Jets No. 1

JONATHAN VILMA

LB, Miami 6-1/2, 233 Chosen 12th overall

* Middle linebacker led team in tackles each of last three seasons.

* All-Big East selection last three years; Butkus Award finalist, second-team All-America senior year.

* 127 tackles, 12 for losses, sack in 13 games last season.

* Team-leading 133 tackles in 13 games as junior.

* 371 career tackles rank seventh on Miami all-time list.

* Sideline-to-sideline quickness with great closing speed. Runs 4.57 in 40-yard dash.

* Suffered left-knee injury (torn meniscus) in 2001 jet-skiing accident. Surgery twice, passed team medical exams.

* Speaks four languages.