Quack's Complete Mock Draft/Off-season - Complete with stolen material!

WARNING: GIANT POST AHEAD.

I tried to write up a mock draft that would be solid - As in, shouldn't have glaring weaknesses. Blatantly unrealistic. The results should appeal to everyone. A good start here was stealing GH's destination for Kerry "Hollywood" Rhodes.

That's right, GH, I stole your Rhodes to Dallas idea. Suck on it, Trebek!

Not exactly, though - The trade I'll be using is:

Dallas Cowboys receive: S Kerry Rhodes, NYJ 7th Round Pick (#7.29), 2011 Conditional 4-7 based on playing time. (let's say, 85% of snaps = 7th, 75% of snaps = 6th and a 7th, 65% = 5th and a 7th, 50% or less = 4th and a 6th and a 7th)

New York Jets receive: 2010 DAL 4th Round Pick (#4.27), 2010 DAL 6th Round Pick (#6.27)

In this trade, Rhodes gets a last chance to prove he is committed to playing football, and on the ever so flashy "America's Team", no less. The 'Boys get ample insurance should Rhodes fail to fill their spot (essentially recouping their picks in that case, which isn't much of a gamble for them) and the Jets pick up extra picks in a deep draft.

I'm also including a second trade, because no one knows what the fuck will happen, Tanny loves complicated trading and there will probably be more trading this year due to the spread out nature of the draft. Tanny will probably have this trade already in place beforehand so something similar to this may happen:

Cleveland Browns receive: NYJ 1st Round Pick (#1.29)

New York Jets receive: CLE 2nd Round Pick (#2.6), CLE 5th Round Pick (#5.6)

Free agency? Well, I expect the Jets to get into a bidding war with Miami for Antrel Rolle because Arizona sure as hell isn't paying him $12M next year. Since this is a mock draft and I can do whatever the hell I want, Antrel Rolle picks the Jets over Miami.

Additionally, DWare brought up Anthony Montgomery out of WAS in the Jets forum. I'd expect him to get the low tender (original drafting round, in this case, 5th) or no tender. He's an interesting look if he doesn't cost a draft pick.

I know Sheppard was benched for the majority of the Colts game. Who knows why? No matter why, Sheppard won't get much in the way of offers on the market due to his continued injury history. The Jets bring him back on the cheap for a short term deal. The reason why is in the draft.

The Jets also resign Braylon Edwards. His impact on the offense cannot be ignored. Thomas Jones is cut. His impact on the offense is non-existent at this point on the field. Even in a sharing-the-load system, he might not be able to last all of 2010. You can't live off of past exploits, and because of that, Thomas Jones would be dead weight on the roster.

The New York Jets' picks in the draft are now #2.6, #2.29, #4.27, #5.6, #5.32, #6.27 and #6.29.

The draft:

#2.6 - NT Terrence Cody, Alabama

Cody's weight issues surfaced again at the senior bowl and his draft stock will drop a bit for it. Kris Jenkins has battled weight issues and overcome them, and if anyone can teach Cody how to be a better nose tackle, it's going to be Jenkins, anyway - well, just add diet lessons. Having him around will allow the Jets to keep Kris Jenkins rested and going for another few years until Cody is ready to handle more of the load and Jenkins is getting towards the end of his career.



#2.29 - CB Kyle Wilson, Boise State

A great looking corner who would fit in well with the Jets' man scheme. He will take over Lito Sheppard's spot eventually, but sooner if Sheppard gets hurt again. The longer Sheppard stays healthy, the longer the Jets have the best secondary in the league and the better it will be for Kyle Wilson's development. Even if Lito is resigned this off-season, he most likely won't be kept around for too long unless he's a bargain.



#4.27 - RB LeGarette Blount, Oregon

This kid is one hell of a runner and well worth the risk of him punching out a member of the Flight Crew. The punishing duo of Shonn Green and LeGarette Blount would make opposing defenders so afraid of tackling that Danny Woodhead would look like Leon Washington.



#5.6 - WR Freddie Barnes, Bowling Green

The receptions leader in college football will be a great addition to any team at the next level and should excel in the slot. He has amazing hands and is an excellent route runner, speed be damned.



#5.32 - TE Andrew Quarless, Penn State

He didn't have a good enough Shrine game to make most teams forget about his off-the-field issues, but I'm still confident that Quarless both will drop on draft day and that he can be a dangerous and complete tight end at the NFL level; the perfect complement to a purely receiving tight end like Keller. Most FOs won't realistically look at what he got in trouble for: Marijuana in his apartment (the apartment was shared with teammates, it is unknown whether or not the pot was) and underage drinking. He got in trouble for being a college kid. Stupid when you're looking at the possibility of going pro, but it isn't like he was in a robbery or anything.



#6.27 - OT Chris Scott, Tennessee

A big tackle to develop for depth. Right now the Jets don't really have a viable alternative if D'Brickashaw Ferguson or Damien Woody go down. Chris Scott should be a good NFL lineman in a few years.

#6.29 - LB Micah Johnson, Kentucky

His stock will be hurting after his knee injury since he won't be recovering in time for the combine. The Jets need a viable ILB backup because Kenwin Cummings didn't even see the field against the Colts despite Bart Scott's injury.

UDFA - FB John Conner, Kentucky

Very good blocker, great hands. This is your Tony Richardson replacement.

UDFA - WR/TE Cody Slate, Marshall

A tall, strong and very productive threat. He could stand to gain a few pounds but he will at the very least be a decent red zone receiver. He falls out of the draft due to a knee injury (ACL tear). He's more than worth bringing in after the draft.

UDFA - P Zoltan Mesko, Michigan

Really, it could have been any punter here. The Jets need a new punter and Mesko's name was the most fun for me to type of the bunch. Also, he's good.

As a final note, I made one change to the roster that I didn't really want to: I took out TE Ben Hartsock for RB/WR Danny Woodhead, but only because the Jets just signed Woodhead to a new deal. On my personal version of the roster, Slate is the 5th WR, Hartsock is the 3rd TE and Woodhead's name is nowhere to be found. Anywho . . .


The resulting 2010 New York Jets' 53 man roster:


Offense (25):

QB (3): Mark Sanchez, Eric Ainge, Kevin O'Connell
RB (3): Shonn Greene, Leon Washington, LeGarette Blount
FB (1): John Conner
WR (6): Braylon Edwards, Jerricho Cotchery, Freddie Barnes, Brad Smith, Danny Woodhead, Wallace Wright
TE (3): Dustin Keller, Andrew Quarless, Cody Slate
OT (4): D'Brickashaw Ferguson, Damien Woody, Wayne Hunter, Chris Scott
OG (3): Alan Faneca, Brandon Moore, Matt Slauson
C (2): Nick Mangold, Robert Turner

Defense (25):

DE (4): Shaun Ellis, Marques Douglas, Anthony Montgomery, Mike DeVito
NT (3): Kris Jenkins, Terrence Cody, Sione Pouha
OLB (5): Calvin Pace, Bryan Thomas, Jamaal Westerman, Vernon Gholston, Marques Murrell
ILB (4): David Harris, Bart Scott, Micah Johnson, Kenwin Cummings
CB (5): Darelle Revis, Lito Sheppard, Kyle Wilson, Dwight Lowery, Donald Strickland
S (4): Antrel Rolle, Jim Leonard, Eric Smith, James Ihedigbo

Special Teams (3):

K: Jay Feely
P: Zoltan Mesko
LS: James Dearth

Rookies are in italics. There are 10 rookies listed on the roster.


This offseason would, in my mind, cement this team for years to come. The Jets would have one of the top backfields in the league with Greene, Washington and Blount. The secondary would be scary as hell for future years with Revis, Wilson and Lowery firmly in their roles as 1/2/3 and the safety issue resolved with Rolle. Additionally, the team gets a young and promising nose tackle and a young defensive end. It gives us a good fullback to replace Richardson with Conner and a very solid tight end in Quarless who can team up with Keller for years. The offense would get a slow receiver who has great hands and runs great routes - like the slot receiver should do. If Micah Johnson and Cody Slate fully recover from their injuries, then they should add great depth to the team as well.

Does it involve a sexy pass rusher? No. A high round offensive lineman? No. I still think this draft is not completely off the mark in regards to realism and yet would still be a dream come true if it were to actually happen.

 

Barnes, Scott and Johnson are low for reasons.

Barnes: Not invited to the combine. In my mind he's a third rounder. But in my mind, Peyton Hillis was a third rounder, too, and he lasted 'til what, the 7th?

Scott: Did not play well in his final game at all. What you did last resonates strongly with scouts who often dismiss entire careers because of a stretch of bad games, a terrible bowl game or a bad combine. Scott could drop.

Johnson: Not only does he have the ACL tear but he won't be able to prove himself until the preseason after he's drafted. He probably will still be rehabbing during rookie camps and OTAs. This will scare some teams off. This is why Chansi Stuckey was a 7th rounder instead of a 3rd: Injury that extends beyond the draft and into his official NFL career.

Wilson may not be there in the late second, though.

Edit -

You want my actual grades for these guys, though? Because I've started a grading system this season and I'm slowly plodding along, grading as many prospects as I can find video of and information on. Naturally, the small school prospects that I never got to watch and can't find video of online will have less accurate grades, as I'll largely be going off of second hand information. I score based on six areas:

Rookie Ability (RA) - How well they will be able to perform their first year.
Growth Potential (GP) - How much better they look like they'll get than their initial rookie ability.
Proven Starter / Injury History (SI) - Self explanatory. Consecutive starts ain't just for linemen. Injuries can be indicative of a pattern, but injuries also sometimes just happen.
Work Ethic (WE) - Also mildly self explanatory. How dedicated the player is to the game - includes dieting, workouts, attending team meetings, and not getting distracted with off-the-field issues.
Boom/Bust (BB) - This is just how hard I think the player is capable of failing. A high number indicates what should be a safe pick. A low number indicates a risky pick. I try to keep this football related, but if off-the-field issues are a huge problem, then I'll let some of that leak into here from the work ethic category.
Intangible (IN) - A meaningless category, but I still include it. This is basically my gut feeling - If I feel like the final score should be higher or lower but can't explain it any other way, I use this to modify it.


All scores are out of five and combined to get a final score for the prospect. Then apply that score to where in the draft they're projected to go by everyone else. If, say, I felt that there was a NT of a similar caliber to Cody that could be picked up later in the draft, I'd avoid Cody like the plague because the value isn't there. Likewise, I wouldn't take a TE high because of how much of a value Quarless will be for someone later in the draft.

Let's use the Quarless example, though. I gave him a grade of 21/30.

RA 4
GP 4
SI 4
WE 2
BB 3
IN 4

I gave Aaron Hernandez almost the same grade, though: 24/30.

RA 4
GP 4
SI 4
WE 4
BB 4
IN 4

The value, however, in drafting Hernandez early in the draft is nothing compared to the ability to get Quarless in the 4th or later. Granted, the system is 100% made up hooey, but you can see what I'm getting at here.