I know how utterly meaningless these are, but well, here's my ideal Jets draft. I won't do FA signings because we need to lose somebody first, and I'm not sure who gets cut, or how the CBA really works. I won't plan for any trades, either, because I can't envision what exactly Tanny plans to do. I've noticed in a lot of mocks, some of the picks are ridiculously optimistic. Freddie Barnes won't be around in the 5th, neither will Jordan Shipley or Myron Rolle in the 6th. What we'll try do to here is to address some depth issues later in the draft and some gaping holes up front, with a couple difference makers. Of course, my suggestions are only that, and if there's a player sitting there at 29 or in the later rounds with a great grade, you go BPA. 1st Round: Donovan Warren, CB, Michigan The Jets run as much man defense as anyone in the league, and as the Saints proved last Sunday, you can't get by with stopgap measures at corner. While Darelle Revis can effectively shut down another team's top threat, you've still got 2 or 3 other receivers to worry about, especially as more and more teams go to the spread. Donovan Warren might not be the most physical corner, but he's very heady and has phenomenal ball skills. He'd step in at corner from day 1 opposite Revis, and would make it near impossible to throw on this defense. Right now, there's no established #2 behind Haden in this draft, but I think Warren separates himself at the combine. Others considered: Brandon Ghee, Kyle Wilson, Patrick Robinson 2nd Round: Jerry Hughes, DE/OLB, TCU. Hughes is a prototypical 34OLB edge rusher, and proved himself to be extraordinarily productive in the college ranks. He's not a workout warrior by any means, and although he clearly passes the eye test while on the field, he's not expected to run a particularly speedy 40-yard dash which might drop him into the latter half of the second round. The one thing missing from the Jets defense this year was an elite edge rusher--imagine this team with Jenkins in the middle, Harris and Scott inside, and someone like Hughes coming around the end--this front seven could be absolutely scary if they add a pure edge rusher. Others considered: Eric Norwood, Sergio Kindle, George Selvie 5th Round: Shawn Lauvao, OG, Arizona State. Lauvoa is the exact kind of versatile backup offensive lineman you want on your team. He started the 2009 season playing left Guard for the Sun Devils before shifting over to right tackle, and was name a second-team all Pac-10 player. He's not particularly huge, but would probably have some sticking power as a potential replacement for either Faneca or Woody, or, at the very least, be a good depth tackle. Others considered: Sam Young, Ciron Black, Sergio Render 6th Round: Mickey Shuler, TE, Penn State This may be a bit of a homer pick, but Shuler is a tight end who's more of an inline blocker than pass-catching threat, though he's more mobile and versatile than Ben Hartsock or most of the "blocking" tight ends. He didn't see as much playing time in 2009 as Andrew Quarless had a break out year, but he's good at sealing the edge and getting to the second level. Probably better in run blocking than pass blocking, but he's pretty much your standard TE #2. Good kid, too, and with his dad's lineage, he gets the nod over a bunch of other potential TE's. Others considered: Michael Hoomanawanui, Tony Moeaki 7th round: Jeremy Boone, P, Penn State I know, back to back Penn State guys, right? Well, Boone's a top 2 or 3 punter in this class. He's remarkably consistent, having averaged 43, 43, and 43.3 yards per punt in his three seasons as a starter, and is very adept at punting inside the 20. I don't have a stat from this year, but in his junior season he dropped 25 punts inside the 20 with only 5 touchbacks. He doesn't have a booming leg that can kick 60, 65 yards, but I don't think I've ever seen him shank one. One negative--he had two punts blocked this year after never having one blocked in his career, and he took some criticism for having a long stride. Having watched them both, Boone was a better college punter than Jeremy Kapinos, and Kapinos just had a very successful season for Green Bay. Others considered: Zoltan Mesko
Really? I haven't seen him in the first round too often in mocks. For me, after Haden, they're all more or less interchangeable, with Warren getting a slight edge over Wilson and Ghee. I don't think it's crazy to say that he'll be there at 29. Hell, ESPN ranked him as the #9 CORNERBACK!
To be fair, I've seen him go in the first round in a few mocks, but always as the 3rd or 4th CB off the board. I don't think it's that crazy either. I should mention while we're on the subject, though, that I've seen Hughes consistently go ahead of our 2nd round spot.
Zoltan is a cool name for a football player, even though it's only a punter. Matt Dodge is better than Zoltan Mesko and Jeremy Boone....and I watch tons of Big Ten football. But I totally agree we need to upgrade the punter position. Watching Rex's PCs you can tell he's not happy with our current punting situation.
I like the picks in terms of position. The mock addresses our needs pretty well. I can't wait until FA so we can get a more accurate picture of where we're going in the draft.
TakeMeToTheDraftForumKerryRhodes, Decent mock - I really don't think Warren and Hughes will last that long. I really like Micky Shuler as a late round blocking tight end.
Because its worth a 7th round pick to not have to worry about a position for the better part of a decade, especially since most 7th round picks rarely pan out. A punter is close to a sure thing.
exactly. 10 years from a 7th round pick, or 2 years on the PS with 1 year as a ST guy and then he's cut.
I don't think either Warren or Hughes will be there at either pick but I like both players in Depending how the first round pans out I wouldn't mind going Hughes in the first round.
Absolutely. You see it with some drafts where there's a run on wide receivers or cornerbacks or linebackers, and the depth at both CB and 34OLB is very deep. If it seems like all the edge rushers are going early, Hughes is just as good a pick at 29, provided we can snag one of the half-dozen interchangeable CBs in the second. I think we'll be in a good place sitting at 29 to snag a impact player at either position, and a trade down wouldn't be a bad idea either. I think that CB and OLB are the most pressing needs, whether through FA or the draft, need to be addressed with a plug and play piece.
3 out of the last 6 punters drafted in the rounds 6 and 7 arent even with the team that drafted them Durant Brooks,Ryan Plackemeier,Reggie Hodges are with different teams Plackemeier a FA actually and Sam Koch,Brandon Fields and Pat McAfee are with teams that drafted them. So yeah id rather actually choose a player and take my chances with him seeing seeing that it is a 50/50 chnce he will be with us in a couple of years.
Nate Garner, Chansi Stuckey, Titus Adams, Harry Williams, Darrell McClover, Trevor Johnson, Derrick Ward, Rashad Washington, Dave Yovanovits, James Reed, Situpe Peko, Richard Seals, Ryan Young, J.J. Syrvud, Lawrence Hart. Other than Stuckey and Ward, are any of those guys legitimate players? Those are the last 15 Jets 7th round picks.
Warren at 29 isn't the optimistic pick, it's Hughes in the late 2nd. No chance he lasts that long, might as well change that to Norwood or Selvie. I'd be happy with this though.
Im 50/50 on Warren being available but come on how can Patrick Robinson be an alternate pick. I find it interesting that all your "others considered" are all at the same position. Also I highly doubt that Jerry Hughes will be available that late in the second
Despite the fact that I think OLB is a wildly overrated want amongst Jets fans, I like this mock. I'd rather go DE/DT than DE/OLB early.
The "need" is for a pass rusher that can provide pressure on the edges. The OLB ends up being a "want" only because we have a roster full of highly paid average to slightly above average players at the position. None of whom can provide that consistent pressure this team desperately need. A lot fans also want a "#2 CB". I can tell you right now that Lowery, Sheppard, Strickland and Coleman all would become instantly better with said pass rusher. It would almost be equivalent of filling 2 positions. I too would rather go else where early but if there's a guy there that Rex thinks can be a Suggs type in this defense, I say pull the trigger.
I think Pace is the guy who can be a Suggs-esque talent. We really tend to underrate our players unless it's obvious that he's too good to ignore. Pace is a damn good player...I said when we signed him that he'd be our Mike Vrabel in Mangini's D...well he's the Suggs in Rex's D. Then there's the solid starter (Bryant Thomas...called Jarrett Johnson on the Ravens)...then there's the young depth (BiggestBustEVerz!, Westerman)...then there's the ILBs (both are good pass rushers)... Rex's D generates pressure from the entire front 7...the sack numbers tend to spread out amongst them...I mean Suggs hasn't had a double digit sack season since '04, and Rex or Pettine once said his best year was the year he only had 5 sacks...It's really not dependent on one single pass rusher because that would kind of go against the idea of disguising coverages, something our D relies on.... If anything, we need a DE/DT who can help generate more pressure with Jenkins and Ellis so that we can do even more with the other 8 guys on the field.
