Don't expect a stud safety to be available 2011's draft, they're no Eric Berrys and Earl Thomas', in fact I'm predicting there will NO safeties drafted in Round 1....it's not happening. Some safeties the Jets may consider in 2011's draft. Deunta Williams, North Carolina.......suspended for most of this season has hurt his stock, had a very good 2009 campaign. Good size and can play centerfield with decent coverage skills. Probably early/mid Round 2. DeAndre McDaniel, Clemson........IMO, the most atletic safety in this class. Very inconsistent, the proper NFL system will make or break his career. Mid/Late Round 2 Quiton Carter, Oklahoma........I've been jumping on Carter's bandwagon of late, team leader, smart player that has average size but makes plays. Could be the only player that will rise close to Round 1. Probably Round 2 Mark Barron, Bama......Big safety, good run support....inconsistent.....Round 2 Mid/Late Tyler Sash, Iowa.......great athlete and smart....may not declare. I hope he does. Round 2 late/Round 3 early Kenny Tate, Maryland.....Watch out, this kid is the real deal, but probably won't declare. Had some awesome games this year. Could be a Top safety in 2012. Late Rd 2 Rahim Moore, UCLA.........disappointing season, I expected better. Round 3. Nate Williams, Washington......One of my favorites, I've seen only a couple of Washington's games and Williams was all over the field. Has NFL player written all over him. Good coverage and defensive leader. Round 3/4. Joe Lefeged, Rutgers.....Rutgers defense was a strenght, but they've seemed to regress a bit. Lefeged was a small bright spot in their secondary. Round 4. MarK Legree, App St.......the best centerfield player in this draft, a ballhawk. Round 4/5. I didn't list all of the possible players.....Eric Hagg, Shiloh Keo, Chris Rucker are possibilities.
I have to throw some names into this thread: Georgia Tech's Jerrard Tarrant *the forgotten man...one of the biggest playmakers in all of college football. ...haven't see his name mentioned much. Nebraska's DeJon Gomes Colorado's Jimmy Smith Boise's Jeron Johnson TCU's Tejay Johnson Buffalo's DaVonte Shannon I disagree with Mark Legree being the best centerfield in the country. He's certainly produced at App State, but his a mid-round prospect for a reason. He's the best FCS safety.
I forgot Jermale Hines, he's a decent FS with good tackling skills. Quinton Carter or DMC is my leading favorite candidates for the Jets.
Jermale Hines is one of the more versatile DB prospects. DeAndre McDaniel is my top guy too. If Jerrard Tarrant comes out though, he'd shoot to the top of my safety rankings.
I thought Tarrant mentioned he was staying, maybe I'm wrong, another player I overlooked. Kenny Tate is an unbelievable talent, doubt he comes out. Possibily an elite Safety in 2012's class. Tate is one of the biggest safeties I've ever seen. BTW, off topic: Fitzhugh turned down the Jet's offer today. Maybe they will bring in Emanuel Cook from the UFL, he knows our system.
I haven't heard anything about Tarrant declaring yet. ...just wishful thinking right now. Tate is a beast. You don't find too many 6'4 220 pounders with that kind of athleticism. WVU's Robert Sands is another big safety that would probably fit in Ryan's scheme. He'd be a great matchup against most tight ends. There aren't any elite safeties in this draft, but there's a lot of talent outside of the first round. It'd be nice to bring in a safety with experience - makes more sense than the Coles' signing.
Robert Sands- West Virginia Although he is a junior there is a good chance he declares this year. big hitter and at 6-5 and 221 pounds has the ability to be a very good blitzer from the safety position at the NFL level due to his size and athletic ability.
Yep...Sands is a big player with bigtime potential. Quite a few safeties will have to make a decision to declare. The Round 2-4 area could be a large amount of safeties...maybe a dozen.
The need to draft a safety will be vastly minimized when we finally draft someone that can rush the QB
If there isn't any legitimate elite safety in this draft... Could it be possible to sign a free agent safety or aqcuire one as a stopgap? Or just draft a safety as a stopgap?
I'm a big fan of Jermale Hines after watching a couple of his games late this season. He can do it all, and always seems to be in on plays. If I had to rank my top senior safety prospects right now, I'd have McDaniel, Williams, Carter, Hines, and Lefeged as my top 5 in that order.
It would definitely be better to acquire a safety through free agency who is ready to start than to try and get a passrusher that way. Elite rush LBs aren't easy to find because teams just don't let them go, but the Jets can get a Dawan Landry and be right where we need to be in the back four.
I agree here but did the doctors say that Leonhard's injury is career threatening? It wasn't a complex fracture and he has a titanium plate in there now. I expect he will be @ full strength next year.
I could see us signing Tanard Jackson and pairing him with a FS that we use with our 2nd pick, hopefully McDaniel/Williams/Moore.
