Bad is putting it gracefully for Locker. Was glad to see Fua play well. Sherman was ok outside of that terrible, terrible bite at the end of the first half.
I'm surprised no one mentioned Phil Taylor and Jarvis Jenkins. Both were very good. Phil Taylor really moved well and showed good power. I definitely think he might be our first round pick if he has a good combine. His movement and effort running down players at 337 pounds was really impressive. He flashed pretty good pass rush capability for a NT.
I'd be ecstatic if the Jets wound up either with Vonn Miller or Phil Taylor. I wouldn't mind the Fua kid in a lower round, either. Another player I like is JJ Watt.
If we end up drafting Taylor, we'd better not commit big money to David Harris. Having Taylor in the middle would have a huge impact on the run game. Given the comments on Harris from the FO lately, I'm not expecting him to be the pick.
Devil's advocate - Taylor can make Harris look like a pro bowler in a couple of years. I love how fluid that kid is for a giant man. He reminds me of Kris Jenkins. That's who I see when he moves. The Jets HAVE to move down in the draft. Pick me up Taylor in the 2nd and Reed in the 3rd and this draft is already a win. Reed is going to be a pain in the ass off the edge. He looked comfortable standing up which made me more certain he can be a starter in this league. If the Jets end up with a 2nd and two 3rds from trading down, and they can get those two guys. Its a home run. Or get back to the 2nd and get Sheard, but I think Sheard and Reed aren't starters right away.. that means BT stays on the team.
The point isn't whether Harris would get better with Taylor up front. The point is whether he'd be worthwhile with Taylor up front. There's not a whole lot better that Harris can get against the run, and having Taylor up front isn't going to suddenly improve his coverage problems. If we had a more dominant rotational line, we could (and should) shave money from our inside linebackers. That was my point. I don't think a marginal improvement in the run defense is worth $8 million. As far as trading back, I agree. I wouldn't be displeased at all if we did it for once, although I'm hoping they love a pass rusher available at the end of 1, and many believe Taylor has moved himself up into first round status.
That's a good point, and add on top of that I'm pretty sure Harris is the only upcoming FA that will be a restricted FA under the traditional system (if the CBA is figured out). He can bring something back if he's let go, which makes him a little more valuable to us in that regard. He's absolutely worth a lot more to us than our original investment (2nd rounder), but that could be our best option.
Under the traditional system, he'd be a UFA since he has four years in the league. We'd have to go back to the uncapped year rules to get RFA status out of him.
Darn. We're in a tough spot then, because I'm not sure a tag on him would bring back more than either of the WRs.
Yeah, that's true. If we're going to tag someone for trade purposes, it'll be really tough to balance the value of keeping that player with the trade value. Cromartie would probably bring the highest value if tagged, but we'd have to be awfully certain that Wilson was ready to take over.
With a NT like Taylor we could bring A LOT more pressure through the middle... it would help Harris and Scott get to the QB more often... plus if we get Taylor we can trade a guy like Pouha that's in the last year of his contract. Draft Taylor in rd 1, trade Pouha for a high 3rd and I'm happy...
No one's going to give us a high 3rd for Pouha and there's no way we should be trading him so we can start a rookie with no depth behind him, unless you're banking on Jenkins coming back. I'm not.
Why trade a sure thing???????....Pouha is a good player. Everyone is acting like Taylor is the next Vince Wilfork....risky shit. We would be trading one player for another in the same position, without addressing a huge need, rush OLB.
I'm a big fan of Taylor but no way would I draft him then trade Pouha for a pick. The great thing about Pouha is his versatility. He can start at DE and rotate at NT.
Which is the key to it all. If the pro-Taylor argument isn't predicated upon the scenario every potential 1st round 3-4 OLB being off the board, there's no argument to be had. Like you, I just don't see that scenario happening.
That's why if Taylor is in the 35-50 range, I'd want to trade back and get more picks to get that OLB in the 2nd or 3rd. The way Tanny drafts its going to be a trade back and trade up. Its his MO. To get a DL and a LB in the 2nd round that are solid football players, its a win. I'm buying more into this idea the more I type about it.
