I want Ingram but the mocks I've seen post draft all have him going top 10 now. I think the Jets have to get a pass rusher. They've only drafted one in the last 6 drafts and that didn't go so well. Ingram would be suggs in the jets defense since they don't run a conventional 3-4. If none of the pass rushers with first round grades are available I would look at Decastro, Richardson or possible a tackle. I believe the Jets can get a solid WR later in the draft.
To be fair, Cleveland added an extra first from last year, and since they pick 4th, they wouldn't have to give up as much. Trading down last year gives them more flexibility to do a deal like this. They'd struggle to get people around RG3 this year, but next year, they would be fine.
And assuming they could protect RGIII well enough they'd get the same 5-11 or worse out of him as they would out of McCoy or any of their other options. I don't expect RGIII to sit his rookie season, as much as that might help him in the future. I expect him to get 400+ throws and probably 500+ yards on the ground on the way to his rookie disaster.
My wish list at 16: 1) Ingram: I think Ingram is a beast and I want him desperately. He fits exactly what we need and showed he's athletic enough to make the switch to OLB for us. Unfortunately, I don't see him making it to 16. 2) Decastro: He has All-Pro guard written all over him. I don't love the idea of taking a G this early, but if Ingram is off the board he may be the best value. 3) Floyd: His 40 time has me excited about him. Big body, good production, pretty good speed. I think we could really use him. Santonio, Floyd, and Kerley would be a pretty talented (and diverse) group for Sanchez. 4) Mercilus: He's a great pass rusher. His combine also showed he's a pretty solid athlete and should be able to handle OLB. 16 sacks speak for itself, and he backed it up with his workout. I watched him a lot this year and he's got a non-stop motor too. High character guy. 5) Upshaw: I started off high on him but he didn't run the 40 and reports say he may be a "set-the-edge" type player. And while those are valuable guys, we need a dude who can get after the QB. We don't need any more Bryan Thomas' or Calvin Pace's. We need our Terrell Suggs.
Upshaw's upside is in the middle not on the outside and as the guy who takes on the lead blockers coming through not as the sweeper. I'm not quite as high on him as I was when I posted the thread. I expected that he would show enough at the combine to let the Jets reasonably play him at either OLB as a rookie and then move him inside next to Harris in a year or two at the outside. Now it looks like he may be unable to play out on the edge at the NFL level, which reduces his viability some in terms of immediate impact. The Jets really don't want to have another project who has problems getting onto the field. They've had too many of those in a row at this point. They need somebody who is going to be on the field play 1 for the defense or offense next season and stays there without a problem.
I agree 100% with your top three, but personally I would try and trade down if none of those 3 were available.
DeCastro, Ingram, Perry, Brockers, Poe, Cox, Adams, Glenn, Richardson. All would help this team a lot. This team needs athletes. All of these guys are exceptional athletes. Now they need to be tested for functional strength, speed, flexibility, and balance. Watch the game tape, bring them in for drills. Make a BPA list and take whoever's at the top when our pick comes in.
C'mon, really? There is no way those are your own words. Hell, you've stated multiple times through the years that you only watch Jets games.
Actually I watch Michigan games and the Jets. That said, virtually everything I say about a non-Big Ten college prospect is based on watching every play reels for various games after getting what the pro scouts have said on a player. The stuff on Upshaw was based on his voluminous highlight reels and with the input of Matt De Lima, Nolan Nawrocki, Charlie Campbell and others. Re-watching the videos after the combine I started looking hard for decision-making since Upshaw's speed was in question. I didn't really like what I saw. Similar to Mark Barron Upshaw does a lot of guessing and similar to Barron when he is right he gets great results and when he is wrong he gives up plays. I'm thinking that Saban's system relies on having a lot of good players and a few sweepers to cover up the bad guesses. I think Dont'a Hightower was the sweeper in that Alabama defense, again because of the stuff I saw when I was specifically looking for it. I'm actually higher on Hightower right now than Upshaw.
I do get that sense of Hightower as well. He's definitely the cleanup man on that defense no question.
