With only a few weeks till the draft and spending lots of time over the last few weeks doing research for our 3 and 7 round mocks I am going to give one of these a shot. Hopefully I'll get some interesting critiques as these aren't exactly my deal but what the hey. Rd 1 - Michael Floyd, WR Notre Dame: The Jets are all about headlines and homeruns and Floyd does both. Drafting a homerun hitter from Notre Dame which is sure to get the fans excited and also give Sanchez a weapon and take the pressure of Tone. Might not be the best pick in terms of need but it keeps Rex and Co exactly where they want to be.... back page champions again. Rd 2- Trumaine Johnson, CB/S Montana: Rex loves his DB's and Johnson should be able to make the transition to safety from CB. He has an eye for the ball possesses a good combo of size and speed. Fills a need as nobody has confidence in Landry or Smith to help out Revis, Wilson and Cro. Rd 3 - Mitchell Shwartz, OT Cal: Maybe some wishful thinking hoping he falls but Schwartz is a good candidate to play RT in the NFL. Has some good size and could be the answer to our RT issue. Don't think he'll ever be a LT which is fine as long as Brick is healthy. Rd 4 - XXXX Rd 5 - Dwight Bentley, CB Louisiana-Lafayette: An undersized corner who has speed and quickness. Was a #1 in college but is probably a Nickel/Dime CB in the NFL. Rex loves his CB's and Bentley could be a solid one as long as he doesn't have to go up against a #1 or #2 in the NFL. Rd 6 - Miles Burris, OLB San Diego State, seems like a natural fit as a 3-4 OLB. Doesn't have the size to play down but certainly has the motor to get after the QB. Is a playmaker and always seems to be around the ball. I think any 3-4 team that takes Burris is getting themselves a good player. Rd 6 - Chris Rainey, RB/ST Florida: Not going to get much PT as our running back but has an uncanny knack to block punts. Could be Westhoff's wet dream if we can somehow steal Rainey. Rd 6 - Randy Bullock, K Texas A&M: Very accurate in college and has a career long of 50 yards. I'm not a Folk fan in the least and again I think ST is our weakest unit base on our kickers and punters who often times eliminate the weapons we usually possess in the return game. Rd 7 - Adrien Hamilton, DE/OLB Prairie View A&M: I am in love with this kid. He reminds me of a poor man's John Abraham minus the crappy attitude. Originally signed to play at Oklahoma St but had to drop out, then attempted to walk onto Texas Tech but was unable to afford school. Had 22.5 sacks as a senior and my gut tells me this kid is gone much sooner then the 7th round. Can also play down so we'd be adding another pass rusher to the line as well as one who can play LB. Rd 7 - Art Forst, OL Rutgers: Forst was moved around a bunch in college but I think he is a sleeper. Can play Guard and Tackle but we'd be using him as a Guard. He wouldn't need to start immediately but would have the opportunity to be groomed to take over for Moore (or Slausen) in a year or 2. Like Bellichick said of Rutgers players, they are always NFL ready and I think Forst could end up being a solid player in the league. Rd 7 - Kyle Martens, P Rice: Another ST player with a big time frame and leg. Martens is well over 6 feet tall and weighs about 225. He also has a strong powerful leg that had a few punts go over 60 yards last season. With a comp pick near the end of the draft might as well look for a guy might be able to contribute immediately and make the roster from day 1. Throw in he's from Wyoming so you know he's a tough SOB
First 3 rounds are all solid value. Schwartz would surprise me as far as being around mid-3rd but stranger things have happened. Rainey i think will go earlier, he is just a playmaker in the Percy Harvin mold. Small, but quick shifty and will be a special teams demon. I think thats worth more than a late 6th round pick. Otherwise, the players you are taking chances on late in the draft are solid bets. I still despise the drafting of 1 kicker/punter, and you drafted 2 of them. If they both work out, its well worth it for 5-10 years of ST security. I'd rather get some more OL/LB depth with those picks, but thats just my particular feeling on the topic. well done.
^ not meaning to direct this at Jonky, its more of a general comment, but what in the hell is with the sudden Andre Branch love at 16? He isn't a great player, he has issues with physicality to his game, I don't think he is sudden enough for a RR defense, I don't like his ability to stand up very much and frankly he wasn't even the best player on his own defensive line. Also he played for Clemson, and for whatever reason all of the good to great Clemson defensive prospects to come out over the last 5-10 years have flamed out. Not that this particular fact should carry much weight, but coupled with the other factors, it adds to the scare factor for me. I don't know where the Branch to the Jets love came from, even though Rex worked him out, Rex has worked out about 10 guys personally at pro days this year, and obviously worked out all the guys we had in for visits. To top it all off, Branch isn't nearly as good of a 3-4 OLB prospect as a guy like Shea McClelin who will go in the same area (end of the 1st - beginning of the second).
I like the thought processes but I just cannot see us not going pass rush in either Rd 1 or Rd 2 (especially in such a deep WR class). That said if Floyd is there I could very well see him being the pick and so I think OLB in Rd 2 seems very likely (based on who is available at the time of course).
I agree with that, in a perfect world I think they would like to go passrusher and OL in the 1st and 2nd rounds however I don't see them reaching for a guy unless he is their guy. I don't know what passrushers will be there and honestly I would like them to take DeCastro in the 1st round but even if he is there this team loves headlines and people talking about them. I don't think they'll take DeCastro even if he is there because of the shock and awe aspect even though in my mind it's the wrong decision. My dream would be DeCastro in the 1st pass on the safety and get a passrusher in the 2nd and then take Brian Quick in the 3rd. It's a weak safety class and no sense using a 2nd on a project safety although I think Johnson can make the transition.
I love your 1st 3 picks, I had the Trumaine J & Mitchell S in my last mock over a month ago before the Tebow trade and comp picks. http://forums.theganggreen.com/showthread.php?t=71116 I don't think Floyd and Schwartz will last to the Jets in Rd 1 & 3.
I'd rather upgrade the LB core before we worry about weapons on offense... Defense will HAVE to take us far this year and if they dont we are SOL
