I can take your argument the other way as well. There is not one edge rusher complete enough to warrant a selection at 9 in this draft. Jordan, Ansah and Mingo are physical talents with limited production and all need time to be an impact player. Jones has horrible workouts and a medical issue. Werner and Moore have good production but physicaly are not dominant athletes. In this draft there is not the top end talent of previous years at any position out side of guard, OT, and Maybe DT. Everyone is flawed at the edge, skill positions, QB, and there is not a RB worthy of a round one pick. It's a draft with little difference in skill from picks 10 through 60. It's deep, but not a great draft. Why a guy like Austin at nine? Because you can grab a good guard, a different decent QB prospect, or a saftey, or even a RB in rounds 2-5 that are capable. After the likes of Austin and Patterson, you have a bunch of very good receivers, but no one your would classify as a potential great playmaker. A less than stellar top end of the draft is why a lot of these players are getting talked about higher than they would in other years.
No what's funny is everyone who is saying it's a good idea to get a 5'8" WR with the #9 selection won't even address the fact that we just lost 2 of our starting O-linemen and are still stuck with Howard up there who is only serviceable at best. Not to mention we also lost both of our starting safeties, our starting TE, Bryan Thomas to retirement, let Scott and Pace go so we're down 3 starting LB's, we have zero pass rush, and we're ranked 25th in defense against the run. The only spots we're ok at is DE, CB (for now), RB (maybe) and WR. But hey, it's not really a luxury pick.
Actually, we signed Colon. We can pick up a guard later in the draft. Davis is gonna step in at ILB. We signed Barnes to replace Pace, and we can pick up another OLB in the 2nd round. We're not drafting a safety at nine. Our offense was pathetic and you think it's a luxury to take probably the best all around offensive player in the draft? Ok.
A need is something you have to have, something you can't do without. A want is something you would like to have. It is not absolutely necessary, but it would be a good thing to have.
Antwaan Randle El went with pick #62. If I'm drafting a "gadget" player, I'm not doing so any higher than that.
I say go Tavon Austin with the 9th pick and have our WR core like Holmes/Austin/Kerley/Hill also it would be nice to have a tight end in round 3-4
Problem. We need a QB who can max out those WRs potentials as well as a balanced offensive line to give WRs time to get open. Both of which, we don't have.
It's not a luxury pick because he will be an immediate contributor and our best offensive playmaker. That's not a luxury. A guy like that is someone who will be an important piece to our offense and keep us in a lot of games. Also you say we're set a RB??? Not even close. Our RB's are weak. McKnight is not an NFL RB. He's a special teams player and that's all he is. Powell remains to be seen. Goodson also remains to be seen if he's an every down back. We need a stud RB, which is something we do not have today. We also need a stud WR as well. Our offense is the weakest part of our team and it starts with our skill players. QB, obviously the weakest link. Most teams in the league would love to have D'Brick and Mangold so our offensive line isn't the priority. We need an O lineman but you make it sound like that's the biggest problem on our O which couldn't be further from the truth. We need a big upgrade in our playmakers at the skill positions. Austin would be an impact player from Day 1. That alone warrants taking him at 9. The only reason people on this board want Geno Smith is because he put up some good combine numbers and we're so hungry for a decent QB. However you don't just reach for any old QB. Geno has a lot of flaws in his game and underachieved at WVU last year in a lot of big games. He's a huge project at 9. Austin's the much more proven commodity than Smith.
You act like we lost a bunch of studs. Did you ever think that maybe our defense couldn't stop the run because we had a bunch of old, slow LB'rs who are now gone? The only guys worth mentioning we lost are Landry, who truly was a difference maker and Keller who is slightly above average and extremely over rated by Jets fans. We also drafted Demario Davis & 2 safeties last year and picked up an OLB and a G in FA. WR is NOT a strength on this team. Our best receiver who is a very good #2 WR at best is coming of a major, potentially debilitating injury, Kerly is pretty good and getting better and Hill has a bunch of good combine numbers but no production to back it up. We do not have a single play maker on the offensive side of the ball that other teams need to game plan around. Our offense has sucked dick for years and has struggled to put up points. If putting up points is a luxury then I'm guilty of wanting the Jets to make a luxury pick. I do think 9 is early for him, so I agree with you there.
Ducasse played about a 3rd of the snaps at LG last season and played as well, if not better than Slauson. I worry about the schematic switch, but he should be able to hold down that spot. Not sure about Colon. He's a question mark IMO, but if healthy he can be a good signing and at the very least a serviceable guard. Howard played actually very well last year. He was about middle of the pack in terms of pass blocking, but a top 5 run blocking tackle. He's going back to the system that he started in, so he should continue to develop. I think you are forgetting the offenses biggest need behind QB, which is a playmaker. We havent had a playmaker on this team in years. No one on this offense is going to make a defense think twice. Austin can line up at WR, RB and return kicks. He's someone that can certainly fill that playmaker role. He will be drafted high this year, and many people are probably going to be surprised how high. Completely agree with you about the QB comment. As for the OL, it definitely has room to improve, but someone like Tavon Austin can help an OL a lot. He can get open quickly which allows a QB to get the ball out of his hands quickly (seen a lot at WVU that helped mask a pretty poor OL). Someone like Austin can also take some pressure off a young QB. A QBs best friend can be a great playmaker. Tavon Austin can certainly help an offense as a whole- taking some pressure off a QB and giving the OL less time to block.
We will have a 1-3 pick next year because Mark Sanchez will be the starting QB. Book it. The fix is on.
This video has pretty much changed my mind... you say he is too early for #9 but lets be honest any pick longer could be too late the way he runs after the catch he makes everyone miss check it: [YOUTUBE]T3_UNFZHSQU[/YOUTUBE]
Ok let me throw this out there. If we drafted Austin, don't you think we should trade Kerley? That would be 3 Wrs under 6 ft, and 2 under 5'9.
Why would he trade kerley he was drafted like 2 years ago and i doubt anyone wants kerely. does it matter if he is 5'8 have you seen the way he plays....
Yes I've watched him play. He's nasty. But look at what we would have. Holmes is a very good #2 receiver. kerley is better in the slot then the outside. Hill has stonehands. And then you throw in Austin. Yes you could line him up anywhere, but he's gotta proove in the nfl that's he's a Steve smith caliber of player.
assuming we get Mevis out of here for a 1st and 3rd this year, I think Geno Smith will be available at #9 with the recent QB signings around the league. Take Smith #9 then Austin at #13 then Guard, OLB, and Safety with our 2nd and 3rd round picks...
Austin would be the most electrifying player we have ever had on offense, and the best gamebreaker we have had since we traded Santana Moss
Do I think we need playmakers on offense, YES. Would I like to have Austin, YES. Do I think he's worth a #9 selection when our team is the weakest it's been in 6 years, NO. One guy already said it the best about how he's DeSean Jackson 2.0 and he wouldn't take Jackson at #9 already knowing he's a proven talent at the next level just because what he can do is too limited for his size. Someone else already mentioned also he's not Percy either who's jacked at like 200 lbs. I just don't consider WR a weak position for us, and we do have some very weak links on this team that should be addressed first. I say lets get a WR for sure this year just not at #9. And I think Idzik agrees with me about him and Geno. There's no if they're going to be there, they'll be there and we'll pass on them just like the other 8 teams before us. So I'm not going to defend why I wouldn't do it anymore when I know Johns not going to do it anyways.
