no trades or free agency signings in here because they are far too unpredictable. but I will say I hope we get either a WR, S or OG in FA. ROUND 1: Dee Ford (DE/OLB, Auburn) - this is a kid I've been a fan of for some time. his stock will only continue to rise. he played well at the BCS title game, he was the standout in the Senior Bowl and I think come combine/draft interviews he is going to impress a lot of coaches, one being Rex Ryan. now I know it's another defensive pick in the first, but an OLB is a position of need. I would bring Pace back at a vet minimum, but one can't dispute how nasty our front 7 will be with Ford, Mo, Shells and Coples. Ford is a ferocious pass rusher and a born leader. someone I'd love to see Rex sink his teeth into. ROUND 2: Jordan Matthews (WR, Vanderbilt) - I had a few different receivers at this spot, and with our position in the round it's hard to gauge what receivers will and will not be there. Matthews is a mystery. some scouts say he's a first round talent, some say he's a second. My hope is that we can land him in the second. like Dee Ford he is a born leader. all the yards and records he set at Vanderbilt with poor QB play is something to look at. he isn't the quickest receiver but he finds ways to create separation. adding a receiver in FA like a Hakeem Nicks with Matthews can give Geno some reliable weapons to build chemistry with. ROUND 3a: David Yankey (OG/OT, Stanford) - guard was a disaster for us last season. we need to either add one in FA or address it in the draft. Yankey is an NFL ready o-linemen. he's stout in both his run blocking and pass protection. ROUND 3b: Craig Loston (S, LSU) - safety is another glaring issue for us. I hope Ed Reed is brought back or maybe sign Nick Collins to a 1 yr deal to mentor our younger guys. he played well this year against tough competition and I like the way he plays the position. ROUND 4: C.J. Fiedorowicz (TE, Iowa) - TE is another position that is tough to gauge who will be there and who won't be. I think C.J. has a chance of making it to the 4th. he's projected anywhere from the 2-5 round range. he's a big target at 6'5, very athletic and a lot quicker than some would think. With Kellen Winslow most likely gone we are gonna need to get a replacement. ROUND 5: Jerick McKinnon (RB, Georgia Southern) - McKinnon was a QB in college but will be moving to RB for the NFL, which I think is a very smart move. he had over 1,000 rushing yards with 12 TD's in his senior season and showed off his athleticism in the Senior Bowl. ROUND 6: T.J. Jones (WR, Notre Dame) T.J. Jones will be our primary P/KR guy. he's a nice slot receiver, but we have Kerley so he won't have much use but that also frees Kerley up from return duties. I think Jones is more explosive there and better overall than Kerley at it. a good return man is something we have lacked since Brad Smith left. ROUND 7: Kirby Van Der Kemp (P, Iowa State) - Quigley just flat out sucks, why we cut Malone for him still baffles me to this day. you only draft a punter if it's an absolute need and for us, it is. Van Der Kemp will most likely come in with Quigley to compete and win the job. thoughts on this one?
we should have a few comp picks as well, no? Getting only 1 starting caliber wide receiver and a TE in the 5th will probably be unacceptable to most on this board (based on what I've been reading). Taking a defensive player that is not a safety in the first will also probably be frowned upon. Not sure Matthews will last till our pick in the 2nd, if he did i'd be happy w/the first 4 rounds.
i'd be upset if we took Ford... Not because he isn't a good player more because we need guys who can make plays on offense... For me our draft targets in the first round should be one of these 6 guys: 1.Watkins 2.Evans 3.Ebron 4.Benjamin 5.Lee 6.Amaro My gut tells me we will draft Kelvin Benjamin.. Jets scouted the nols hard in big games.. If we do i will be extremely exited because IMO he has the highest cieling out of all the WR/TE in the entire draft!
Yes of course will get some comp picks but since they haven't been determined yet I did not include them. I think only 2 safeties will be taken in the first (Clinton-Dix and Pryor) both of which I think will be gone.
I agree... The boys are going to be all over Ha Ha if he falls to them! Pryor might even slip to the early 2nd round
It's tough to choose who we take in the first. It's always the most disputed pick in the mocks I see. I don't think Amaro, Lee or Benjamin are worth 18 overall. I see them as late first round prospects. I see something special in Ford, he will be a first round pick and he is someone Rex will strongly consider.
Benjamin is a stud! Rex would love Ford yes! But i think with Coples and Pace we are in much better shape at OLB than Holmes and Hill at WR.
BTW no chance Yankey drops to the 3rd round... He is a late 1st/2nd rounder in most mocks i've seen but if he falls to us in the 3rd i'm all for it!!!
Methinks you have a bad case of indigestion. ;-) I'd be royally upset if we took Benjamin over Ford. I'm not that high on Benjamin. I think he's a bit of a project. He has size, and good speed for his size, but is far from an NFL-ready player. I don't want him at all, because to get him, the Jets would have to draft him way too high.
I don't think Fiedorowicz drops to the middle of the 4th round or Yankey drops to the 3rd. I could see Yankey going in the 2nd, maybe even late 1st, and Fiedorowicz going in the 3rd round, maybe even the 2nd. I'd love it if they did drop to us, of course. I would be very, very happy with that draft even if we didn't get a FS or SS. The reality is that we just can't address every need on the team. The comp picks will help. I don't know anything about T.J. Jones, but we definitely need a returner and I really like the rest of the picks. Good job.
As a red shirt softmore he was miss match in every game for the nols... When he torched Florida for 212 yards and 3 TDs the Jets had their core scouting staff at that game! You might have to start liking him soon
OLB is absolutely a position of need but not nearly as much as WR/TE. There are some decent OLBs that should be available in the mid to late rounds. Unless Ford is projected as a perennial pro-bowler I would rather use that pick on offense or trade down to get some more depth picks.
Ford would be a star and have a HUGE impact behind our DL. He would help take our D to the next level. I think he could have a bigger impact on Jets games than Ebron or probably anyone else in the first round other than Bridgewater, Clowney, Barr, Mack or Watkins. He would help cover up for the shortcomings of our secondary, and be a dynamic sideline-to-sideline presence in the middle of our D. I would be excited beyond belief if the Jets took him in the first.
I think a healthy Coples can be that guy. We NEED playmakers for Geno... We cant keep putting bums like Hill out there and hope for the best...
You may be right about how good he is and the Jets' interest in him. I guess we'll see in a few months. I think you need to remember that he was a mismatch in college. While some of the teams in the ACC are improving (Duke) and they have some new schools with good football programs, others are tailing off (Va Tech for example). He won't have it nearly so easy in the NFL. I think he has the potential to be a very good WR, but I think it could take him a year or two to develop, and the Jets need a WR who can contribute immediately.
I'm not saying that we don't need play makers for Geno. We obviously do, but just because the Jets took Ford in the 1st, doesn't mean they couldn't get play makers in the 2nd-4th rounds and sign a WR and/or TE in FA. I don't think Coples has a third of the potential that Ford has. He'll never be as fast as Ford, and based on what I've read about Ford so far, his work ethic is already better than Coples.
I hear what you're saying and you have a valid point. That said, WR is the deepest position in the draft, and they could possibly get a topnotch WR prospect in the 2nd and/or 3rd round, and the same thing cannot be said of the OLB position. To be honest, I'm torn. On one hand, Ford could develop into one of the best in the NFL at his position, and I'm not sure the Jets will be in position to get a WR or TE who could become one of the best in the NFL. OTOH, WR and TE are HUGE needs and we definitely need to invest more #1 picks on that side of the ball. At this point my top preferences for our #1 pick is WR or OLB. TE would be next. I don't want any other position taken there unless someone like Dix or Pryor fall to the 18th pick and the Jets have them as the BPA.
Some decent linebackers available later? That's the same scenario with the wideouts. We won't get Evans or Watkins who are the only two receivers I'd take in the first. The second/third rounds will potentially have the likes of Beckham, Robinson, Cooks, Landry, Matthews, Coleman, Richardson, Adams, Ellington, Moncrief, etc. All great value in those rounds, how many linebackers can we get with the same value in those rounds? I agree WR/TE are big needs but the receiver pool is so deep. TE has a pretty solid crop as well. Dee Ford is just too good a talent to pass on. A talent at OLB that we won't find in rounds 3-7.
