I agree, I think some team will be in love with his ability and take him him the 3rd round, early 4th. I would prefer him in the 5th, or in the 6th since it looks like we'll be getting a few comp picks there.
Jordan has improved upon everything in his game since HS and will continue to. In the past he's used his size to beat press coverage but that won't work in the NFL so I expect him to continue to adjust and adapt. If he's facing zone coverage he should be fine, his awareness is amazing. People are over-reading into his Senior Bowl performance without realizing that he's the type of player to constantly improve and would probably perform best against the teams he's most familiar with (i.e. divisional round). People aren't quick to compliment Matthews for exceeding expectations in his 40 time; prior to the Combine it was assumed he wouldn't run faster than a 4.5. I could see him becoming Reggie Wayne Lite. He definitely doesn't have the same ceiling as Watkins Evans or Lee but he's the safest bet to have a long, productive NFL career. Regardless, even if he ends up as a one-dimensional receiver, he'll probably have a very productive pro career. I'm obviously talking him up but IMO it's rare to find any NFL prospect, much less a WR, with his drive and character. He plays the game the right way and would make Jets fans very proud of him. He's the type of guy that would take a paycut just to help the team win.
And this is exactly the kind of guy you hope the Jets get in the 2nd or even 3rd round. A solid receiver who can complement the #1 guy and force the defense to account for him.
Matthews has all the ability to become a #1 WR. He's big,strong,fast, runs w/ power after the catch, huge hands,smart guy & has all the intangibles. Beyond that he was productive to the point of setting mind boggling SEC records w/ an inferior surrounding cast. Does he have things to work on? Of course. Every single WR in this draft does. But he has all the physical tools as well as the work ethic to improve in his areas of opportunity & that's a big part of this whole process. Every single prospect has things to work on. Are the attributes & work ethic in place for the player to eventually overcome those hurdles? In this case the answer is a resounding yes.
It sounds like whatever team drafts Cooks won't have to worry about his work ethic or competitive drive. http://www.oregonlive.com/beavers/index.ssf/2013/12/hawaii_bowl_driven_by_fathers.html “Other schools, they show you cool stuff, but how much of it is real?” Brandin says. “OK, let’s go drive around this neighborhood in Bel Air … but when am I going to be back here? What does this have to do with me breaking records? In Corvallis, you’re here to take care of business. That’s what I wanted.” “He has an uncommon maturity,” Brennan said. “As a freshman, we’d watch practice tape, and he was blowing everybody away because he was winning his one-on-one so much. And he was controlling the matchup, always always positioning himself to go against Jordan Poyer, one of the best defensive backs in the country. I knew then he was different. Most true freshmen aren’t looking to line up and possibly get their (butt) kicked every time. But he loved that challenge.”
He was on Jim Rome today. Great, great kid. He sold me. I was very impressed that he has already began the construction of his foundation to give back. No team yet, no contract, but he's still already thinking about making a difference in the community. I understand you got to have God-given abilities to succeed in this league too and that plenty of great people have washed out because of their lack of abilities, but he seems like he has his head on right and will work his ass off for his organization. If it's close between him and another guy, I'd take him. Morningweg worked wonders with DeSean Jackson and he seems like a similar player......(wishful thinking?)
I'm warming up to Cooks a lot too. I watched some tape on him recently and he reminds by of a more physical hybrid of Desean Jackson/Teavon Austin. I'd welcome him at 18 now, where before i wasn't sure...
I like the little dig Cooks takes at UCLA and/or USC. The kid looks like he's got big-time potential with his quickness and explosiveness He'd be a very good pick at 18.
Hey Everyone, After reading the Metrics on: http://www.rotoworld.com/articles/cfb/46006/349/peshek-top-4-wr-metrics http://www.rotoworld.com/articles/cfb/46136/349/peshek-wr-metrics-20 I decided to use the percentages to calculate actual numbers. This will give us another view of production & make it easier to compare player stats. First: The catches, yds, avg, & TD were found on ESPN. YAC & Drops were calculated using the metrics from the website above. Name___Catches__ Yards__ Avg__ YAC__ TD__ Drops Cooks____128.00__ 1730.00__ 13.50__ 5.24__ 16.00__ 6.00 Matthews__112.00__ 1477.00__ 13.20__ 7.80__ 7.00__ 9.00 Landry____77.00__ 1193.00__ 15.50__ 5.29__ 10.00__ 2.00 Beckham__59.00__ 1152.00__ 19.50__ 5.60__ 8.00__ 4.00 Robinson __97.00__ 1432.00__ 14.80__ 7.56__ 6.00 __ 6.00 Watkins___101.00__ 1464.00__ 14.50__ 8.48__ 12.00 __ 5.00 Evans_____69.00__ 1394.00__ 20.20__ 7.63__ 12.00__ 3.00 Benjamin__54.00__ 1011.00__ 18.70__ 4.89__ 15.00__ 6.00 Lee______57.00___ 791.00__ 13.90__ 7.05__ 4.00__ 7.00 Second: Using the metric provide I calculated the # catches per zone. Name_____Screen - 5 Yards_____ 6-20 Yards_____ 11+ Yards Cooks_______ 65.18__________ 46.16___________ 37.76 Matthews_____ 71.14_________ 32.36___________ 30.03 Landry______ 23.71__________ 41.46___________ 29.61 Beckham_____ 11.22__________ 37.64___________ 36.62 Robinson_____ 42.41_________ 44.60___________ 30.10 Watkins______ 71.00_________ 20.00___________ 20.00 Evans_______ 28.88__________ 22.66___________ 27.81 Benjamin_____ 13.51_________ 27.00___________ 27.00 Lee_________ 28.00__________ 27.00___________ 14.00 My Biggest takeaways are: 1) Sammy Watkins & Jordan Matthews both caught 71 balls 5 yards and under from the line of scrimmage. 2) ODJ was the second most productive receiver 11+ yards from scrimmage despite having only 59 total catches. 3) Holy production Brandin Cooks & it's in all the zones.
People thought Reggie Wayne was the same thing coming out of college I believe. He played the #1 role pretty good in the NFL. Cooks does look good though after taking a week to watch some of his game-tape.
Wayne was drafted onto a team with a clear #1 WR in Marvin Harrison. He played the #2 role for several years before Harrison retired. Then he slid into the #1 role. If the Jets had a big #1 like Harrison then I'd be less opposed to taking Matthews as the #2 and grooming him to be the #1. He's going to have to be the #1 by 2015 and I think the jury is out on that one.
The #1 WR on the depth chart should be a veteran - with the rookie being the #2 option to start things off. Jeffery isn't a #1 for the Bears for example. Matthews could have the same career path as Reggie Wayne but in a Jets uniform.
He could have that career path if the Jets had a true #1 WR next to him. If he's the guy the career path is going to be somewhat different. WR's in general are complimentary players. They need a good QB to complement. They need other receivers around them to complement. A lone WR with great skills can still prosper but his team can't. His team will tend to be middle of the pack and below. The Jets problem the last few years is that they let the clutch of mid-career complementary receivers evaporate. Coles-Cotchery-Edwards-Holmes was a decent run of complementary receivers. They haven't replaced the true #1 Coles who started the run and all the #1/#2 guys since then have gone out the door or are headed that way as well. I'd like to see them get one of the true #1 prospects in this draft at 18. That's the best way to begin to renew the cycle. Adding a #1/#2 in that slot instead is just going to leave the Jets looking for a #1 or a couple of other #1/#2's. Even if you get the cloud of truly complementary receivers like the Jets had in 2010 with Cotchery, Edwards and Holmes it doesn't guarantee you a high-powered offense. Why was the Texans offense high-powered from 2008 to 2012? It wasn't Schaub. It was Schaub, several TE's and a bunch of #2 WR's complementing Andre Johnson. Take Andre Johnson out of the picture and everybody else struggles.
post-combine, I hear Donte Moncrief's stock is actually rising, and some mention that he could be a huge steal in the later rounds. Had good production in college, played in SEC good speed (ran 4.40), size (6'3" 226s), route-running and good hands. Actually had the highest vertical of WRs in this draft @ 39.5" I've heard Dez Bryant comparison. Anybody followed him closely in college with a take on him? With those measurables & traits, what's his reason for being unnoticed.
I've been watching a lot of film on Davante Adams and I gotta tell you the more I watch the more I want him on this team... He's a good physical specimen at just under 6'2 and 212 LBs... Don't forget he's still is growing into his body... Could snag him in the 2nd round.
Assuming a WR is BPA at any given pick, does our existing stable of mediocre WRs even enter into the equation of who to take? Specifically, does the fact that we have Kerley/Nelson affect our WR draft plans? I am growing more and more fond of Cooks, but I'm not sure his game complements Kerley's. Along those lines, does the fact that we have Nelson make it less appealing that we draft a big possession WR like Benjamin? For the record, I'm not saying Cooks and Benjamin are comparable, and I understand that I'm getting unnecessarily spun up about this. We need athletes, first and foremost, so does it matter if the best available WR's skillset overlaps what we already have?
I'm guessing the Jets just take the best available WR's if they are BPA or close on a pick and let the chips fall where they may. Having Kerley is great but unless you're projecting a draftee as a slot receiver there's no overlap in skills. Having Nelson is good too but you're not going to lose the chance to draft a good young player because you have a mid-career journeyman he'll be competing with. In fact you want that outcome. Have enough decent WR's and the cream will rise to the top. Possession dude rookie might get beat out by Nelson this year and then be the guy next year when Nelson leaves or gets hurt.
In the Jet's situation, if you draft a WR in Rd 1, take BPA WR and not worry about your current roster. Now, if you're looking to draft another WR in a later Rd, you may want to find a complimentary player to the one you selected earlier. Mike Evans Rd 1 and Bruce Ellington in Rd 3 would be 2 good players that compliment each other's game and one is an outstanding KR.
I think I've given up on any chance that Evans falls to the Jets. Even the "stiff hips" comments at the combine didn't drop his stock.
