At this point the Jets need an OG, WR, TE (primary who can block and catch, Cumberland is a #2 guy who can catch), QB (good enough to put some pressure on Geno) and a RB who can catch and pass protect. You can make a good argument that they need 2 WR's and it wouldn't hurt to draft somebody who can play LT in a year or two. So that's 6 or 7 people on the offensive side alone. Then they need an OLB, an ILB (Jets depth at LB is really weak right now), a FS, a CB and you could argue that a SS would be a wise pick also if that's the way the talent fell. That's 4 or 5 people on the defensive side. Now figure that close to half the draft picks won't pan out for some reason and you have the Jets right about where they need to be to continue the build this year. Next year they'll be down to just 3 or 4 positions on the entire team to make them a strong contender. Trading up for somebody and having the pick not work out would be about as catastrophic a result as you could have at this point in the build process. It would likely put the Jets right back where they were going into this year in the overall process and lead to a year's delay in the build. Trading up and having it work out would resolve one of the 10 or so questions the Jets have to resolve before they're serious contenders. The odds just don't favor doing that. Better to resolve more than half of the questions this year and make the task next year manageable. Just imagine Sammy Watkins proving out but the Jets still needing an OG, an LT, an OLB, an ILB, a SS and a RB going into next year. Imagine Geno not working out after we'd made the trade up for a WR. That's where the build just gets long and painful.
You're talking about depth, I'm looking at the starters. QB: Geno Smith RB: Chris Ivory/Bilal Powell WR: Eric Decker, Jeremy Kerley, David Nelson TE: Jeff Cumberland OL: Brick, Winters, Mangold, G needed, Giacomini DL: Wilkerson, Richardson, Harrison, Ellis: Best in the NFL, without a doubt! LB: Coples, Harris, Davis, Pace: Even if Pace doesn't re-sign, still one of the best LB corps in NFL. CB: Milliner, DRC (assuming they close the deal), Wilson, Walls: Excellent group S: Antonio Allen, Dawan Landry: solid Outside of drafting Marqise Lee to be our #1 WR, and drafting a guard, what other holes do we have? None that I can see, except for depth....but we'll have plenty of draft picks for that even if we trade a 4th rounder to move up a few spots for Lee (we might not have to do that, I'm just saying that if there's any risk we might lose him, better to trade up than take that chance. Like they did when we drafted Revis)
Geno Smith is unproven at this point. Chris Ivory has had an injury history that is extensive. Ditto Jeremy Kerley. Cumberland is not a #1 TE. He might become one but he's not one now. The OL needs at least a guard and if you believe that D'Brick is on the decline then getting a LT to develop is a very smart move. LT's are very expensive in free agency and the top prospects always go in the 1st round in the draft. Having a decent young guy on the roster behind D'Brick would be a wise move at this point. DL: yes there is a group on the team that does not needs adds or upgrades. LB: ugh. Old, out of position and unproven. I don't see a single LB the Jets have right now that I am confident is still playing LB in the NFL in 2 seasons. CB: they're not closing the deal on DRC unless he has come down to earth. S: ugh. Allen has some potential as a SS but the Jets have no FS on the roster at the moment and maybe no SS for 2015 and beyond.
Because it's dumb. Were you not paying attention while Tanny was GM? Did you not see the shape it left our roster in? Are you not aware that trading up is no way to build a team? Are you not aware that this is one of the deepest and best WR drafts in a long time? Are you not aware of all the holes this team has?
i think lee and brandon cooks will fit us nicely… i like evans also..but we have a big bodied wr in decker now…cooks looks like a weapon tho
WOW, are you kidding me about the LB position?!?! You sure you're looking at the Jets roster......Quinton Coples came on strong last year as a pass rusher and made a ton of plays, against both the pass and the run. Coples will probably make the Pro Bowl this year. Demario Davis is also a rising star; we saw last year why Rex compared him to a young Ray Lewis. Davis Harris is still as rock solid as they come. What team in the NFL clearly has a better trio than that? If Pace re-signs, we might have the best group of linebackers in the NFL too, to go along with the top D-line.....Antonio Allen had a great year at one of the safety position....if we get DRC, this defense is loaded, and might compare to the Seahawks D....in some ways, it looks BETTER on paper, certainly we have a better front 7 than Seattle. Geno Smith finished the season as the 2nd highest rated QB in the league, our runners are rock solid, and even our receivers look decent.....just add Marqise Lee or another good WR, and we have a Super Bowl roster without a doubt (unless you're one of those Jet-haters in the media that doesn't even look at the team because, well, the "Jets always suck")
How do you spell HOLY SHIT? Jets LB corps are old, slow and prone to blown coverage in passing game. What the hell were you watching the past two years?
Yes, I'll give it a shot. The team has so many holes in both its starting lineup and depth because of all the trading up Tranny (mispelling intentional) did. The best teams do not trade up unless they think they're only one player away from the SB or need a QB. IMO those are the only 2 times it's acceptable to trade up. Tranny gave away all those middle and lower round picks as if the were worth nothing. Look at Seattle 3/4 of it's DBs were taken in the 5th & 6th rounds. They have a number of other starters and key depth that I believe were taken in the middle and lower rounds. The best GMs can find talent in every round that can help their club. Tranny traded up so often for two major reasons. One, he was clueless. He was in over his head. He is an accountant and lawyer. He had no training or experience at all with personnel and scouting. He had no idea how to find talent or how to build a roster. The only way he had of finding talent was to trade up for players that were highly rated. He should have never been hired as GM. Two, to make matters worse, he's a narcissist. He made a lot of the moves he did so he could be on the back pages of the tabloids and in the center of attention. That's NOT where you want your GM to be. The team has real needs at WR, OG, TE, FS, OLB, CB, RB and quite possibly QB. In an ideal world, they'd need to take an OT high this year to groom to replace Brick in a year or two. Those aren't depth positions I'm talking about, but starters. The players you listed as being perfectly good or adequate (or however you listed them) are not quality starters. You are waaaaaaaaay overvaluing them. I like Cumberland as good as anyone, but he is not a starting caliber TE. For a converted WR, he blocks fairly well, but the Jets need a two-way TE with prototypical size so that their offense isn't so predictable. Nelson is an ok #4 or #5 WR, but not a quality starter. I like Kerley and he's pretty good, but even he could be upgraded. Decker doesn't know the offense yet, but should help. Winters is still a big question mark at OG. At the other OG spot they have no one with starting experience unless they re-sign Vlad. William Campbell is converting from DT, Aboushi was an OT in college, and Dalton Freeman was mostly a center and missed part of last year injured. Unless I'm mistaken, none saw even a minute of action. They also need a 3rd down RB who is a good receiver. On defense the only "FS" they have at the moment is Bush and he can't even see the field. Even if they re-sign Reed, he isn't the answer. Unless they sign Rogers-Cromartie, they need another starting CB, and that CB should preferably be the #1 CB as Milliner is still raw. At OLB Barnes is only a role player and coming off a serious injury. At his age, there are no guarantees his speed will be anywhere near where it was or if he will be able to stay healthy. If they re-sign Pace, he's glacially slow. I don't like Coples at OLB at all. He's too big and slow for the position. As good as the DL is and how they've helped pressure opposing QBs, the Jets need some young, fast OLBs who can drop into coverage as well as rush the passer. At ILB, this is probably Harris' last year with the team. He's never been fast and is getting slower. They need to draft an ILB to groom to replace him. On STs, they need a PR and KOR better than Cribbs. They also need a better punter. Then there's depth. The Jets have been pushing their luck for years not having quality depth for their OL. We saw 2-3 years ago what happened when Mangold missed 2-3 games. Brick has never missed a snap in his career. That's highly unusual. They need a backup OT. They need quality depth at OG and C. They need a backup QB, and don't even mention Sanchez' or Sims' names in that regard. They need quality depth at the OLB and ILB positions as well as at DE and both S positions. Even with lots of cap space and 12 draft picks, the Jets aren't going to be able to address all their holes/needs. In all likelihood, it will take at least one more draft and FA period and maybe two, and that's if Geno and Milliner pan out, and most of their draft picks this year develop into quality players. Further this is one of the best and deepest drafts for WR in years, maybe ever. There is absolutely no reason to trade up for a WR. It's ok for fans to fall in love with players and think they're the only one who can help their favorite team, but it's not ok for GMs to fall in love with players. They have to keep the cap in mind, the salary scale in check, and think both short-term and long-term. Any time you trade up for a player at a position, you're hurting the team at another position, and that's even if the player you traded up for is as good as you thought he was. If he's busts or is only mediocre, then you've really hurt the team. There are no guarantees. There have been lots of high 1st round busts. In general, the more draft picks one has, the better. It improves the odds of finding good players that can help your team. If you have only 6 draft picks and a pick or two busts, it really hurts your team. If you have 8, 10 or 12 draft picks, it hurts a whole lot less if 2 picks bust. Get the picture? In spite of the enthusiasm of your obvious youth, this team is nowhere even remotely close to being a SB team. They could have just as easily only won 5 or 6 games this past season. They were lucky to win 8.
I'm not your typical Jets fan. I don't like to undervalue Jets players in order to lower my expectations, so that I won't be disappointed when they underachieve like they usually do. Instead of bashing my own team, or belittling its roster, I instead try to look at the positives and view the upcoming season with hope and optimism. So I'm not the typical cynical Jets fan.
I know right? Super bowl? all we need is a WR for a Super Bowl? no we need SEVERAL pieces to pan out for that happen. theres being unnecessarily negative and then theres having NO objective thought whatsoever. I have a good feeling about guys like Smith and Milliner, I think they and a few others will progress just fine, but damn this team is in no condition to clasp its hands and say DONE on any position outside the defensive line. It would be incredibly unwise of the jets to be complacent with its roster's talent and trade away picks for ONE GUY right now. its not worth it, if anything they should be looking for MORE picks not getting rid of them. I get being tired of the negative Nancies that run the media bashing the Jets, but lets not get crazy here.
You forgot to brag "no NFL cheerleader troop can touch the Jets Flight Crew!" Antonio Allen had a great year? Why was a very-much-over-the-hill Ed Reed brought in to cut into Allen's playing time? Best LB's? Carolina Panthers, and assuming Novarro returns, the 49'ers as well. Best front 7? Panthers. Geno finished the season as the 2nd rated QB? So: from a group that includes Drew Brees, Aaron Rogers, Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Collin Kapp and Russell Wilson, only ONE out of that group was rated higher than Geno? ok?......
Sorry, I didn't mean to insult you. I meant it as a light joke; as in, your comment was so negative on the Jets that you could have been mistaken for Cimini. That's all, nothing personal. I've seen similar comments here so I thought it was cool....but I can see how it could be taken as an insult, so again I'm sorry; I'll try to refrain from that in the future.
Maybe I overrated a couple Jets players, but I think our roster is much better overall than most fans think. Also, look at the Seahawks: they won a SB with a 2nd year QB, mediocre at best receivers, and a defense that was great, of course, but did not have all stars everywhere. Their secondary was like our D-line, but our LB corps is comparable to theirs, I think, and our secondary is comparable to their D-line. On paper anyway, we don't look all that different than Seattle...
I would love for the Jets to draft Marqise Lee, in the first round. Watkins will be gone. I've watched a lot of Mike Evans, though I think he will be a monster in the NFL, I am a bigger fan of Lee. I think having Manziel as QB, extending plays, really helped Evans numbers. Lee was hurt this year, as was Barkley last year. I believe Lee can do it all, and is an exciting player, especially for an offense in need of a spark. I am not the least bit worried about his 40 time, as he said "film is different from a 40 time." And I've seen enough of Lee to believe he is going to be a great NFL player.
