Kerley & Cooks are vastly different players.Which is why one went in the 6th round of his draft & the other is projected as a 1st rounder. If Cooks is solely a slot guy..why wouldn't he be projected as a 3rd or 4th rounder like most other slot types? The reason is b/c he has the strength/quickness off the line to play on the outside. The only thing Kerley & Cooks have in common is height..absolutely nothing else about their games compare. I'm still not sure I understand this notion that one guy cancels out the other. Both offer unique skill sets that you can run set plays around that don't affect the other. You can easily have more than 1 slot guy on the field at once using 4 & 5 wide sets which MM routinely does. Additionally there are circumstances in which Kerley HAS been effective on the outside..as will be the case w/ Cooks early. You don't draft a player solely for their role year 1.I'm sorry you just don't. It's one thing if he's not gonna get on the field..are you suggesting Cooks isn't good enough to get snaps for this team? I just don't see it that way. I respect you liking Beckham better..and I'm not even saying that is wrong.But the notion that Cooks A. doesn't fit in the Jets scheme/offense B.somehow overlaps Kerley's role just isn't true.
I'd much rather have Beckham than Cooks. I see long term X WR position ability from Beckham, and an immediate upgrade on ST. If it came down to Cooks or Lee, I'd hope they take Cooks or draft a different position. i want no part of Lee..
That's fair, I also have gotten frustrated over the years by some of the stuff that is expressed on here, and maybe I should have quantified my answer by expressing that I don't want cooks at 18 because I think the jets will pick an OLB at this point in the draft. I have stated that under other titles on this board, I truly think they will pick an OLB and I think they will focus on getting to the QB with their front four and they will try to live with a good secondary vs having shutdown corners. That being said, I still think he is too small, yes he is fast, and has good hands, has breakaway speed, but I would prefer a player that is picked at number 18 even if it's a WR to be a complete player. Someone who can go over the middle, go deep, become a defender when Geno throws the ball short and it's going to be an interception. Break a tackle, stiff arm a safety or a LB, that's what I like to see from a WR. It's just what I like, I would pick Jordan Mathews and Moncrief at the 18 spot over Cooks. I know you may disagree but one of the things that is getting lost in all of this is that Cooks is so fast that he makes other guys look like they are not speedy receivers. Watkins did not run sub 4.40, and he is going to be the first receiver selected. The majority of the receivers are running between 4.40 and 4.50 that is not slow and the majority of them run good routes and do everything well. The one guy I would not touch in any round is Benjamin, I have seen his tapes and watched him play and he is a very sloppy receiver. Again that is just my opinion.
I get what you're saying..but I encourage you to look at this a different way. Rather than focusing on the label of "#1 WR/#2 WR,etc" think about building a more complete corps with complimentary pieces 4 maybe even 5 deep. A group that isn't depending on 1 or 2 guys to carry the load from week to week for defenses to scheme to erase or leave us w/ a gaping hole for weeks on end due to the high injury rate. 4 or 5 guys w/ different skill sets that open up the field in different ways but create spacing for everyone. Yeah the favorable match-ups may vary from week to week.Yeah it'll drive fantasy owners crazy..but in the end it keeps the opposition from zeroing in on your bread & butter,allows you to survive the grueling season full of injuries & gives you many options to succeed on game day.I'd rather have 3 guys catch 60+ balls than 1 guy catch 90. You can erase one guy from an offense...but you can't eliminate an entire corps. Right now the Jets have the makings of a unique group. They have acouple big possession types,some vertical threats & a shifty seam guy.What's missing? The dynamic YAC guy capable of breaking a game open w/ his ball skills & his ability to strike the home run. In other words a slasher. Now sometimes those come in the form of the conventional "#1 type" you are alluding to..but more typically these are quick undersized guys who are more "#2's". But again..let's not get caught up in labels..because this is about a well oiled machine..not 1 or 2 players. If you don't think Beckham or Cooks fit that role...that they aren't good enough. That's your opinion & myself/others will respect that. But I just think making this about depth chart labels is counterproductive to what many on here are suggesting the Jets accomplish w/ what many view as this WR's short term "final piece"
That's all fair, and I respect your opinion. I've been clamoring for a stud pass rusher for years. I could live with Lewan or Gilbert at #18 and be satisfied that the Jets got great players, and not be too disappointed that the Jets didn't get Cooks or Beckham, or to a lesser extent Lee. If their pick at #18 was Barr or Ford, I'd even be very happy, if not ecstatic, even though it meant the Jets didn't get the WR I wanted. I do like Mathews a lot and Moncrief to a lesser extent, but based on what I've read, Moncrief would be a HUGE reach at #18. I've seen him rated as a 3rd or 4th round prospect, and haven't seen anything about his rising up draft boards. I'm not saying that a WR has to run a sub 4.40 to be good, but it sure can help. Cooks may or may not be able to stiff arm a DB or break a tackle in the NFL, but he definitely can go over the middle and go deep. I do disagree with your comment that "the majority of them run good routes and do everything well." Based on what I've seen and read, that is not true at all. There are only a few WRs in the draft who are excellent route runners and can run all the routes. We are in total agreement about Benjamin. I just don't see what Rockinz sees in that kid.
Elite size,massive catching radius,great body control,fluidity, clutch college moments & good progression in quality of play throughout his short college career. There is plenty to like. Now he's got some risk attached to him & is far from a finished product..Jet fans have been burnt by these types in the past which is why so many are opposed to him. But in my opinion I think the negativity surrounding this kid is vastly overblown. Yeah he's a risky proposition.But he's got alot of thiongs working in his favor & his upside is a modern day Plaxico Burress
I think this forum has been expecting an OLB to be drafted high for several seasons now. We haven't yet and I don't think we start now - for whatever reason, we don't seem to want to value them highly. We have Stephen Hill malaise. I don't see us taking any risky upside pick, rightly or wrongly (and I'm aware it's not a good comparison)
I really like Allen Robinson out of Penn State, and I think we could get him in the second. If you haven't yet, watch some of his tape. I think he's gonna be a really solid and productive receiver.
Yeah...I'm in agreement with going in another direction, value permitting. I just think the Jets already have plenty of power types at this stage. I'm just defending him a bit from an overall prospect perspective. Many are acting like this kid is a day 3 type or something & that just isn't fair. It's not as if teams & all the experts fell in love w/ this guy after he ran his 40 or something like that. The majority of his "sales pitch" is through his film.
I like him also, and if the jets got him in the second I would be happy, but that's also based on BPA, he may not be that in the second round.
I just watched Robinson highlights film. All he does is catch touchdowns. If the Jets go TE in the first I would be happy with Robinson in the 2nd.
Not for this Jets team & not as part of this deep WR class. He's more of a top 40 guy given the circumstances. But in a more typical draft year yeah he's a top 20 prospect all day long.
A surprise will depend on what happens in front of them. What would the Jets do if Ebron falls to them?Would they take a pass?
First of all, all highlights reels are amazing. That's why they are called HI-lights reels. Second, I think if the Jets go WR in the first round, they will go defense,maybe DB in the second.
He's also already 23 and maybe older (I forget), is a bad route runner, has focus problems or hands problems having dropped a lot of passes, has a questionable work ethic and very raw. By the time he's ready to contribute as a starter he could only have a 5 years left. I might take him in the 6th or 7th round, but no higher.
You are correct in that Kerley can occasionally be useful on the outside, but not often. You are correct in that MM has run 4-5 wides, but in Philly with Donovan Mcnabb and a mid-prime Michael Vick, not a still raw second year QB. You are correct that you don't only draft a player based on their first year projections, but it most certainly plays a part. If a guy is going to be significantly less useful year 1 than his later years, you probably don't want to draft him 18th overall. Some teams would have immediate use for Cooks. There is no doubt Cooks has more upside than Kerley, but Kerley has already developed from the 5th* round prospect he was to become an effective slot guy. Cooks is considered a late first rounder because he projects to come in ready to make a difference in the slot, and later evolve to an outside role (most likely). What I'm saying is Kerley was a 5th rounder because his ceiling is a useful slot playmaker, and he had to develop to that. Cooks is a late first rounder who has a ceiling as a useful outside receiver, but will have to develop to that. If he were a guy that was ready to make a difference in the slot, but also had a ceiling as a slot guy, he would likely go somewhere between 1st (where he is projected) and the 5th (where Kerley went), probably the 3rd or 4th round. For the Jets, Lee or Beckham projects to an immediate impact on the outside, Cooks projects to an immediate impact in the slot. Having two mainly slot guys in 2014 will be redundant, as MM will not be running 4-5 wides more than perhaps once a game. In effect, Kerley would be made obsolete in his final year under contract. Beckham would be an immediate outside player, and we can take a developmental slot guy later in the draft, and extend Kerley so that when Geno is actually ready to run 4-5 wides in a year or two, we will have the personnel for it. Getting another Kerley type guy in the 5th this year who will sit for most of the season and be ready for action late this year or next year is a more practical allocation of resources. If we feel like we don't need Kerley because of this developmental slot guy, we let him walk in FA, or at least test the market.
You don't start worrying about a prospect's age until they are about 25.That's when physical peak sets in which obviously can affect projected upside. I agree he needs work on his route running, but it's not as if he hasn't been exposed to most of the overall route tree. If he only ran 2-3 different routes in college than I'd be concerned.He ran alot of different type of routes in college.Yeah alot of them were sloppy..but most WR's need work on their route running when they get to the NFL..which is why most take 2-3 years to develop. It's not as if he's slow in & out of breaks or he's stiff..he just needs work on his technique. That's correctable by good coaching. As for the catch/concentration argument..he's a bit of a body catcher, yes. Alot of guys his size are body catchers b/c they are so long it takes them a split second longer to gather their hands. While purists may not like it...this can be worked around. For lacking concentration & supposed catching ability, he sure caught alot of clutch balls for his team. Including a championship clincher. There's absolutely some risk associated with choosing him.I'm already on record stating that if I'm the Jets I'm looking elsewhere(before round 2)..I certainly respect your opinion on draft prospects..but I can't even begin to understand this 6th/7th round grade...he's a top 40 talent all day long.
