Damn, well I think you'll be shocked in a couple of years... If Antonio Brown and Victor Cruz can impact games the way they do, I dont see why Beckham cant either. He has a better skill set than both of them.
Lee does everything you mentioned, he catches the ball and cradles it with his body, but I've seen youtube games where he displayed excellent hands. Lee is a YAC monster, and he runs far better routes then Beckham. Once he improves his catching technique, this kid will dominate. I think if Beckham's not in the right situation the kid will not flourish. I don't think he's as a good fit as many would think. It ties to him disappearing against superior competition. 3 catches for 42 yards against Alabama 2 catches for 47 yards against Florida 5 catches for 49 yards against Auburn The kid hasn't shown up in the team's biggest games. He did have a good game against Georgia. The kid makes plays, but I just haven't seen enough of him making those plays on a consistent basis. His role on the Steelers would be #2 and he's going to get a lot of touches with Antonio Brown making plays on the other end, you also have an established QB. With a young QB (not established at that) - I think his floor and chances of not living up to the billing as a go to guy are low. A guy that knows the west coast offense, has been shown to be QB friendly (Lee will find a way to get the football), and has higher potential would be better suited for us. I see Lee as this completely. If we draft him, I have no question he will be our primary target in 2 seasons. Beckham that didn't have this role in college, I doubt it happens now. Lee has Reggie Wayne potential, 100 catch seasons are possible with him.
I think he has a low floor with the Jets. A team like the Steelers, he's an excellent fit. I pray the Steelers take him so he's off the board and Idzik isn't tempted to decide.
Antonio Brown caught 100+ balls twice in college. He caught 93 balls in his "off" year. Victor Cruz caught 71 balls as a junior and 59 balls in 10 starts as a senior. He has significantly raised his level of play since being signed as a UDFA by the Giants. Most players will not manage to improve at the rate that Cruz has since joining the NFL. The problem with Beckham is not his size. It's that he hasn't produced at the level that you'd expect a guy with his ability and opportunity to produce at. That's not saying he's going to be a bad NFL player. I think he's going to be a decent player. In a weak draft for WR's he might well be somebody you considered as a top WR prospect. In weak overall draft he might be somebody you'd consider taking in the mid to late 1st round. This is a very good draft pool we're looking at. Taking a guy like Beckham early because you think you can get more out of him than he has already shown is hubris plain and simple. There are too many good players to take a shot on somebody on a hunch or because you believe that you can somehow magically find the star switch and turn it on. Lots of people went looking for the star switch for Beckham at LSU and although they jiggled it a bit now and then they couldn't turn it on. The odds are very good that will be true in the NFL as well. The Jets have made this kind of mistake repeatedly over the last 13 seasons. They traded up for Santana Moss despite the fact that he appeared to be a good complimentary receiver not a star. They took Bryan Thomas despite the fact that he was from a smaller school and faced lesser competition. They traded up in a big way for Dewayne Robertson despite the fact that his production suggested he was going to be a decent player not a star. They took a kicker in the 2nd round of the NFL draft. They made a huge trade up for a CB who turned out to be a star but then they followed that up by trading up for a LB who wasn't a star. They took the most controversial prospect in the 2008 draft and watched him bust in record time. They traded up for a smallish TE whose production suggested he was going to be a decent player but not a star and that turned out to be the case in the end. They traded up for Mark Sanchez. They traded up for Shonn Greene. They took Kyle Wilson in the 1st round of the NFL draft. They took Vladimir Ducasse in the 2nd round of the NFL draft. They traded up for Stephen Hill in the 2nd round of the NFL draft. If you look at that record it is just astoundingly bad in terms of getting real value out of the early rounds of the NFL draft. Somebody has a reputation as a great scout but the picks the Jets make just don't back that up at all. In fact they suggest the opposite. Beckham would be another of those picks given what else is out there.
You do realize the difference in competition, right? Brown played at CMU and Cruz played at U Mass. There's a difference between that and the SEC. "Scouting" a player isnt done in the scorebox. Some of you are going to be shocked when Beckham clearly outplays his college production. I was comparing Beckham to similar type of player... had nothing to do with college production. Beckham can be a focal point of an offense like Brown or Cruz. Let me ask you about Greg Robinson. Is he deserving of a top 10 pick? Because he's a player that was barely asked to kick out and block a passrusher in college, or at least last years system....He is deserving of a top 10 pick because of other aspects of his game, and when he did kick out he did it well and showed TRANSLATABLE traits of an elite LT.' Also why are you just naming draft busts implying Beckham will be that? That means nothing. And Brady was a 6th round pick and Russell Wilson was a 3rd round pick. Who gives a shit where they were drafted, all that matters is what they've shown in the NFL. If scouts could foresee Brown and Cruz producing like they are, they would have been 1st round picks. I am saying Beckham can play that type of role and thats where someone of that level of play should be drafted.
Im just saying, some of you put way too much stock into college production. With that train of thought, Aaron Rodgers, AJ Green, Josh Gordon, Rob Gronkowski, Jimmy Graham, Ryan Tannehill, Eddie Lacy, TY Hilton, Torrey Smith, Cordarelle Patterson ect would all suck in the NFL because they didnt produce at a very high level in the NFL.
FWIW, Mett went 14/22 passes vs Auburn, 9/17 vs Florida and 16/26 vs Alabama. Hard to put up large numbers when the QB only averages 13 completions and is only asked to pass the ball 21 times on average. Also worth noting Beckham had 86 return yards per game during those games.
Tannehill doesn't suck, he's a decent QB and improved in his second year, and he throws very well on the run.
AJ Green had 1,000 yards and nearly 10 TDs his last season of college. The thing is, how else can you predict future production other than past production? Numbers only mean so much.
obj has very good stats though ... especially considering that his team ran the ball more often than a team like oregon state oregon state threw for 4884 yards last year, of that cooks accounted for 1730 yards, or 35.4% of the passing offense lsu threw for 3263 yards last year, of that obj accounted for 1152 yards, or 35.3% of the passing offense full disclosure, in 2012 (lee's best season) usc threw for 3670 yards last year, of that lee accounted for 1721 yards, or a whopping 46.9% of the passing offense auburn was terrible for two of obj's three years in college, and last year their pass defense was suspect as hell ... i would not count them in the elite category
Care to explain? Other than "he didnt put up 1700 yards"... What part of his game doesnt merit first round consideration?
Never was the go to guy on his team, short stature, production wasn't outstanding and he had a great college QB. Matthews/Lee/Cooks all get consideration over OBJ to me.
