WW85'S FINAL 2014 NY JET'S MOCK DRAFT

Rex thought he could fix another Ohio State player and that was Vernon Gholston. I like some other CB much more than Roby. Fuller, McGill, Gaines would be better choices and better value.

 

But who are these players who lack character that have held the Jets back? Holmes?Maybe. Keyshawn?All he did was bitch about not getting the ball & was jealous of Chrebet in the media. If anything it raised the level of competition in the locker room which served as a good thing(Keyshawn/Chrebet/Ward was Nasty). Maybe I'll buy Revis...but that's kind of a different deal. He's an extremely hard worker/student of the game..his priorities are just all out of whack.

We have a vastly different opinion on this issue. You believe in absolutely no character flaws in any shape or form.If that's what you believe..you are gonna pass on some mighty fine talent..but you can operate under such a philosophy.

I think with every player regardless of their character there is risk/reward. These are young kids still in college..many from less than ideal backgrounds. Young people make mistakes. Young people learn lessons. For every Lawrence Phillips there's a Dan Mariono. I also believe you NEED some aggressive dynamic personalities in your locker room.With contrast comes perspective.With contrast comes competition.

I think you have to look at "football character". Does he like the game? Does he have good study/work habits? Is winning important to him? The legal woes & general attitude things while important..can end up being completely irrelevant with a change in setting. Again, it's all about Risk/Reward

 

I wanted no part of Gholston either. The Jets that year were in no man's land at the 6th spot. The best players in that draft were 1-5.

 

This is why I don't want a CB in the first 2 rounds, I don't see that surefire guy there. Some combination of WR / OLB / FS would be so much better in the first 2 rounds. The Jets can get great value for CBs in the 3rd and 4th round

 

I'm have no issues with anything you said in this post. But whoever the Jets pick we will be fans because they play for our team and root for them every Sunday. I like Josh Huff in the later rounds at WR. If the Jets went TE @18 and either Landry/Moncrief/Lattimer in the 2nd that would ok too. Then address the big fatty's in round 4. Some big road grader types.

 

Thanks for your response. Yes, since I've read enough of your posts, I think I have a pretty good idea which players you like best. I realized that you were doing what you think the Jets will do, and in that regard, I'm sure you're probably right, as I often wind up at least disappointed if not downright pissed. There have been very few times when I wanted the Jets to really draft a player and they did.

This draft makes me very nervous. I think the Jets have a golden opportunity here to lay the foundation for a championship team and one that will be strong for the next 5-10 years. They already have a great young nucleus. If they hit a homerun in this draft with all the picks they have, they will be sitting pretty. I guess maybe I've been a Jets fan too long and have seen the wheel run off too many times. I just have a bad feeling about this draft. I want to like Idzik, and of course see my beloved Jets flourish, but even though I'm glad that Idzik didn't overspend, I do trust him less now than I did prior to FA. I can't believe that he failed to get a single one of the top CB prospects, and unless Idzik goes against the grain of what Rex wants and team needs, that has put them in a position where they almost have to take a CB in the 1st round. I think that is a huge mistake. I think Idzik's not getting one signed was a big mistake, and he'd only compound it by not taking BPA but rather taking the CB they like at #18. He would compound it further if he relies on the fact that it's a deep draft at WR, takes it for granted that he'll get one (as I think he did with the FA CBs) then winds up missing out on all of the better WR prospects.

I know that Gilbert isn't a physical player and that doesn't bother me. I hear what you're saying about "athletes" vs "football players" and you have a real point, but I think Gilbert has a chance to become a Neion Deion lite. Did the teams that had Deion care that he wasn't physical? No, I don't think so.

I'm not saying I want the pick at #18 to be Gilbert, but I think this team needs speed and playmaking ability on both sides of the ball, a player that can turn a loss into a victory on one play. It's been a long time since they've had a player like that, and I'm weary of rooting for a team with no star power at the playmaking positions. I don't want a bust, but I'd almost rather the Jets swing for the fences and hit a single than play it safe and go for a doubles hitter. I truly believe that the Jets will never win spit until they get at least one, if not two ball-hawking DBs and a pass rusher that can generate consistent pressure (if not strike terror into opposing QBs) on defense, and some real playmakers on offense. I'm tired of the JAGs and overachievers. The Jets don't need more possession receivers. Heck, with the exception of Bray, that's all they've had since at least Coles and Moss, if not Wesley Walker or Toon. I'm sick of it. I'm finding it harder and harder to root for this team, when they continually make moves in the draft that I think are stupid. As good a prospect as Landry is, I just don't want him. I don't think he will help the team that much. I think they need speed at the WR position and I'm not counting on Hill or Ford for anything.

Sadly, I think you're right about the Jets and Attaochu, and I think that's attributable to Rex, and that's why I want him fired. I think the man just doesn't get it. He's too obsessed with being a mad scientist and coming up with some novel way to win, rather than just going the easy route.

I certainly hope that Idzik is smarter and better than to take players from a school just because his son plays there or another school because Rex's son plays there. I guess we'll see.

 

Are you saying that Ford would only be a situational player his rookie season, or do you think he'll always only be that? If the latter, then I disagree. If the former, that would be fine at first, I think the rest would come.

With regard to the CB need, most of us acknowledged that even with 12 draft picks and a lot of cap space that the odds were that the Jets wouldn't be able to adequately address all of their needs this offseason. I don't think everything else needs to revolve around the CB position. Why should it be any more important than the WR, TE, OLB, FS, QB or even OG needs/positions? Why should Idzik have to abandon his BPA approach to take a CB out of need because of the schedule the Jets have this coming season, especially when the draft isn't just for one season.

I know it is of paramount importance in Rex's D, but don't think it should be, and am fed up with that approach. I want Idzik to force Rex to change or fire him. IMO a DC, much less a HC, that tries to build his D around the CB position is a nut case. If Rex can't make do with the CBs he has on hand plus maybe another FA CB or a CB taken somewhere in the 2nd to 4th rounds, then he doesn't deserve to be a DC much less a HC. As you know, the Jets have taken a number of CBs high over the last 5-10 years, while basically ignoring the OLB and FS positions in the draft, and instead filling those positions with JAGs. IMO one could hardly come up with a dumber way to build a defense.

I also think that comparing Cooks to Moss is an insult to Cooks, at least with regards to toughness. Cooks is truly tough. Moss was a wussy, as soft as they come. He left a ton of yards on the field, always opting to run out of bounds. I never liked Moss and was glad when he was traded away.

 

Call me crazy but I believe a large part of Idzik/Rex's thinking last year in taking Sheldon Richardson was to give them much more flexibility in replacing Harris.

IMLB is a tough position to play. First, he must be a true BRUTE to smash face2face with a 320 pound lineman then launch off that to take down a 220 pound power back blasting up the middle.

Then, he must be fast and agile enough to blast slant receivers out of their cleats and run step for step with the best TEs.

So how does Richardson fit in? The Jets had the #2 run defense last year and almost all of it came from the D-line. No one was running up the middle. Teams were forced to the outside or short passes 90+% of the time.

This gives Idzik/Rex the flexibility to get an IMLB that's more fast than stout. Think of a Troy Palamalu + 20 pounds of muscle. With the Jets' D-line so nasty our IMLB won't be called upon every play to shore up the middle against the run. He can be better at speed and coverage and we won't get killed in the run game.

Not sure who our next IMLB will be, but I bet he's more of a speed guy than run stuffer.

 

Great stuff.

WOW... I can feel the pent up frustration through my monitor .. lol
AND I can relate
With a new GM in Idzik .. He is going to shape this team as he sees fit.
Since we are rebuilding, I would like some high-octane parts ! no more 2nd hand, just good enough stuff.
Speed on both sides of the ball.
Let the coaches refine that elite athleticism into a reactive smart football team.

 

Great post.The Jets stacked DL does allow for alot of flexibility w/ the LB corps.For all the talk about the need at CB...I believe an even bigger one is a nickel LB to pair w/ Denario for passing downs.Jets just get killed by short/intermediate passes in the flats & across the middle.

Harris is still a solid 2 down/run stuffing Backer.But he is a flat out liability in coverage & space.

That's why I think both Shazier & Mosley could be options at 18. Both offer plenty of physique,athleticism & versatility. In 4 down man fronts Mosley likely stays in the middle,which moves Denario weak side while Shazier would likely assume the weak side.

I'm leaning toward Shazier b/c I think he's slightly better in coverage & I'm also concerned about the "medical liability" talk that has swirled around Mosley. In fact, that hasn't really been talked about much since the combine.Was that ever dispelled?

 

Alabama players in general tend to come into the NFL beat up, Saban is notorious for grueling practices.

 

Shazier I think can play 3-4 ILB at the next level. At 18 though the Jets need him to be a 3 down linebacker.

 

Maybe but he needs to bulk up a bit for that, not a whole lot of skinny 230 pound inside backers in the league.

 

Oh yeah no doubt by no means is he a finished product physically. He's got the sideline to sideline range.

 

He'd be getting alot of snaps year 1. He wouldn't be starting in the base 3-4...as he needs a year in the weight room before he's ready to replace Harris. That said, you'd see him in 4-3,nickel,special teams & maybe even in some of those "3 safety" looks Rex likes to play around with.

 

IMO "football character" often goes hand in hand with moral character. There are always exceptions, but in general, I think it's a good guide. Tanny went for high character players when Mangini was the HC and they built a solid core and good team chemistry. Mangini left, Rex was hired, and over the next several years Tanny dismantled the 2009/2010 team, destroying the chemistry and bringing in more players with questionable character (both in terms of football character and moral character). Character affects work ethic, their love for the game (over alcohol or drugs), trustworthiness, their availability and often their performance.

Yes, college kids make mistakes. None of us are perfect. There is a difference between a good kid who screws up, and someone who just has poor character and has a repeated history of attitude problems and/or getting into trouble. I have no problem with a kid that makes a mistake, realizes it and gets his act together. I have no problem with giving players a second chance, but the team must come first. The NFL isn't a reformatory. Coaches aren't trained to rehabilitate character and don't have the time to babysit players. Wasn't it the Jets that used to have a former FBI agent that did background checks on players and found out who had just made a mistake and who had bad character?

I wasn't saying that the Jets had brought in a bunch of thugs or junkies, but I've seen that with other teams and have seen the problems it has caused. Some of those players straighten out, and become very good football players, many do not. Particularly with a very young team, we don't need those poor character types imo.

I like Ellis. He had problems in college, the Jets checked it out, and found that it was an isolated incident and didn't have a real character problem. AFAIK, he's been a model citizen and teammate with the Jets.

But then last year, look at what happened with Woodson. He missed most of the season, then was injured. He may wind up doing jail time and never playing another down for the Jets. He's taking up a valuable roster spot (which is another consideration). Wasn't there another player they brought in last year (who I am drawing a blank on at the moment) that got into legal trouble and wound up being released before TC even started?

I believe in looking at each case individually. People are different. I don't believe in lumping them together. I believe in erring on the side of caution, but if the player has a problem like Cocaine and hasn't admitted that he has a problem and sought help, then I don't want him. I think it's in his (Lyerla's) best interest to go to rehab and get help and get his head and life straightened out so he won't blow whatever chances and opportunities he might have in the NFL. I've been around and known enough people with addictions to know how they lie, and everything gets sacrificed for the addiction.

I just want players who want to play the game, whose heads will be clear, and they won't be a distraction to themselves or teammates.

 

If the Jets believe that Mosley is healthy and that they have a good shot to keep him that way he'd be insane value on the 18. He's the kind of guy you plug in somewhere and forget for 10 years. He can probably play any of the 3-4 LB positions as a major plus.

 

This is a very solid draft. I could see John Brown possibly going a round higher and I would love to see Jalen Saunders there instead if he is available but this is the best mock I have seen by far. Love the Loston, Schofield, and Webster picks. I know the first round pick will get a lot of scrutiny but if the JETS draft unfolds like this then sign me up because the JETS will definitely be bringing in talent and depth to COMPETE on both sides of the ball but they need to draft a legit outside speed guy in the second round like Donte Moncrief if they go corner in the first round. I like the Landry pick but he is more of a slot guy and your later round picks in John Brown and Campanaro fit that role.

 

Shazier can be that guy. He will need to bulk up just a little bit but he's perfect for the role.

I created my first mock, a few months back and had Shazier as a 2nd rounder for the Jets.

Yup, I agree 100% - Rex doesn't have a true name for his defense, he will take a player with talent and make it work.

Eventually he could transition to the ILB role in a year or 2 (if we are still even running the 3-4). Shazier has that range to play sideline to sideline. Haven't had that since Vilma practically.