This is a mock draft assuming that we switch to a 4-3 defense. I don't have a great grip on the draft or the contract figures so that maybe a point of concern with this. In terms of contracts I tried to gauge their contracts on where they line up in turns of a high level, mid level or lower level free agent. The numbers might be configured differently in terms of lower or higher but I don't think we really end up spending too much money with this cast of free agents considering all the space we have and who we let go. The idea here was to keep the defensive line in tact while the linebackers transition to a 4-3 with essentially a new cast. Bring in a couple of mid level free agents at corner to compete and have an open competition of sorts but this time with pro level players rather than the mostly rejects we had at last years camp. I don't know prospects all too well outside of the 1st/2nd round but these are the positions I'd be looking at in the later rounds, and assuming Cooper is gone. I like La'el Collins a lot more as our first round pick but I don't think he projects to guard at all in the pros like Scherff does and Scherff is more versatile for year one to eventually move over. Cuts: RB Chris Johnson WR Walter Powell TE Jeff Cumberland OLB Calvin Pace WR Percy Harvin Resign: DL Leger Douzable – 2 years, $5 million, $1.6 million guaranteed OT Benjamin Ijalana – 1 year, vet minimum ILB Nick Bellore – 2 years $3.6 million, $1.1 million guaranteed DL Kenrick Ellis – 1 year $1.7 million, $900k guaranteed FS Jaiquawn Jarrett - 3 years, $3.9 million, $1.4 million guaranteed CB Phillip Adams – 1 year, vet minimum 1st round tender on Damon Harrison, if matched take the 1st rounder Jets signings: CB Buster Skrine – 3 years $8 million, $3 million guaranteed CB Patrick Robinson – 3 years $11 million, $4 million guaranteed ILB Mason Foster – 5 years $15 million, $6 million guaranteed OLB Geno Hayes – 3 years $10 million, $4 million guaranteed TE Bear Pascoe – 1 year, vet minimum LG Mike Iupati – 5 years, $35 million, $15 million guaranteed RB Fozzy Whittaker, 2 years, $2 million, $900k guaranteed QB Matt Moore – 2 years, $11 million, $5 million guaranteed NFL Draft: Round 1: Brandon Scherff, OG/T, Iowa Round 2: Rashad Greene, WR, FSU Round 3: Kustis Drummond, FS, Michigan State Round 4: Martrell Spaight, OLB, Arkansas Round 5: Shock Linwood, RB, Baylor Round 6: Jacoby Brissett, QB, NC State Round 7: Kyle Christy, P, Florida QB – Matt Moore, Geno Smith, Matt Simms, Jacoby Brissett RB – Chris Ivory, Fozzy Whittaker, Shock Linwood (sign UDFA’s to compete) FB – John Connor vs. UDFA competition WR – Eric Decker, Jeremy Kerley, TJ Graham WR – Rashad Greene, Chris Owusu, Shaq Evans TE – Jace Amaro, Bear Pascoe, Zach Sudfeld LT – D’Brickashaw Ferguson, Ben Ijalana LG – Mike Iupati, Oday Aboushi C – Nick Mangold, Dalton Freeman RG – Brandon Scherff, Brian Winters RT – Breno Giacomini, Dakota Dozier WDE – Quinton Coples, Ikemefuna Enemkpali NT – Damon Harrison, Kenrick Ellis DT – Sheldon Richardson, TJ Barnes SDE – Muhammad Wilkerson, Leger Douzable SLB – Geno Hayes, Martrell Spaight ILB – Mason Foster, Nick Bellore WLB – Demario Davis, Trevor Reilly CB – Patrick Robinson, Dexter McDougal, Marcus Williams FS – Jaiquawn Jarrett, Kurtis Drummond SS – Calvin Pryor, Antonio Allen CB – Dee Milliner, Buster Skrine, Darrin Walls vs. Phillip Adams in camp
I like the Fozzy signing as a 3rd down back but I'd bring back Powell or Johnson before going with a late round rookie as our backup/3rd guy at least make the guy earn a spot during camp . It also would make no sense to take Rashad Greene with the 37th overall pick there will be far better receivers at that spot. He may rise to a late 2nd but no way is he right outside the first round. The offensive line would greatly improved which is a good thing. If we get rid of Percy we'd probably sign a guy like Cecil Shorts, Miles Austin, or Dwayne Bowe as a security blanket for missing receivers in the draft. If they can't hold up in camp we'll just let them go.
Isn't the 6th overall pick too soon to get Scherff who projects to be a OG? If we believe that Scherff can eventually replace D'Brick as our LT, or even be a starting RT for his career, I would be extremely happy with this pick. If we think he's gonna be a guard his entire career, I don't think I would pick him unless we traded down.
Something tells me Mike Iupati will need a little more $$ thrown his way. I thnk that o-line alone would be the reason we prospered on offense. What about Wilk's extension? People probably wouldn't know about Rashad Green but he is a BALLER! I'd love if we picked him up but i honestly think TEN or OAK is not going to go their projected direction and either Coop or Winston will fall to us. Maybe it's more wishful thinking but i have a strange gut feeling.
He's good but he is not a top 8-10 receiver. Some would say he's not in the top 14-15. Late 2nd-3rd round pick.
Well that's the idea is that he's a guard this season and then transitions to left tackle next year which is somewhat improbable but he certainly is a mauler. If course it's early pick a guard at 6 I totally agree which is why I noted that I prefer Collins but it's tough since we're locked into Brick for another year.
I'll nitpick a few things and say that's a lot of money for a career special teamer like Bellore and they'd be better off signing someone who can also play some defense. Also, Jarrett is an RFA. Lot of money for Douzable and Ellis, but good to bring back depth. I might also resign Landry (upon further review) as he graded out extremely well in coverage surprisingly and is PFF's #2 free agent safety overall (surprising, right?) Skrine and Robinson seem more like low-end #2/#3/depth sort of guys to me and that's an area I don't feel bad about on this team if they're healthy. What they need is a CB who can start and play at a high level. Solid LB signings for the 4-3 and Moore would be a good vet to bring in. I don't like the plan at RB as I think they take a big step back with Whittaker and a 5th round rookie while losing Powell and CJ. Can't say I'd be upset with Iupati, but he's probably going to look for a record OG contract and I'd prefer they looked at Orlando Franklin or Clint Boling who are both well-rounded players and unlikely to demand the money Iupati will. I'd actually be very okay with Scherff (perhaps more so if they don't address OG in free agency) I think as he could kick outside in 2016, but looks like a plug and play starter. But I think highly enough of Aboushi to keep him as a starter, perhaps at RG, if the other side is drastically improved. I'm iffy about losing Harvin and then expecting a 2nd round receiver who, even though he looks like a good prospect, is also pretty small and I wonder if he's a better fit in the slot? If they lose Harvin, I want Amari Cooper or maybe even Devante Parker in the 1st. Hard to predict and judge the rest of the draft, but I think Brisset is coming back next year, they don't have a 6th round pick, and IMO punter is not necessarily a need as Quigley had a nice season overall. I'd like more competition at QB than just adding Moore and a 6th round pick. In this case, I'd like either another added via trade and free agency in addition to the draft pick Overall, not the direction I would go in many ways, but good to see a different perspective on the draft and free agency
Well damn i guess he's gonna be somebody's steal. That boy is really really good. Not even the top 14-15 ? thats crazy right there. I thought he'd be a 2nd rounder for sure.
He is good but not at the top of the 2nd round good. This draft is loaded just like last year. A lot will change after the combine and interviews and what not but I don't see him getting inside the top half of the 2nd with all the other guys. IMO.. Teir 1 - Cooper, White, Parker, DGB, Agholor, Strong, Funchess, Coates Teir 2 - Williams, Hardy, Smelter, Montgomery, Diggs, Greene, Dorsett, Lockett, Lippett, Hill.
Like the draft, the only thing I worry about is when going to a 4-3 defense, we lack a lot of speed. That's a lot of beef up front - IDK if the 4-3 will translate well with that lineman setup. Enemkpali would def have his role expanded - he's not super fast obviously but the man can play in the 4-3 and has good pass-rush technique.
If we get Iupati, getting a guard in the first round isn't necessary. Picking a future LT (If Collins is the guy, so be it), would be a smarter decision at the 6th overall, IMO.
you don't think we have bigger needs now than to be using our 1st pick on the future? I'd understand if we just won the bowl or came close and have a stacked team but, ya know?
Going OLine is far from my first choice; I would just rather spent a top-5 pick on a tackle than a guard. In my opinion we should be getting Winston or Mariota. If we can't get either of them we should grab Amari Cooper or even an OLB (not sure which one is the best). Only if those options are gone should be going for a LT. Plus, any tackle that we get should be able to play guard or RT for a few years before D'Brick retires. That would help us now as well as into the future.
When you put it that way it makes sense. Never really noticed but is that common in the league? rookie tackles playing guard? I do know it's almost barely ever a miss drafting a OL in the 1st period.
It depends how the team builds through free agency and trades prior to the draft and also the first five picks. If they acquire a couple QBs, keep Percy Harvin, sign a top OG and CB, and retain a good amount of their free agents (seems like a long list, but not crazy) then picking an OT would be an especially excellent investment IMO Who knows how much longer Brick will be able to play at a decent level and Breno is about an average RT, maybe. Drafting an OT would be planning for the future, but probably not the distant future at all and building the offensive line couldn't be more important.
yeah our tackle position is pretty average, i think Breno was below average last year. Would definitely help CJ and Ivory play at the top of their game.
Would love to have Scherff, it's not considered a sexy pick but it is a huge need. We can't keep taking OL later in the draft, it hasn't worked in our favor. Mangold and Brick were both first round picks and they are still with us. Scherff would be a perfect fit for us. Also, the last couple Iowa linemen that I can remember have had successful NFL careers: Robert Gallery, Brian Bulaga and Riley Reiff.
I certainly understand most of the criticisms. I knew the money figures I put for a lot of the depth signings were going to be over what they get. I went lighter on the secondary as I don't really think we're going to break the bank for a corner this offseason as much as everyone wants us to. A new defensive system could mean a lot more zone and mixed coverages versus Rex's style which is that he waited until we were 1-8 to start to mix in different coverages. I look at Skrine and Robinson as guys who at the very least can maybe put themselves in the right spot and will definitely catch the ball if they're hit in the chest. By all accounts Robinson is a good and willing tackler with good zone experience while slower compared to Skrine who has top end speed, is generally considered a weaker tackling corner. I'm really torn at quarterback. I don't believe we will invest in Winston, and I don't really like any prospects in the 2nd or 3rd in place of filling the bigger needs that we have and the fact that I don't think many of them are going to pan out. I would probably fill in the 4th round with Grayson/Mannion/Carden, although I really don't know too much about the prospects themselves outside of what I read so maybe it's a fair assessment to think they aren't going to succeed. Whether it's Iupati or Franklin, we need to sign a starting offensive guard. We also need a left tackle ready to step in and play next year because D'Brickashaw will definitely be cut, and to be honest there really isn't a need to resign him unless he agrees to take a major paycut. I don't care about PFF rankings or stats D'Brickashaw looked horrible and he's one of my favorite Jets and Jets draft picks. If he's not giving up a sack he's getting blown back a mile. Left tackle isn't something you wait to replace or fill in with mid round picks. There's a lot of top end talent at that position this year so I really see no reason to wait. Last time we were terrible at 4-12 we went and got Brick and Mangold and solidified the line for nearly a decade. This draft is assuming Cooper is gone. If we trade down then I'm all for drafting a wide receiver. I just don't see any of these other receivers as top 10 worthy in that they might end up being good players but they will not turn out to be game breaking talent.
Care to give it a try? This in no way would be my final call as the prospects are still yet to be graded but before you criticize with no substance behind it try it for yourself. Doing this for a couple hourss really almost puts you in charge of filling a roster and it's much harder to put quality all over the place than it seems while thinking about the future.
