Saying our offense is "well ahead" doesn't say much. The Jets need to add 1, maybe 2 WRs, almost an entire OL given the Jets have 2 OL under contract in 2023, and an entirely new TE room. The Jets need to focus on making their offense playoff caliber and developing the young QB. If the young QB doesn't develop, nothing else matters. Just because I don't want to double down on defense in the draft doesn't mean I don't want to improve the defense. Like I said, buy the defense, draft the offense.
I think one thing that some people are forgetting about both our offense and defense this past season. We had a rookie CS, the schemes were new and complex, we had a ton of young players and rookies starting or playing significant minutes, and we had a ton of injuries to starters and lost them for the entire season or large chunks of the season. I think just by virtue of: 1) the CS having a year's experience doing their jobs, having the offseason to reflect upon how they did things, realizing where they made mistakes; 2) most of the players having a year's experience in the schemes (sans those who were on IR); 3) with the young players having a year's experience in the NFL adjusting to the speed, the complexity of defensive and offensive schemes they face, and the growth and improvments they made during the season; and having a more reliable kicker, all units of our team will play better. Add back in the quality starters that we lost, plus additions in FA and the draft, and with Zach knowing the scheme, having his fundamentals and confidence back in order, our offense shouldn't struggle as much, nor our D be as bad.
IDK i'm not in the camp that we need all that on offense. if we look at the 8 teams that played this past weekend bengals - bad o-line but well rounded WR group with a 1, 2, and 3. stud QB titans - weak WR group after brown. top 3 RB, average QB. solid o-line 49ers - weak WR group after deebo, kittle is a top TE, weak QB, solid o-line Packers - elite QB, great o-line, bad WR group after adams Rams - stud QB, elite WR group, solid o-line Bucs - elite WR group (when healthy), great RB and great o-line, elite QB Bills - elite QB, weak WR group after diggs (although obviously davis went off thanks to the attention diggs got), decent o-line Cheifs - elite QB, weak WR group after hill, elite TE, decent o-line there is a lot of variety but most of them don't have a ton of good WRs. they have 1 elite one and then a weak group after that. I think we are fine with davis, moore, berrios, and a mid rounder and maybe a mid tier FA one. the 6th spot can be a fight with smith and mims. I agree we need a RG early and maybe a project OT later on. but we have becton (1st on rookie deal), AVT (1st on rookie deal), Mcgovern (solid center under contract 1 more year and can be resigned), and fant (solid RT under contract 2 more years) we do need a TE but again thats an early pick and a FA. all of our offensive needs can be fixed with our 2 2nd rouders, some FAs, and like a 4th and 5th. that leaves 2 1sts and a 3rd for the defense to get an edge, hamilton hopefully, and a LBer.
I think the only issue with the comparison you're trying to make is that most of the teams listed above have a top 5-10 QB on their roster, with the exception of the Titans and 49ers. Zach is not even close to being a top 5-10 QB, I still think he has that potential but he's not there right now. We need to do everything we can to aid in his development. If he ever reaches his ceiling, at that point you can afford to have some lesser talents at your skill positions because he can elevate the play of those around him. Until then, surround him with talent and make it impossible for him to fail.
The Jets need to add a top flight rookie prospect or a veteran ala Cooper or Ridley (not a fan of Ridley at all). They’re going to need depth. That’s 2 WRs. The Jets don’t have any NFL level TEs on the roster. Let’s say they resign Kroft to be the #3. They still need 2 TEs, we’ve agreed on this previously. I just don’t like Kroft because he can’t stay healthy. As of right now, only Mekhi Becton and AVT are under contract in 2023. They need another tackle and are in a position to take one at 4. Ekwonu and Neal are both phenomenal prospects. I’m not looking at the draft as a way to help 2022, I’m looking at it as a 2-3 year window.
If we count TE's as receivers (which they are) then almost every team listed there has an elite receiver group.
I hope they don't re-sign Kroft, not only because he can't stay healthy, but also because he can't catch. He had some big drops in key situations. I want them to sign a FA TE, draft a TE like McBride or Kolar or Ruckert, and then they have Yeboah and Westco. Then if Yeboah or Westco don't show significant improvement they can sign a camp cut to give them 4 TEs. I wish they could sign 2 TEs in FA, and still draft one, or sign one and draft two, but that's probably not likely with all of our other holes.
I think Wesco will be on the 90 man roster but get cut from the 53 man. I don't think keeping Yeboah as a #3 is a smart move just because he's so inexperienced. I think the Jets will sign 2 TEs, one being a bigger name like a Schultz, O.J. Howard, Njoku and the other being a second tier guy like Hayden Hurst or Mo Alie-Cox. They're 100% drafting McBride or Ruckert, I'd be shocked if they didn't.
I agree that Wesco probably won 't be on the 53- man roster, and that Yeboah is probably too inexperienced, but I'm hoping that with a year in the sytem, and with hard work this offseason and in TC that he can be worthy of keeping as the #4 TE. I definitely think the Jets should either sign 2 and draft 1 or draft 2 and sign one TE (preferably the former due to experience). I just don't think that Kroft is worth keeping unless it is as the #4 and he rarely, if ever, sees the field during the season.
I think the offense vs. defense part of the equation is being overblown. Even the teams that are dominant on one side of the ball, have 2 or 3 blue chip players on the opposite side of the ball. The Chiefs have Chris Jones and Mathieu on defense, the 49ers have Deebo, Kittle and Trent Williams on offense, etc. Meanwhile, the Jets roster is short of those type of guys on both sides of the ball. Not to go with the cliche "take the best player on the board" argument, but the lack of elite level talent is a bigger need than any on specific position.
and burrow wasn't considered a top 5-10 either until this season. alot will have to do with making the jump for zach to a top 10 QB. With that said the AFC is loaded at young top QBs. here is a list of QBs under 25 in the AFC that are top 10 guys already mahomes jackson herbert burrow allen that doesn't even include watson. there is also potential ones in tlaw, wilson, and mac jones (just taking the 1st round rookies) that's a ton of dominant QB play in the AFC. which is why i feel we need defense. the titans held burrow in check pretty well and sacked him 9 times. the bills would have won if their 1st overall defense made any sort of stop on mahomes. the niners defense smothered and confused MVP rodgers. we aren't built to win a shootout but we can be an all around team like the niners. I agree on the TEs we can draft one in the 2nd (wydermeyer hopefully but I like a few guys) and sign schultz and bam TE room is fixed. schultz starts, hopefully the rookie is TE2 and if not we have kroft to fall back on who's a good enough 2 but a great 3. and yeboah showed potential enough to be the TE4 IMO. 2023 is 2 offseasons away. we can also resign mcgovern. we do need a RG now which if we sign or draft one covers us into 2023. that only leaves RT as a need for 2023. so we can address that next offseason and take a flyer on a later guy this year and see if they can pan out.
only 2 of those teams have an elite TE kelce and kittle. even with kittle and deebo and the great o-line and run game SF scored 6 points on offense and won because of a defense that held rodgers to 10 points and a special team that blocked a FG and blocked a punt for a TD giving them a 10 point swing in a 3 point win.
I like Yeboah as TE4. I'd like the idea of going into 2023 with Becton + AVT + McGovern + Neal/Ekwonu. OT at 4 makes even more sense when you consider the Jets aren't happy with Becton; the reason for that can be debated but it's obvious they're not happy. I think OT at 4 is a lock.
why would you want to dump fant when he played at a top 10 level this season, has stayed mostly healthy for us, is a locker room leader and team caption. is a veteran for the rookies, and only cost us 10 mil. he's outperformed his contract, dumbping him makes no sense right now. plus if we get a rookie RG he'll have 2 vets next to him to help in fant and mcgovern.
Lol. I would go the exact opposite direction. The nucleus was already installed and experienced growth last year, now it’s time to set in some players who have already had time to grow - WR, TE, RG and draft positions where there is less of a learning curve, EDGE, LB, S with our draft picks. I’d also sooner draft a CB than get one from FA. We don’t need an #2 CB, so if we upgrade, it’ll cost us $$$$ Can’t wait to see how it all turns out!!
We have enough holes in 2022 without adding potential 2023 holes (we would be allowed to resign Fant in 2023 so it’s not really a hole). It’s always a good idea to stock the pantry but I’m counting 11 positions of dire need and OT isn’t one of them. A 4th rounder would serve the same purpose as your #4 overall.
I don't think it has to be one of the other, but can be a mixture. I disagree regarding CB. The need is not big there, and we have a good, young group that still has room to improve. IMO we need some veteran leadership in that room, not another rookie. Draft an Edge. Both sign and draft a Safety. Sign and draft a LB. Sign a 2nd tier vet CB. Sign a vet TE and draft two. Sign a vet RB and draft one. Draft a WR. Signing a FA WR is cost prohibitive, plus it's not a great FA class for WRs.Would love for us to sign a vet OG, but don't think we can afford it, so we'll have to draft one in the 2nd round.
11 positions of dire need? What are yours? I have DE, #1 WR, TE (2), RG, S (2), and OLB as dire needs. I have backup OT, RB depth, and a veteran CB as secondary needs.
2 S 2 LB 2 TE EDGE WR RB RG CB CB might be an exaggeration but a complimentary RB is a need. I was one of the few people who had faith in our CBs before the season started and they’ve performed admirably. The reason I’d be open to drafting one early is it would give both quality and depth to the unit at a reasonable cost for the next 5 years. Last year our 2 biggest FA signings were WR and EDGE. This year, I’m guessing: TE, RG, and WR (FA or trade) will be this year’s splash signings. What about you, what 2 or 3 positions will our biggest signing be?
