Draft 2022. What position Is a must for us?

I love Burks perhaps more than anyone else I've seen talk about him, but even I have my doubts whether he will rise that high in the draft, but I wouldn't rule it out, either. He is a great prospect. For me the key with him is whether he loves football and is committed to being the very best he can be and strive for greatness or will just be in it for the paycheck and fame. Nothing I have seen or read about him leads me to believe that the latter would be the case, but it could be. Too, he could have the desire to be the best he can be, but may not be willing to make the necessary sacrifices or may not be able to maximize his talent no matter how hard he works. That's what makes the draft a crap shoot.

 

He was a revelation for me at the Sr. Bowl. He looked amazing in the one on ones and drills, but as you said, the production wasn't there in college; however, some players are late bloomers, aren't that disciplined in college, have poor coaching, or things just don't click with their college coaches, then get with pro coaches and blossom. One thing is for certain. Some do, but it's extremely difficult for a collegiate player to become great in the NFL if he doesn't have elite traits/athleticism AND a high football IQ/instincts and the burning desire to be great. It's going to be interesting. I'd love to hear the discussions among Saleh/Ulbrich, the Jets' DL Coach and JD on the Edge prospects in this draft. Even after Hutchinson and KT, there's Mafe, Johnson and all the others. I don't think I've EVER seen a draft with this much Edge talent in it. I think I'd be very happy to come away with any one of Mafe, Johnson, Ojabo, Ebiketie, and Enagbare, but could also wind up being very happy with Karlaftis, Cam Thomas, Sam Williams, Bonitto or some of the others whose names escape me at the moment. One thing is for certain...we should definitely come out of this offseason with either a great Edge prospect or another good veteran Edge, maybe even both. We might even see the Jets double dip at Edge. That would be something.

 

I agree KT is the pick at 4 if he’s there. Completely on the same page there.

As for Ekwonu I likely the player I just don’t like the position. Most like if JD did that he’d be our RG and they’d let LDT walk in free agency. It’s a huge mistake. Guard is not a impact position in the NFL. In my opinion only LT should ever be drafted in the first round.

At 4 we need a playmaker at a premium position. At 10 as well in reality. JD needs to hit on a Edge rusher and a WR with those top 2 picks. Anything else would be questionable.

 

I can agree with that. There are several scenarios where the Jets can wind up with a quality OL in the second round.

 

Zach Martin and Quinton Nelson say otherwise. Those 2 guys are the centerpieces of their lines. I don't want to derail this thread as I like it, but to say it's not an impact position is just wrong. Like any other position, the elites will make impacts. If Ekwonu is elite, like many feel, you go and get him regardless of position.

 

I would be happy with Ruckert as a consolation prize if McBride is gone.

 

Edge and offensive line need to be addressed early, while WR and LB position could be addressed with second round picks.

There is a lot of depth in the WR category in this draft. Even a guy like Jailen Nailer is starting to get a lot of attention as the dust starts to settle, he’s like an Elijah Moore clone with more speed.

We will have to wait for FA to be over before the draft picture clears up.

I truly believe that OL, WR, LB, and Edge need to be addressed this year and Jets need those 4 early round picks to be day one starters and playmakers.

 

Then sign LVT and fill the void. I don’t want to use a top 10 pick on a guard. That in my mind is absolutely ridiculous.

 

I disagree with almost everything on this post. Martin and Nelson are good players but they have done nothing for their teams in the playoffs. Guard is the second least impactful position on the offence behind FB. Name a SB champion with an all pro guard? It’s a waste of draft capital. Premium top 10 picks need to be used on impact positions. QB/WR/EDGE/LT/CB/LB any other position is a waste in the top 10. Just look at the Bengals taking Chase over Sewell last year. It completely changed their franchise around. Most of the experts had Sewell as a lock for them but I’ll guarantee the Bengals don’t make the playoffs never mind the Super Bowls if the took Sewell over Chase.

 

Regarding this convo about value of guards -

Going from a horrible guard like GVR to an average or slightly above average one does a lot more for your line than going from an average one to an elite one. Spending premium resources looking for an elite guard is very foolish. It doesn't matter that much. It's much more important to just not have any that are dumpster fires.

I don't know how anyone can watch the modern game and think an elite guard is anywhere near as beneficial as an elite WR for example. You need to score a lot of points to compete with the best teams. Having a WR who can consistently get chunk plays and long TD's is incredibly valuable.

 

The bold has made me rethink some things. That said drafting Neal at #4 and using him at RG until we see if Becton comes back 100% is still a strong consideration if one of the two top Edge aren't there.

 

with the offense we run, has to be Tight End. We have really 0 NFL starting level players at the position, and we need really at least 2.

 

if we draft Ekwonu, that in my mind is us drafting a player, who might be playing guard for us year 1, but is going to be our LT of the future (rightly or wrongly with or without Becton)

 

Correct - JD isnt going to draft Ekwonu at #4 as a guard per se. Eventually he fills one of the T positions on this OL.

But I still say KT is the target at #4. Ekwonu if KT is gone.

 

This may be correct on face value but don’t confuse Ekwonu as an elite guard. He can be but I think JD eyes him as a future OT. The better the line overall the more time Zach has to hit those elite WRs - hopefully JD adds one of those also.

As far as the Jets hole at RG I do believe that probably most likely gets addressed in FA one way or the other. And that would be a decent starter - not an elite guard - way too expensive and not many available because - they’re too elite and are usually locked up.

 

That's okay, not everyone needs to agree on everything. Does Cincy take Sewell if they don't already have Williams? Probably, that goes unsaid a lot about that choice.

I get your point about the impact position in the top 10. But at 4 who are you taking there? The top 2 edges should be gone. The top LT will be gone. There is no Chase in this draft at 4. Stingley had one good year and 2 straight injured years. LB is a reach. The guard/T might be the best guy at 4 if you can't find a trade down.

 

We ended the year with 80% of our OL and WR on IR. Please stop pretending the OL wasn’t the best it’s been in years.

 

Can we please agree that OL isn’t a position? It’s a position group.

LT, LG, C, RG, RT are positions.