Jets 2008 Offseason Now bear with me. This early on I don’t know too much about many of the talents coming into the draft. I did the best I could with the knowledge I have. I made three trades that I think are realistic based on the past draft and trades. I hope you enjoy. Please don’t rip me apart since as I said, I’m fairly uneducated about this year’s draft class after say the second round. Cheers, Adam Acquisitions: Alan Faneca – LG -- Pittsburgh Steelers – Faneca has made it known he’s not planning on staying in Pittsburgh even if they want him. We all agree that the offensive line is one of the biggest concerns for our team. The loss of Pete Kendall was unfortunately necessary as he was becoming a nuisance in the locker room. Faneca provides the stability at left guard and can help Ferguson and Mangold along as they develop. While he’ll be highly sought after, this is the Jets one big free agency acquisition. Randall Gay – DB – New England Patriots – We brought Gay in last year for a “debriefing” meeting most likely, but the facts are apparent that he is a young talent. At only 25, Gay can come in as the presumptive #2 corner to help solidify our secondary. Dyson has been lackluster at best, Miller could be a cap casualty this offseason, Barrett is nothing special. We basically have Darrelle Revis operating our entire cornerback corps. So, this is a decent upgrade. Trades: Chad Pennington to Minnesota for a 5th Round Pick: It’s no secret that Chad doesn’t want to back anyone up and that we don’t want to start him. This negatively affects his value but we’ve done business with Minny in the past and they need a QB, desperately. Chad gets to join his former backup, Brooks Bollinger in purple. Jonathan Vilma to New Orleans for a 2nd Round Pick: Vilma is done in NY thanks to David Harris coming in and dominating. Even though he has knee problems, he still has value. He never fit into our new system and its unfortunate but he’s got to go. In return for Vilma, we get decent value with a 2nd rounder. Meanwhile, the Saints get a play-making 4-3 MLB that fits their scheme. Round 3 Pick 67 and Newly Acquired Round 2 Pick 42 to Tampa Bay for Round 1 Pick 25: We need to address too many key positions early on to let 32 players go by without addressing them. This pick makes sense since Tampa Bay needs to address several positions and they get a higher value for this trade. Draft: RD1A (Pick 3): Darren McFadden, RB, Oklahoma: If he’s there when we pick (hypothetically 3) we take him. Just like the Saints didn’t need Reggie Bush, they took him. You need to take the chance that he could change your entire offense. He can run, block, catch and pass. If McFadden isn’t available, we should go after Chris Long or Lauranitis. RD1B (Pick 25): Frank Okam, NT, Texas: Some may argue this is high for Okam, but I disagree. He’s 6’5, 320 and is by and large the biggest DT in this year’s draft, and we need him. Okam can step into our 3-4 and become our Vince Wilfork. We could then move DRob to DE or alternate him in with Okam and play a great 4-3 front when we change things up. RD3: William Franklin, WR, Missouri: Assuming the other top receivers are gone by now, we go after Franklin. At 6’3, 200 he can provide the height we need in our passing game to fight for those jump balls. I’ve argued before that our receiving corps isn’t in the best condition. Coles is constantly hurt, Cotchery is a pure possession receiver, Stuckey is on IR and I don’t see him making an impact, Smith isn’t a real receiver and McCareins will hopefully be gone this offseason. We need help at WR. RD4: Brandon Miller, ILB, Georgia: He’s a 6’4, 247 linebacker that can stand next to David Harris to help stop the run and clog the inside while the outside linebackers rush the passer. I admit I don’t know much about Miller, but he looks like he could lend a hand. RD5: Jeremy Thompson, DE, Wake Forest: Thompson fits the 3-4 scheme as a DE and could stand up for OLB if need be. I don’t know much about his intangibles but Wake Forest’s defense front is fairly dominating. Could be a good addition. RD5: Owen Schmitt, FB, West Virginia: This guy is the reason that WV has such a devastating running attack. He’s the guy that opens the holes for Slaton to break through. He’s the highest rated FB in the draft and I think we should jump on him since we’re in FB limbo. RD6: Joe Flacco, QB, Delaware: This kid is huge and leading Delaware to the CAA championship this weekend. He’s a 6’6 QB with a cannon for an arm. Since we’re ditching Chad and Marques isn’t a quality backup, we need to bring Flacco in to provide competition to Kellen while simultaneously giving us the insurance at QB we need. RD7: Sean Sester, OT, Purdue: Could be a late round steal. He’s a 6’7 320 pounder that can run a 5.2 40. I don’t know much but his measurables speak for themselves. We need more big bodies to create competition at the OL and Sester can provide it.
Joe Flacco dominates. I think there will be better receivers than Franklin left in the 3rd round, maybe Keenan Burton of Kentucky or DJ Hall of Alabama...there will always be a good possesson receiver that slips into the second day -- someone like Todd Blythe (6-5 210) from Iowa State or Jordy Nelson (6-3 220), K-States' All-American. I'm not a fan of any of the "nose" tackles in this year's draft. Shirley is an idiot, that wasn't even a dominant force in the 4-3 at Fresno. Frank Okam is lazier than Albert Haynesworth on a non-contract year. Red Bryant could end up being a steal in the later rounds, and he's bigger than Okam, but none of these guys, despite their size, look the part of a true 3-4 nose. I hope we bring in a couple of low-priced free agents to play on the d-line, just as fill ins for this season. One of them could turn out to be a decent starter.
Looks like we've got ourselves a fightin' blue hens fan here. Ha! As for your comments, I agree that I hope we can get a better receiver than Franklin. As for Okam, I have a good feeling about him. It would be nice if we could find a solution to our NT problem. And lastly, we brought in a bunch of DLine low-priced free agents last year and Kenyon Coleman was the best of that group and look where it got us, lol. We need solutions now, not bandaids.
Ok, I get the trade for the additional first rounder, but how did we jump from 25 to 16? Draft sounds good, I don't think Flacco will get past the 2nd or 3rd round. He'll probably be invited to the senior bowl and gain a lot of draft momentum then. One of my high school teammates plays for Delaware (Erik Johnson) and is the starting MLB, so I have been following Delaware, just to see how he is doing. In the few Delaware games I have watched, I have been very impressed with Flacco, he reminds me of Peyton Manning.
Flacco is a beast - I saw him a few weeks back on TV when they played Delaware State - he has a cannon for an arm, he almost decapitated his wr's a few times. He is the direct opposite of Pennington. Pennington = All touch no power Flacco = No touch all power. He is a beast and would be an interesting prospect. If you guys haven't heard or seen him on TV, look him up
Yeah man, I've been watching most of the Div I tournament, mainly to see Armanti Edwards of App State because I worked at his high school as an assistant over the summer and he was there helping out -- great kid, and from watching him this past season, there's no doubt in my mind that he is a better QB in the spread offense than Dennis Dixon of Oregon...but anyways, I became a fan of Flacco after watching a couple of Delaware games, and whoever comes out on top in the championship game this weekend, I'll be happy for. Both of these guys deserve it.
He'll most likely shoot up the draft board, like Travaris Jackson did a few years ago. Whoever gets him, will more than likely get a hell of a steal.
Good catch, I apologize for the number discrepancy. I had originally planned a move to spot 16 and then changed it to a move to spot 25 without correcting it on there. I apologize.
Instead drafting Okam I suggest we sign a veteran NT, doesn't need to be anyone special just as long as he is a real NT and better than D'Rob, in the FA and then in the 2009 draft we sign BJ Raji. Flacco & Schmitt looks like interesting picks for sure.
Which NT's do you suggest? There will be no free agent NTs available big enough for a 3-4, unless we trade for one. But I'm open for suggestions.
I like the idea of getting Okam. But in the trade back into round one, don't we give up the NO #2 and our #3? so doesn't that mean we have a #2 left and no #3? doesn't that mean we can get a better reciever than franklin? Also Flacco is amazing, I saw his semi-final game, he just basically has gun for an arm. He just is amazing nearly taking the heads off his recievers. they dropped a few passes, and it shocks me they didn't drop more of them. Flacco has game and he is going to be at worst a great #2 guy in the NFL.
I don't know what some people's obsession with Ethan Kelly is. He has been a career backup in Cleveland. he is going to enter his 5th season next year i believe, and so far he has shown nothing what so ever that makes me think he can start full time much less be the dominant NT that this team is looking for... I think the Rookie Frank Okam has a better chance of being that guy than Kelly...
Grady Jackson, although we passed on him earlier this season, or the mentioned Ethan Kelley. Okam might or might not be a better NT than both those two, but I believe BJ Raji is a clearly better NT than Okam. Edit: Another solution could be to draft Okam this draft, let him play NT, draft BJ Raji next draft and move Okam to DE.
Minnesota will not trade for Pennington. It seems everyone here thinks Minnesota is desperate for a QB, but T Jackson has really come on, and they are making a run for the playoffs. He is entrenched as their QB of the future.
