So many people talk about drafting to fill a whole. But shouldn't the Jets at 17 draft the best player on the board? So what if it doubles up a position. The time it takes to develop a player totally nullifies the concept of filling a hole when you draft mid 1st round. What say you, draft gurus?
What Badger said. You draft the BPA who fills a hole. However, if you find yourself in a situation in which you'd seriously be reaching to take a position of need, you attempt to trade down or take BPA and fortify a position.
WR is a glaring hole in the depth chart IMO. There aren't many can't-miss prospects in this year's draft, so I'd draft based on need.
BPA. If you pick a guy based on need then you typically wind up with a player you reached for who doesn't fulfill your expectations [Robertson, Nugent, Nugent, Nugent].
I'd be happy with BPA except for a few positions, like speed back or center. Other than just a handful of guys any good starter on this team is old. So what if the BPA is a left guard, Faneca is old as crap and obviously declining. You can say that for so many positions, I think in most scenarios BPA would be the right choice for this team. It would be different if more of our good players were also young players.
I'm not sold on going with BPA :coughs Gholston : Go into the draft with a short priority list and target those players , SHOULD they still be available , but aim high. The problem with doubling up a position is that it can unsettle a team. So in short, NO to BPA , go with your targets , not there ? trade down and stockpile picks.
I don't think it's hard to do both right now. There's room for improvement in a lot of areas so as long as it's someone we can use (ie, can play 3-4), go for BPA.
If you draft the best player on your board at the draft slot you're sitting at it increases the value of the roster the most. If you draft the biggest need you have at that slot it increases the value on the field the most for the coming season but decreases the overall value on the roster over the long-term. Teams that draft the best player available tend to draft more stars and superstars than teams that are always looking to fill a hole with their first rounder. The Pittsburgh Steelers are a classic BPA franchise. That's one of the main reasons they have been so good for so long: their roster is more talented than the average team. The Jets are a classic draft for need (often trading up to do it) franchise. That's one of the main reasons they have been mediocre for so long: their roster is thinner and less talented than the average team. Drafting for need is like living hand to mouth. You always get fed but you're always holding your hand out again fairly quickly afterwards.
BPA only makes sense for a team that is basically starting over..like Cleveland. It doesn't make any sense at all for a team that is one or two players away from being a playoff caliber team. Then you go for need.
Remember, when you have a solid team like Pittsburg or New England, drafting BAP makes a lot of sense and is the way to go. When you have one too many gapping holes, read Detroit, the team tends to overreach and draft for position. For us the key is to go for BAP in area of need or trade down. We could draft BAP in areas such as DE, WR, OG, Safety, Corner, LB, TE.
Its a combination of both u draft the bpa who fills a need or a position that can be upgraded, like say hypothetically speaking if we still had Coles as the #1 and Cotch as the #2, and at our pick at #17 there are WR's Nicks and Maclin, and RB's ,Moreno, and McCoy on the board. WR at that point is still the more glaring need but ask me McCoy and Moreno are both better players at their positions than both Maclin and Nicks are, so I would choose either of the RB's over the WR's.
We filled a hole at ILB, we avoided a hole at G and we started re-filling a hole at CB. I wouldn't mind us taking Harvin. I think he may be the next Steve Smith. Didn't the Steelers prove you don't need a big WR w/ Ward & Holmes?
BPA because, we need more depth, and that BPA will most CERTAINLY NOT be a QB, because they suck save stafford
Chris "Beanie" Wells would be an awesome situation for us if he somehow slipped to 17. I say we need as many playmakers as possible. This is of course if Harvin is not there.
This is pretty much it... BPA for one of the Jets needs.. Right now, I like WR Hakeem Nicks from UNC.