So the Jets are weak on offense with not enough decent skill position players and issues on the right side of the offensive line. They have problems at QB and WR to work through. They have a RB and a TE hitting free agency and possibly getting bigger offers than the Jets would care to match. Basically the offense is a huge mess. On the defensive side they're missing a pass-rushing DE for the 4-3/4-6 and a pass-rushing LB and ILB for the 3-4. They're probably missing a safety moving forward as LaRon Landry will get decent offers off of the season he's had and Yeremiah Bell is biblically old. Here's the OMG everything fell just right mock that fills enough outright holes to make the Jets provocative next year if not exactly a contender: 1. On the 14 the Jets take Jake Matthews RT from Texas A&M. Matthews is the son of Hall of Famer Bruce Matthews, the brother of All-Pro Clay Matthews and the best RT in a draft with several good LT's that will go before him. 2. On the 46 the Jets take Giovani Bernard RB from North Carolina. Bernard scored 17 TD's this season while leading the ACC with 1,228 yards rushing. He had 14 TD's last year with 1,253 yards rushing. He catches the ball well with 92 receptions over the 2 seasons. He has nothing left to prove in college and as a redshirt sophomore he is eligible for the draft and very likely to declare. Not blinding speed at 4.57 and not big at 5'10" 205, which is why he falls to mid 2nd. 3. On the 78 the Jets take Dion Sims TE from Michigan State. A late converter to football from basketball Sims is still learning his trade. He's huge at 6'5", 285 and his blocking is ahead of his receiving at this point. Sims would be the second TE for the Jets for a couple of seasons in a blocking role most likely. He has good hands and good body control but he's still learning the game and a secondary role would be wise at this point. 4. On the 118 the Jets take Trevardo Williams OLB from Connecticut. A defensive end in college Williams will be switched to OLB in the pros. Undersized but not dramatically so for a ROLB at 6'1" 234 Williams has excellent speed and quickness as a pass rusher with 11.5 sacks in 2012 and 12.5 in 2011. He has a nose for the QB and consistently gets around much larger tackles to get to him. 5. On the 155 the Jets take Hugh Thornton G from Illinois. A 4 year starter at G and T for the fighting Illini Thornton started 10 games at LT this year but will likely slide inside to LG in the NFL. Good size at 6'4" 310 with a little room to grow. One notable moment of bad behavior when he was arrested as a sophomore after a bar fight has been followed by two years of good citizenship. If the Jets are lucky he slides to the 155. 6. On the 190 the Jets take Corey Fuller WR from Virginia Tech. Good size and speed combo in 6'2" 195 and 4.45. Another track and field player turned WR but this one has the instincts to make the transition smoothly. Walked onto the VT football squad in 2010 after transferring from Kansas where he did not play football. Played in 6 games in 2011 and started 7 while playing 655 snaps on offense this season. Caught 41 balls for 18.8 yards a catch including several highlight reel grabs. Would be a developmental player with high upside which would be fine for the investment of a 6th round pick. Probably has similar upside to Stephen Hill at a fraction of the cost. 7. On the 229 the Jets take Collin Klein QB from Kansas State. A real wildcat QB. It's the 7th round you have nobody on the roster who plays QB well. Might as well take a shot here and Klein can definitely play the wildcat for you. 6'5", 226 so at least he can see downfield.
Would be happy with a draft like this. Although not too flashy it should hopefully address the lack of depth on the offensive side of the ball. On the telecast one of the guys pointed out we need some more athleticism on O. Gotta have a couple guys that can break one off for 60 yards once in a while. Weather it be a RB, TE, or WR we need a guy who we can rely on to take the load off of Sanchez or whoever we have under center.
Love the Trevardo pick, Uconn's defense was top 10 in the nation this year, and the unanimous First Team All-Big East selection was a big reason why. (Also see Sio Moore) He also plays very well in the big games, and sacked Teddy Bridgewater 3 times when they beat Louisville. Trevardo is very fast and very disruptive. He is slightly undersized and could put on a few pounds, but overall very worth it in the 4th round.
all Jets fans would love a draft like this. by the way, Matthews isn't Clay's brother. he's his cousin.
I think they meant his dad is Bruce Matthews, who is the brother of Clay Matthews. If I remember right the current Clay Matthews is Clay Matthews Jr. The sentence is wrote pretty weird though, so I can see the confusion. I like it all until the QB pick at the end. I just don't see the point in it, I'd rather see a wing and a prayer go to another position.
I see tHe same problem. Matthews may go around 14 but very possibly earlier and no way Bernard lasts to 46. Over all they are good players that most likely will not be available to the jets at our draft slot if we keep winning. Not sure why someone would think sims blocking is ahead of his receiving, the opposite is true by a mile. He was the Spartans leader in Catches, yards and touchdowns before his injury. I had him in the 4th in my gloomy mock, he could easily go in the third. Had he been healthy all season he may have risen to the second. He is a huge red zone target but also capable in the open feild.
Bell is a beast and the Spartans lean on him, but sims was not just an extra blocker type like a mulligan or Becth. He is a very good athlete for his size and surprisingly good at getting separation from linebackers. He was on pace for a very good season till an ankle injury limited him. His blocking needs a lot of work, but he's adaquate for the NCAA level. He gets his pads high and extends too much. NFL De' and linebackers will beat him with speed and agility until he gets refined, but he is not horrible and has great tools to start with.
Also, don't get me wrong bradway, this would be a great haul and any fan of the jets should go nuts over it. Sims is one of the guys I love the potential of in this draft.
Hey Guys- I lurk here all the time but rarely post, and I'd like to believe I have some draft knowledge. Anyway- I don't have enough posts to start my own thread, so I've decided to just put it here since it closely resembles this one. Sorry if this counts as a hijack! 1. Chance Warmack, G, Alabama I believe Matthews will be off the board when we pick, and I think Warmack will be a great consolation. Warmack is drawing comparisons to Steve Hutchinson, and if he can be a rock on our left side for the next 10 years, it would be well worth it to spend a first round pick on a guard. 2. Giovani Bernard, RB, North Carolina Best RB in the class after the Lattimore injury, but lacks the "elite" flashy ability that most 1st round RBs have. Again, not blinding speed, a bit small, so he should drop to our pick. 3. Chase Thomas, OLB, Stanford This is probably the biggest hopeful pick in this draft. Most will say he'll be drafted somewhere in the second (early second even), but I think he has a shot at dropping to the third. His "flashy" statistics went down this year, and he lacks the very high potential many teams might be looking for. I think he'll have a sub-par combine, which will cause him to drop a bit. This may still be a stretch, but call it a hunch. 4. Dion Sims, TE, MSU Again, same player in this draft, just a round later. I think he'll last into the fourth, where the Jets can afford to take a project-ish TE. Incredibly high potential who will hopefully be able to replace Keller in a couple of years. Would also provide some neat options in a 2-TE set. I go to Michigan, so I watch a few State games now and again, and he's a baller. 5. Marcus Lattimore, RB, USC I know many will disagree with me on this pick, and will say that we have too many needs to be taking an unnecessary risk here (especially with the Bernard pick in the second), but I think if there's a change to snag Lattimore this late. There's a chance a team decides to pull the trigger earlier on Lattimore, but considering an NFL's RB short shelf-life, I find it hard to believe that a RB coming off two college ACL injuries that is most definitely going to miss next year anyway is going much higher than this. A three-way RBBC of Bernard, Powell, and Lattimore would be ideal for a true Ground N' Pound. 6. Zach Line, FB, SMU Definitely not a flashy pick, but will be a solid contributor from day one to add to our running attack. 7. Jordan Kovacs, S, Michigan Here is my homer pick. Much better suited for SS, will absolutely not be a starter for us next season, and maybe never will. If we do resign Landry, we need insurance at backup, and I feel Kovacs would fill in just fine. Reminds me of a fiercer Jim Leonhard. Was named MVP of Michigan team, led the much improved Michigan defense. Nothing to write home about physically, but plays the game very smart, and can lay the lumber from time to time. Very cerebral. Would be great as a backup. Let me know what you guys think! I would love to get more involved in this forum.
Love the Lattimore pick, but don't believe Gio will be there in the second. I wouldn't mind selecting Thomas in the second (doubt he'll be there in third) and would like Bacarri Rambo in the third.
Should be interesting to see where Lattimore goes in the draft. Someone will take a chance on him higher than they should, but with the Rookie cap it's not that big of loss if he doesn't pan out after rehab.
Unfortunately I believe the team selecting Marcus should plan on a full year of rehab and a heck of a player in 2014. Taking Lattimore with a mid round pick could be considered using an extra #1 in the 2014 draft at the cost of a mid round 2013 pick.
When you take a runningback in the NFL draft you hope and pray that he will never suffer an injury as devastating as the one Lattimore had. Because if he does the odds are excellent that he will never play football effectively again. Injuries have a tendency to weaken the areas around them and they tend to reoccur under the kind of stress that NFL action creates. I don't think anybody is going to take Lattimore. I don't think anybody is going to build an offense around a guy who has already had an injury of the severity that Lattimore has had. If you take somebody and they get hurt, well you're screwed but there's a small chance they'll recover given enough time and give you some return on the investment. Somebody who has already been hurt like that? What are the odds on a second recovery at a position like RB? It's not fair but when your knee has basically exploded on you that likely signals the end of your football career.
Not all knee injuries are the same. This is not 1980 any more and some knee Injuries that ended careers are not nearly as bad today. As a non athlete with limited resources my knee was back to fully functional less than a year after having my acl replaced. The way the ACL surgery is done make the joint there stronger than what I naturally had, the rehab is about regaining the muscle strength and flexibility. The odds of recovery are extremely high. You doom and gloom look at it is not anywhere near the truth of the matter. Lattimore may miss part or all of the next season, but he will be back up to speed. I've played rugby with and against guys that had completely shredded their knees to be back in a couple years and they were not going full time on rehab like Lattimore will be. Recover is all about hard work and the will to keep going past the point most will stop. Given his age, the care he will get, and his prior complete recover in very good time I have no doubts he will be running in the NFL in a season or two.
I don't watch too much college football, and therefore obviously am not familiar with all the prospects. I appreciate all you draft gurus because I am really interested in building up the team. One thing I've noticed is that a lot of these mock drafts are going with a RT in the first round. Is Austin Howard that bad? Apparently the organization is very fond of him, and while he is not perfect, I wouldn't call that the biggest hole on the team. In my opinion the jets offensive line is very underrated, Sanchez being so horrible under pressure makes them look worse. I would probably go with a speedy linebacker who is good in coverage, or a big time offensive playmaker RB/WR. I don't believe Howard is the long term answer however, and Moore is getting older, so I do think taking a lineman early makes sense, just maybe not in the first round. Thoughts?
Howard is ok, but nothing great. If you have a chance to draft a very good RT like Jake Matthews you replace Howard without looking back. If we retain Rex and want to continue to be a power running team we need to add talent at Oline because ours currently is good, not dominant like we need to be at the point of attack. There is no big time wideout of running back in this draft that would trump the talent of Matthews, Chance Warmack at guard, or a couple of the OLB prospects that will be available where we will end up drafting.
This is his second torn ligament and much worse than the first. He missed half the season in 2011 with a simple tear in his left knee and then he just totally blew out his right knee this time around. There's no way anybody in the NFL sees him as anything more than a very unlucky kid at this point with no NFL future. The injury was horrific. If it had just been a torn ligament in his right knee it would have been almost disqualifying since a guy who has had torn ligaments in both knees probably doesn't have much of an NFL future. As it is people are no doubt sorry for him but nobody is going to touch him as a draft pick. He might get an invite to camp if he is ready to go, but he won't be. So 2014 is where teams might start looking and by then he's just a guy who hasn't played in a year and had two bad knees before that. Lattimore shouldn't be declaring for the draft. He should be planning to finish up his degree whatever that is and get on with his life from a reasonable perspective.
