this 100% I don’t want a TE at 10. Period. He’d have to be Kelce to be worth it, and I doubt he is. Don’t get cute. Take the OT at 10, or if the top two or three are gone, then I’d consider WR or trade down for an OT
We'll have to agree to disagree on this. I don't trust Carter Warren any further than I could throw him. For 1 game, he may be ok, but not for multiple games. Not just any rookie OT could just step in an play at a high level, particularly from later in the draft. That's just not realistic. If Rodgers goes down with another serious injury, the season is over. We also need a quality starting LT for next season and beyond. I agree that a GM worth his salt has to find OL pieces in the later rounds with one notable exception...LT. IMO you don't go hunting for your future LT in the bargain basement bin. They are usually found in the 1st round. I also agree that in the past one didn't need to have an OL comprised of all 1st rounders or one couldn't afford to keep an OL like that together. I'm not certain that is true any longer, however. With the scarcity of quality OL in the NFL, those good OL that one used to be able to find in the middle and lower rounds, are now being gobbled up in the first two rounds. I think that good OGs and Cs can still be found in the middle rounds, although most of the better ones over the last several drafts were taken in the 1st two rounds. Regardless, I think OTs have to come from the 1st two rounds. IMO finding a quality (above average) starting LT in round 3 or lower is rare these days. I'm not willing to risk sacrificing this season by starting Carter Warren at LT for 4-5 games (or more) in the name of adding one of the 1st round WRs.
Yes, I know that we are on the same page basically. The problem with Latham is that he has had some injuries and has a problem with holding. Also, as you know, playing LT in high school is very different than playing it at Alabama or in the NFL. Mims had perhaps a greater injury record than Latham, and he doesn't have a lot of experience. I like both of their ceiling over Fautanu's, but I'm not convinced that either could step in an be a solid starter this year at LT. We won't know if Latham can handle the switch to the left side unless we draft him and try him, and then if he can't, it's too late. The last thing we need is an LT who gets called for holding a lot. The one positive with Latham, is that even if he doesn't work out at LT, he could still work out his issues with holding over the 2024 season, watch and learn a lot from T. Smith and Moses, and then be our starter at RT in 2025. Unfortunately, that won't help us at LT this season. Would you be willing to risk this season on his being able to make the switch and lose his tendency to hold? Would you be willing to risk this season on Mims staying healthy and being a quick enough learner that he could handle starting games this season? Both sound very iffy to me. As I've said, Fautanu is far from ideal, but being that he is older, he should be more mature, stronger, and experienced enough that he could handle starting this season when Smith goes down. Don't get me wrong, I'd much rather have an LT with an All Pro caliber ceiling, but unless we get one of Alt or Fashanu, or JD signs Leno and he is solid, and then we have a year to develop one of Mims, Guyton, or Amegadjie, or maybe Suamataia, I don't see how we get that LT with a high ceiling.
So, let's say the board falls like this, maybe not in exact order, but with these players gone: 1. Caleb 2. Jayden 3. Maye 4. Harrison 5. Nabers 6. Alt 7. Fashanu 8, Turner 9. McCarthy What specifically do you do?
Well that’s interesting, because in that scenario, Odunze may be the highest rated player there. The Oregon State OT has some doubts as LT, right? So the decision comes down to the OT or Odunze. Not sure if there would be a good tradedown option as I don’t think anyone is trading up for Penix or Bowers, so we may not be able to trade down. I don’t know enough about the tackle to say for sure draft him, but I’d probably lean that way. I’m weary of the Alabama OT at 10…Alabama OL haven’t worked out great in recent years, and I get that’s just the school but sometimes there is something there impacting the lack of success at the NFL level. If Odunze is much higher rated than the OT then I guess that makes sense, but I’m almost still going to say take the OT and let the OL work itself out.
Luck usually doesn't go the way of the Jets. Especially because he said that he wants to build a sustainable winner, he should be thinking about this season and beyond, but fearing for his job or his desire to add a playmaker may misguide him. I think that Moses could realistically be back next year as the RT, but I don't think that's the case with Smith. He will cost too much to extend, and if he stays healthy this season, he will cost the Jets $13 million in incentives on the cap next season, and Williams and Moses both have incentives as well, I believe. That's all the more reason we need to have a young LT ready to step in and start next season because cap space is going to be tight between possible incentives, extending Reed, Carter, and beginning to work on extending Breece, G. Wilson, Sauce and JJ. Then there's Rodgers big cap hit next season. I've heard it said that good luck is when opportunity and preparation meet. The Jets have the opportunity to have good luck this season on the OL if JD prepares. He took the first step in signing Smith and Moses, but the second step is just as important, and that is drafting our future LT in the 1st round this year.
Put your head between your legs and kiss your ass and this season goodbye! That would be a nightmare!
I think there is slim to zero reality chance on McCarthy going 9, and which more likely just amounts to the hype train chasing their clicks because that is what's best for business. But yeah under the scenario I'm still taking a better OT prospect on the board. No question or cuteness involved. Which one of those consolation guys we been talking about would still be up for internal debate until we get closer to the draft.
The best and most simple way to look view Smith is similar to how any of us Floridians would view the tarp on our roof after the latest hurricane came barreling through. It's a very very welcome in the moment temp fix, but nothing that should make you lose sight of the fact that you still have a tarp on your roof. LT, like your roof, is too important of a piece of your home to leave that hole as is and without starting long term repairs on asap.
You can replace McCarthy with a defensive player, even though he is now projected as top 10 pretty much everywhere, but the point is: are you taking JC Latham? Mims? Fuaga? We need to be specific to fully analyze the impact. Next best prospect is Fuaga, but he is not projected as LT. Either G or RT. After that opinions are divided, there isn't really a consensus.
If possible I'm going to trade back and pick up a 2nd rounder. If that isn't possible - for example, if I'm offered a trade back into the 20s for a 3rd I'll pass on that because I want a stud LT and by the 20s they'll likely be gone, or have serious question marks - then I'll take the highest rated LT I can get at #10. A stud WR would be nice to have, but now that we have Mike Williams to go with Garrett, WR isn't a screaming need the way the OL, specifically the LT spot, is. And it'd not like we can't get a good WR in the 3rd (unless there's a higher rated OL there to be had). The choice is very simple: LT at #10, or trade back and pick up a LT with your first pick and then after that see what's best available, OL or WR. If Rodgers is healthy, we have enough good weapons for him to feast. If he isn't, one more rookie WR no matter how good is going to make a big difference.
With Moses, whose injury is actually to pec, not shoulder, and he should be ready for training camp (he said 100%), RT is not the worst problem we have. it's specifically LT that is the problem. The only guy who played LT from the higher rated ones left is Fautanu. But I am not convinced at all he projects as a LT into NFL with lack of height. Plus he is turning 24 this year. I think it is a massive reach at 10 and not a certainty at LT. Fuaga is a RT or OG. Latham and Mims played RT. Though I do think they can play LT too eventually. Guyton played RT. There isn't really that slam dunk prospect any more who can be plug and play LT. Yet there is a slam dunk prospect at WR. It's not an easy spot to be in. If we drafted Broderick Jones last year, things would be easy, Now ... not so much.
Yeah, absolutely. I like the idea of JD making that pick even less if we potentially drop down below those guys. Like I said while it's still up for debate on the who i'd still want to see them using that position to take whoever they end up landing on as the favorite preference projection pick out of the bunch. To me It's just not worth the risk of putting ourselves in a position where it's some other team's GM or multiple GMs making that decision for us. Or where we don't actually really like or love any of the left over options after too many of them go off the board. But I'm also not that fan who spends all offseason clamoring that the team to do something I want, and who then just joins the pile on latter when they do just that and in the event it doesn't work out lol. They get points and no flack over it latter for at least trying from me going down my preference road.
Frankly, I haven't studied all the different prospects (which is a change for me) because there is no way any of us, no matter how much research we do, and film we watch, will give us anywhere as much info as Douglas has. But for the sake of discussion, I've paid loose attention to the pros and cons of the top rated tackles because that's really what I think they should focus on. With that said, I hear what you're saying about the possible question marks for the tackles you mention, and you might be right that none of them merit being picked at #10, but I'll remind you that every year there are players - especially OL - who are knocked as being too small, too slow, small school, etc. who go on to become top NFL linemen. So I don't take these negative reviews as gospel. This is where I defer to JD and him having all the info needed to sleuth out who might be successful. Of course, a big part of that is that whoever it is will need to be developed, and we don't have a good track record - hell, we suck! - at that. If we weren't so desperate to find a young stud LT (RT in a pinch), I'd be more open to considering taking a stud WR, but IMO we don't have that luxury because of JD's past failures. And because of this need, if Douglas doesn't think any of the tackles aside from Alt and Fashanu aren't worth the #10 pick, I'd rather he trade up to get one of those two even if it means losing a pick or two this year and next. Trading up for a tackle was something I wasn't really considering, but if the question marks you noted for these other tackles are real issues, it makes taking one of them even in the later 1st round iffy. IOW, if they're questionable at #10, they'll be questionable anywhere in the first round, and IMO we can't take anything but a tackle in Round 1. So, to summarize in order of my preference: 1.Take Fashanu or Alt at #10. 2. Trade back to a sub-20 pick and take the best rated (and best fitting) tackle available. 3. Trade up for Alt or Fashanu. 4. Only if none of the above are possible would I then consider taking the best rated (and best fitting) WR.
I think most of us that say OL is dependent on who is there, atleast I hope it is. I would like a top T but if 3 go off the board before us and we can't trade down and I dont want to trade up. At that point if a stud WR like Odunze or Nabers is there I would absolutely take one over reaching for a project OT.
I am afraid the board will play out very similarly to above, and guess whom JD will select at 10? Bowers. Or even worse: with Fashanu still there JD will pick Bowers. Then we are fucked again. These Vegas odds of the Jets being the favorite for Bowers make me really uncomfortable.
