No! I say our draft was for depth is a GREAT thing! Our roster didn't have a single glaring hole that HAD to be filled. Some could argue we needed a young QB to learn behind Rodgers....fine. And like you say in your excellent post....we lacked quality back ups at key positions. And to me, that's what this draft was about....drafting starters who will start as backups! I think we agree 100% How often does a team have the privilege to burn a 1st round draft pick on a top LT, and plan for him to start the season on the pine? I can't recall this ever happening. Malachi Corley, or YAC-King, has a beast mode that any other time would be an instant starter. But here, he'll have to beat out Gibson who is a good WR in his own right. Gibson is faster and has better hands. So a top WR like Corley will have to beat out another good vet WR just to be named the starter. Braelon Allen could be the best RB in the draft. Any other draft, we'd be excited for him to be our bell cow. Now? He won't even start. Breece is that good. So yes, we both agree! Our roster is stronger than it's been in a long, long time. And we got to add great talent mostly as back ups. Amazing.
Maybe they felt they could pick up sufficient safety talent in the UDFA market. I trust this defensive staff to develop UDFA talent. They have a good track record.
Good point, and hopefully, that's the case. Even though our DB coaches are excellent and they have shown the ability to develop players/talent, that doesn't mean that they will this time, or that they would be able to develop one of them quickly enough to help this season. What if JBC proves to have not been worth the pick, Clark goes down with injury again, and the Jets' only two viable starters at S are Davis and Adams? IMO that's taking a huge unnecessary risk with little or no depth. The Jets' suddenly good D, could go south, if Davis or Adams then went down with an injury. I think the wiser course would have been to take a S in the 4th round since they had multiple 4th round picks, and there is generally a reason a player is ranked a 4th round pick, and others are ranked as 7th round picks or UDFAs (4th round picks are more talented and/or are more ready to play day one in the NFL).
I'm sorry if I misunderstood the intent of your post, and am glad that we are mostly in agreement. There are a couple of points in this post with which I have a slight disagreement. One, it wasn't too long ago where the best teams routinely took great prospects in the 1st round as backups and future starters. NFL HCs used to be reluctant to start rookies and would make them have to earn starting positions, so it isn't that rare. Two, I disagree that Gipson has beter hands than Corley. Gipson is faster, but Corley offers a dimension that Gipson cannot. Corley is elusive, but he also has a ton of power and breaks a lot of tackles, and he gets a ton of YAC, Gipson does not. What Corley brings to the table is the ability to beat down the opposing D and break their spirit and give the Jets huge momentum boosts with turning a routine screen pass into a 20-30-yard gain with several broken tackles. Unless Gipson takes a giant step forward this year, I don't think Corley will have much trouble beating him out. Even though I disagree on those two points, I agree with the overall tenor of your post and think it excellent. They do have the strongest, deepest roster they've had in quite a long time. They perhaps need a little luck in a couple of areas (Rodgers staying healthy, and stopping the run/NT and at S. If they can do that, then this could be a very special season. It's hard not to get excited, but I've been disappointed too many times before, so I'm only going to believe it and get excited when they prove that there's something to get excited about. If Saleh can't win with this roster, then he has to go.
Agreed on Saleh needing to win…this roster is probably the best he’s had so he needs to win. Now. IF our starters can stay healthy I think we have a pretty damn solid team…the main question as it was last year is still Rodgers…if he stays healthy and if he can be what he’s been, we should be good. Smith and Moses are also key, as are Breece and GW, though I think our depth is better at both RB and WR than it’s been. On D, we NEED Q to stay healthy as he’s the key to the DL, but also Reddick who I think is really good and can replace Huff’s production. I agree though that we are a bit think at LB and S.
I don't think it's possible in this day and age not to have some holes in your roster. Our holes were magnified because we had no QB. Is there quality personnel at every position on the Chiefs? I don't think so. (By the way, we almost beat them last season with our "holes" and all.) Their holes are covered up by the splendid QB play of Mahomes. I expect with Rodgers at QB, many of our holes (if we have any) will be inconsequential.
Yessir...some of the best teams would draft talent, then let them learn a half season, or even a whole season, then take over. But the Jets never seemed to be in a position to draft top talent to sit and learn a bit. This is a privilege we have, thanks to Joe D creating one of the top rosters.
Like I'm going to be saying all year, this will be under the impression the Jets are healthy. Safety is probably the only hole I see. I dont know what to expect from Chuck Clark, and Tony Adams is fine. If they went safety instead of a second running back, I wouldnt have complained. I still don't understand that pick. Outside of that, the depth on the interior isnt great. re-sign McGovern and I think they're set there. Interior DL lacks some depth as well, but I trust Saleh to make that work. They do every year. Overall, this is probably one of the more talented Jets teams in a very long time. Pray for health.
