In his chat today Cimini thought Andre Branch may be of interest to the Jet's. Rex worked him out at Clemson's pro day yesterday. He fits the OLB Rex likes. 6'4" 260 lbs. It may be a little early but if you think he's your guy you have to take him. Thoughts?
He's got a late 1st/early 2nd grade. Yup he could easily be the guy they're planning to take on the 16. Hopefully they don't trade up to make sure they get him.
A lot of boards have Branch as a 1st/2nd grade because the likes of Upshaw, Perry, and Mercilus are ahead of him. If the coaching staff thinks that Branch is the best fit of the bunch, then I'm sure they'd feel comfortable taking him at 16 (at least if the OTs and Floyd are off the board)
Ideally you work a trade down to the 20/24 area and take him there if that is what you want. The Jets just give away too much value in the draft to cherrypick players they want. They need to start being better draft merchants and get value for their picks. The Steelers loved Casey Hampton when they had the 16 in 2001. He wasn't the best player on their board though so they went looking for a trade down and found the Jets sitting on the 19 and happy to oblige. They took Hampton on the 19.
He's overrated if people consider him a potential first rounder. He has size/athleticism, but he's not physical enough. He'd be able to play in space, but unless he changes up his mentality when rushing the passer he wouldn't be what the Jets are looking for.
Well if the Jets really like Branch then they should try to get him by reversing their usual MO and trading down to where he's a good pick. In the draft the Jets have no balls at all. They will never let a person they want slide down to them. They always trade up in the 1st round. I know I sound like a broken record about the Steelers and their organizational philosophy, but ignoring their success over the years is impossible. Even when free agency came the Steelers adapted to it and prospered, mostly by figuring out who could safely be let go a year or two early as opposed to who they needed to sign away from other people to fill holes. Look at the teams who have dominated the NFL over the last decade: Steelers, Patriots, Colts, Ravens, Giants, etc. All of them have a similar philosophy on talent acquisition: use your picks wisely, emphasize whatever your teams does well in the draft, sign the odd free agent here or there to fill a specific hole - usually in an area that you do not draft heavily for because it is not a core concern.
You could sell me on drafting an offensive lineman at 16 then trading our 3rd rounder to move up in the 2nd round to get Branch.
A lot of mocks have Branch going to the Patriots late in the 1st as he would apparently fit well into their hybrid 4-3/3-4 D
The problem with that stategy as I see it is that we have too many needs and are not just two players away from a Championship.
As presently assembled, yes. But with free agency who knows. Say they go ahead and sign Braylon Edwards, LaRon Landry, and Vernon Carey. Gives them some flexibility in the draft to get an impact guy.
You don't need flexibility in the draft to get impact guys. You need a good scouting department and to use your picks. Trading up is like buying something on credit, the cost is always more than it ought to be because you couldn't wait a bit longer to have it.
Unless of course what you want to buy isn't going to be available when you'll have the cash. Paying more for a better product vs paying less for something not as good.
That philosophy is not always true. If we sat put for Revis, he would not be a Jet. You can't always wait for your guy because he will not always be there. I think the real problem with the Jets is the way they rank certain players. They seem to be very picky with the players they want. It is really rare that they stay put because the players on their big board are all falling off to the point where there is only one coveted player left, so they move up to get them. The reason teams like the Steelers are OK with staying put is because of the options they have in front of them. If they pick in the next 3 spots and they have 4 guys they really want left sitting there, they know they are assured at least one of those players they want. This rarely happens with the Jets. I think it happened in the situations with Kyle Wilson and Mo Wilk, so the Jets have shown they can also apply this method as well. Just not often.
For some of the draft experts around here, how does this guy measure out in comparing him to other possible 1st round talents? Reading stats and people watching himplay are two different things....
I'd have him as no better than the 6th best potential 34 OLB prospect in the draft, more likely than not 7th overall, after Perry, Ingram, Upshaw, Curry, Mercilus, and McClellin. Like I said before, I'm not sure he's physical enough.
If you claim Branch isn't a physical player, I question whether you've ever seen him play or just hold a grudge because of his school. Perry, Ingram, Mercilus and McClellin may or may not be better pass rushers, but none has ever played in space. Branch has. If I'm not mistaken, Branch also had more sacks than everyone on your list. Upshaw is the only proven LB on your list of 34 OLB prospects. While the Jets certainly have need of a pass rusher, they expect the LBs to be able to stop the run first. We already have Maybin and don't need a bigger version of a one trick pony. So I'll pass on Mercilus and McClellin and probably Perry as well.
