Truthfully I dont even see OLB as, AS big of a need now as I did last year. Albeit well likely want to get another OLB with Thomas likely done as a Jet. We are as set @ corner and hb as were ever going to be. So come next season what do we really need the most ? As far as the OL we got Slauson, Mangold, Dabrick, Hunter all locked up for a while and turner who will be healthy hopefully. Ducasse is gonna be make or break (hell finally have a chance to participate in OTAs) so he actually might have some appearance of a relatively competent backup. So we arent even as bad there as one would think. Truthfully I think Safety by far is our biggest need and id greatly like to see at least 2 drafted next year, and a tight end. Hell if we walked away from next off-season with 2 safeties and another tight end either drafted early or accquired via free agency id be pretty excited. I think our OL problems are just significantly exacerbated due to injuries and the lack of offseason training.
LB- I can see two being drafted, and then having another two coming in for UDFAs. This is an old position minus Harris and Westerman. They're slow. They need a speed guy to fix this. I can see this being the 1st round pick, considering the Jets would pick in the teens right now. I can also see the Jets going after an RT/G prospect, just for depth. Ducasse, IMO has the preseason to show he can play in the NFL. He's raw power is there, but his head isn't. He just doesn't know this game well enough. Safety will be a mid round pick, unless a top prospect is sitting there in the mid 2nd. The Jets will need another TE that can both block and catch passes. No one special, just someone similar to Kevin Boss. He doesn't have to be 6'7, but he needs to run some routes correctly. Matt Mulligan has regressed greatly this year. This team doesn't need much from a draft perspective, which will help land someone useful in FA.
RT, both guards, NT, ROLB until we find the one, LOLB, SS, FS. We have a lot of needs in the next season or two.
BPA for OLB, WR in first and second rounds Sign/trade for RT Build depth I don't think the Jets are in that bad of a shape, just need some more talent on the edges. Also need to strike Gold late in the draft on a safety
Pass-rushing/run stuffing OLB. Safety capable of rushing up to the LOS and making a sure tackle. O. Coordinator. If we find all 3, just put the Vince Lombardi in our hands.
Watching Detroit really makes me wish we would go balls in on revamping our defensive line. I mean what they did to their Dline over 1-2 seasons was absolutely incredible. And hell if our Dline was half as good as theirs id be more than content with Smith/Leonhard/Pool at safety. Even our linebacker corp wouldn't look so bad. Then again its not really fair to compare a 3-4 to a 4-3 I mean unless our 2 rookies pan out big time, most of the guys on our Dline are just good depth, and not so much legit studs
Safety seems pretty glaring when Smith is in the game lol. A guy like Ray Ray Armstrong out of Miami would be nice. Very athletic and can lay the wood.
the NFL is an offense-driven league. I think our biggest need is our Oline. We need depth, and an upgrade at the RT position. We all know that good teams are built from the OL/DL and outward. The 2010 Jets draft class focused on getting younger on the DLine, I'm hoping the 2011 draft class focuses on our oline. Face it, if we can't keep our QB upright, we're fucked. I present the Ravens game as Exhibit A to back that point up. Our pass rush needs to be fixed, but the oline should be at the top of Tanny/Rex's to-do list.
What the Lions did to their DL is what Jets need to do with the LB. Need a murderer at LOLB and some youth/speed at ROLB to rush the passer but one that could also drop into coverage to pick up the TE or HB. It also helps when the Lions are picking top 5 for a decade straight while the Jets pick on the back end of the first. Whiffing on Gholston and Dewayne Robertson is just salt in the wound.
I agree on the o-line. It used to be a crappy week when we got less than 100 yds total rushing. Now we are lucky to get near that, and the running back talent isn't the reason. I'd like to see how we stand at the end of the year before we write off Hunter. With the lack of offseason, I don't think the Jets you see now are the ones you'll see at the end. Things will change for the better, just not sure which things. The Jets can't address all of their needs sufficiently with one draft. Not unless we have as many picks as the Pats have. Can't forget about free agency.
O line depth a young, tall and explosive WR OLB (to replace Thomas) a safety that can actually play in coverage we don't have a ton of needs. jets obviously need to prioritize given limited number of draft picks or cap constraint issues, meaning they can't plug every hole. i put safety last because our safeties aren't terrible, they're just not great (Especially in coverage)
The problem is that you can just draft a rookie for every immediate need because some of your draft picks need to be for positions that need depth, not a replacement. Plus, usually the rookie won't start right off the bat unless they are top 2 round picks. Also, drafting a 7th round safety doesn't necessarily mean we addressed a need. He might end up on the unemployment line before the season starts.
Once Schotty is fired, I think utilizing Sanchez's ability to throw the ball deep needs to be utilized, so I would say WR in round 2- someone tall and that can stretch the field. I think LB is a need, mostly OLB so im thinking that we draft one in round 1 and maybe another in the middle rounds for depth. I like westerman and maybin as passrushers but I dnt know if they will be full time players in this league. Depth on the Oline is a need and i think that could be solidified through FA. An athletic safety is a must. It is a glaring need. We need someone who can cover a TE and also be a ball hawk. I dont know if FA is the best option, but it will should be of the highest priority
Why don't you see OLB as big a need now? Because Westerman got 2 sacks yesterday? C'mon. As you said, Thomas is likely done. Next year will probably be Pace's last year (it should be anyway). Even if Thomas and Pace would both be back, they've been underwhelming in the pass rush. The team needs more speed at OLB. I think that is still the team's biggest need. They have their future NT (Ellis) and now they need to find that stud pass rusher. Their #1 pick should be used to take the best OLB available, or if they think where they're picking is too high for any of the OLBs available at that point, then they should look to trade down and take the best one available. FS is definitely a BIG need as well. The problem is that it's supposedly not going to be a very good draft for safeties. If there is a good S prospect available, then I'd be happy to see them take him in the 2nd or 3rd round. You think the OL is set with Hunter and Ducasse? Whatever. I couldn't disagree more. The RT spot is anything but set. Slauson could be upgraded and Moore may only be around another year or two. Turner isn't all that, either. Schlauderaff may pan out, as may Baxter, but as we've seen this season, it's too important to go with maybes. If I was the Jets GM I'd look to add at least one veteran OL to the mix as well as drafting an OL. The good thing about OL is that good ones can be found in almost any round, sometimes even as UDFAs. With Mason older and being pretty ineffective and Plax older as well, they could use a good young WR prospect to add to Holmes and Kerley.
With our great corners I'd love to see a young quick FS or of course pass rushing OLB. Assuming we have all our picks which I think we do after those first 2 rounds we could definitely use OL depth and ILB depth as well as WR. Theres really a lot of ways we can go but between FA or the draft I'd really like to see our good secondary go to great with a talented free safety.
Right tackle - sign during free agency 3-4 OLB - use first round pick. We somehow need to get a strong olb that plays very fast. Gholston was supposed to be this, but he plays incredibly slow and doesn't use his strength functionally. He's a bodybuilder with good straight-line speed. Safety - use 2nd round pick WR - 3rd or lower pick. We need an extremely fast guy that can stretch the field. Guys like Denarius Moore, Mike Wallace, Johnny Knox... get someone that'll make the cornerbacks play farther back. That's a good start
