Just had a think on a few of the many 1st round picks, that busted bad or were good for at bit and then busted. Then had too much time and took a deeper dive and made the mistake of thinking: "Who could have been on this team?" Its bad... we could have been SO good... I went back before the Darnold-draft and took a look. Here we go: 2017: Pick 6/Rnd 1: S J. Adams Pick 7/Rnd 2: S M. Maye Available at those picks: Rnd1: QB Mahomes, QB Watson, CB Lattimore, CB Humphrey, CB White, LB TJ Watt Rnd 2: HB Cook, HB Mixon, WR Juju, 2016: Pick 20/Rnd 1: LB D. Lee Pick 19/Rnd 2: QB C. Hackenberg Available at those picks: Rnd 1: WR Will Fuller, DT Kenny Clark Rnd 2: OLB Jones, G Whitehair, CB Bradberry 2015: Pick 6/Rnd 1: DT L. Williams Pick 5/Rnd 2: WR D. Smith Available at those picks: Rnd 1: HB Gurley, WR Parker, DT Armstead, OLB Dupree, CB Jones Rnd 2: G Morse, C Marpet, DE Clark, 2014: Pick 18/Rnd 1: S C. Pryor Pick 17/Rnd 2: TE J. Amaro Available at those picks: Rnd 1: DE Lawrence(rnd 2, pick 2) Rnd 2: WR Adams 2013: Pick 9/Rnd 1: CB D. Milliner Pick 13/Rnd 1: DT S. Richardson Pick 7/Rnd 2: QB G. Smith Available at those picks: Rnd 1: G Long, CB Rhodes, WR Hopkins, C Frederick Rnd 2: HB Bell(!), LB Collins, DT Short 2012: Pick 16/Rnd 1: DE Q. Coples Pick 11/Rnd 2: WR S. Hill Available at those picks: Rnd 1: DE Ingram, DE C. Jones, G Zeitler, S H. Smith Rnd 2: WR Jeffery, MLB B. Wagner 2011: Pick 30/Rnd 1: DT M. Wilkerson Available at those picks: Rnd 1: DE Heyward, TE Rudolph(2nd rnd) 2010: Pick 29/Rnd 1: CB K. Wilson Pick 29/Rnd 2: OT V. Ducasse Available at those picks: Rnd 1: DE Hughes, TE Gronkowski (2nd rnd) Rnd 2: OT Veldheer (3rd rnd)
It changed this year with JD, drafting Becton, Mims and Mann has already solidified 3 spots for the long run, another 3 in this years draft and that’s 6 spots that will be set for long term, there is a silver lining.
And with so many picks there is a great chance we can find those 3. The real win would be getting 3 with our first 3 picks (potentially all top 33 players) and then finding a gem or two later.
Just goes to show you the importance of hiring the right Management. You will never be a Fortune 500 NFL Franchise without brainpower. Johnson and Johnson leave NO decision making to Woody and Chris lmao
The good news is fortunes can change in a hurry in the NFL. It finally looks like we have a GM who knows what he's doing. The 2020 draft class appears to have at least three starters not including Mann.
I've done this before and it's a sure way to get depressed. I'm sure my physician would say that it's not good for my heart, either. It's definitely been atrocious for most of the last 20 years, but believe it or not, when you go back to the mid-to--late '70s, and if memory serves me correctly parts of the '80s and '90s were also bad beyond belief. There are so many great players and HOF players that the Jets could have drafted, it's enough to make a grown man cry thinking about what might have been.
Mac legitimately set the organization back 6-7 years. Name a blunder and he committed it - mortgaging draft picks, paying big money for aging free agents, using premium draft capital on non-premium positions, prioritizing defense over offense. Best case scenario is JD continues to draft well and we get Lawrence. We could maybe be a competitive team in 2-3 years if everything goes well on those fronts. But again, that's best case scenario and speaks to just how bad a state Mac left us in.
