This is something I want to do for the next few weeks whenever it is I have some time to put it together. Basically, I'll just be looking at a few of the Jets bigger needs, explaining WHY it's a need, and then looking at a handful of players that could present quality options. Nothing insane, just trying to educate and spark debate. I'll try to hit OLB, CB, DE, Slot WR, NT and OL in the coming weeks, if there's any other needs that should be addressed in the draft I'll try and add them........ OUTSIDE LINEBACKER What we have (that matters): Calvin Pace, 30- Good all around skills, but not great at anything in particular. Capable dropping off the line in coverage but used largely as a fourth rusher. Bryan Thomas, 31- Up and down, too stiff to be anything above solid, despite his decent speed. Good stretches can outweigh the bad at times, and not deserving of being immediately replaced. Vernon Gholston, 24- A bust so far, probably won't ever amount to anything. Doesn't seem to have any passion to improve his game, and can't get on the field. Content as a highly paid special teamer. Marques Murrell, 25- Great athlete for the position, but not much more than a backup. Not good enough as a passrusher to even be a spot guy. Why it's a need: The Jets have been toying with the idea of adding a true passrushing OLB for quite some time. Back when they brought in John Abraham in 2000, he was supposed to be that guy, but a switch to the 43 turned him into a better player. Calvin Pace is a good linebacker, but isn't the feared threat as a passrusher that many good teams (esp. 34 ones) possess. Pace plays with his hand down a good percentage of time, but is streaky creating pressure, still, he'd be a great fit opposite such an outside linebacker. Many people like to say that the Jets don't have the need for such a player because they bring pressure in so many different ways. This is true, but is the reason for that because they don't believe a passrushing OLB is necessary, or simply because they do not have one? Rex's D got most of his pressure blitzing five guys, a lot of the time when overloading one side. The ability to get pressure with just a 4th guy opens up a lot of what the Defense can do in coverage, and also makes that fifth guy so dangerous. Not to mention it makes the opposing OL have to notice more than just big Jenk on every play. Best possible role: Part or full time starter at OLB opposite Pace, takes over as the main passrusher when four players are rushed. Likely role: Gets in the rotation as the 3rd OLB behind Pace and BT, takes a lot of snaps on third downs solely to go after the QB. Maybe gets more playing time towards the end of the season. Target Players: Round 1 Brandon Graham, Michigan- Right now, the ideal prospect. Not the most prototypical, but relentless as a passrusher with an ability to make plays in the backfield. Powerful but also very agile, Graham has been dominant so far this offseason. He'd be a great fit on the Jets, and would be seeing the field early and often for Gang Green. Jason Pierre-Paul, USF- I'm not his biggest fan, but is a terrific athlete for the position. He's probably a little too tall to be much in coverage, but people will drool over potential and explosiveness. COULD easily be a 15 sack a year type player with his natural ability. Jerry Hughes, TCU- A guy that I'm a little split on. Hughes is the type that has been successful for a while at TCU, played great as a senior, and seems to have all the tools to be a great 34 OLB. Yet, I'm still not quite sold on him, and I think how he does at the combine will do a lot to settle my doubts. He can play the run better than a lot of guys on this list, too. Round 2/Mid Rounds Ricky Sapp, Clemson- The ever-polarizing Ricky Sapp, truly the prototype physically for a 34 OLB. Fast, athletic, capable in coverage, good strength with a frame to add more weight, everything. YET, he never really panned out near the hype that surrounded him. Luckily for him he seems to play with passion, it's just that for some reason he never turned the corner at Clemson. Eric Norwood, South Carolina- The opposite of Ricky Sapp in a lot of ways, not really close physically to Sapp, but far superior mentally and in production. Norwood has played all over the field as a Gamecock, a versatility that might get overlooked by a lot of teams, but not the Jets. Great fundamental player, and just able to make plays all over the field. George Selvie, USF- Gets overlooked a lot by people because of how far he's fallen off the map, but I still think that his best days are ahead of him. The fact that teams went so far out of their way to shut him down makes it clear just what opposing coaches thought of him the past two years. He won't get any bigger, but for what he is could be a solid mid round guy to develop. Brandon Lang, Troy- Following the Troy tradition, Lang is one of the best passrushers on the list, but needs to develop an all around game. It'd be a risk to ask him to drop in coverage, so workouts will do a lot to solidify his value. Thadeus Gibson, Ohio State- Scary thought, but the guy that once replaced Vern may be one of the better options to replace Vern again. He's somewhat raw too, but I think he's got a lot more desire to play than Gholston ever did. Plus, experience dropping off the line. Antonio Coleman, Auburn- A slow start to his senior year killed a lot of his hype, but he recovered well and was pretty good down the stretch. Viewed as a linebacker no matter if he's in a 34 or a 43, he's best off as that hybrid type far and away. My worry is that he might be maxed out physically without possessing great athleticism. Jason Worilds, Virginia Tech- A local kid from Carteret, NJ, he could have used another season in college. Never had a dominant year, and such a season could have made him a first rounder. Still, a great athlete who apparently is also a wonder in the weight room. Later Rounds Lindsey Witten, UConn- My favorite of the late round options, a natural passrusher. He's also rapidly developing physically, putting on thirty pounds in about 2 years. Jermaine Cunningham, Florida- Big knock on him is that he benefited from Dunlap's success, but he's a better player than he gets credit for. Thin frame, but a great athlete. Willie Young, NC State- Long arms and a sleek build make him an intriguing player, but for some reason never turned that into big numbers while at NCSU. Brandon Sharpe, Texas Tech- Under the radar guy, had big production last season, but is limited to do much else besides get after the QB. Austen Lane, Murray State- May be a stretch to put him in the late round category when it's all said and done. Could really shoot up the boards once scouts get to see him in person.
Agree with pretty much everything you said here. Draftwise, in order I'd do: 1. OLB 2. DB 3. WR/OL Also, I think trading away our 1st rounder for a 2nd and 3rd/4th would be good
Awesome thread...I'm looking forward to seeing the other position breakdowns. I really just want a high motor, rotational pass rusher - he doesn't have to be a double digit sack guy, but just a player that goes hard on every play and gets after the quarterback - hurries are a very overlooked stat. Adrian Tracy out of William and Mary has a chance to become a mid-round pick with a good combine. He's a guy that I'll be keeping my eye on.
This is spot on... Thanks for the write up. I am absolutely in love with Brandon Graham. I think he is exactly what Rex is looking for, he almost seems like the perfect fit for our defense. He is the only player that would be deserving enough to trade up for. IMO. I almost wish he didn't display that motor of his as well as he did in the senior bowl. He is an absolute beast. Jerry Hughes is someone I would love to trade back for. I love his motor, his production, and he seemingly isn't as retarded as the, Ghost. I would be happy with this pick. Eric Norwood is my absolute favorite player in this draft. I would be stoked beyond belief if we went after, Norwood. I loved watching him in college, and his versatility was incredible for the Gamecocks. It is vey rare to find a player as versatile as him, and still continue to be productive. He is a great pass-rusher, and I haven't seen a player "get-off" the snap as quickly as this guy in a very long time. The Jets have only drafted one player that I was absolutely drooling over, that was last year. Shonn Greene. Seems like that was a worthwhile pick to me, and I have a feeling he is only going to get better for us. So I have a very good feeling about, Norwood.
Great thread, this pretty much sums up everything perfectly. Before Pace got suspended last year I wanted Gholston to come in for BT on 3rd downs (that obviously did not work out). I'd like us to try to do the same thing again this season with a player in the draft. Even though I think Brandon Graham is the perfect Steeler-esque player that this team needs I have a feeling that we're going to have to settle for a player such as Ricky Sapp, which isn't a terrible thing at all. Drafting one of these guys is hit or miss anyway. You should do CB next week, I think that's right next to OLB in terms of need.
Good stuff GH, I'd rank OLB right now as our #3 need, behind DE and CB. Lindsey Witten is my favorite late round guy as well, I would be pumped if we picked him.
Great thread! Probably the best one I've read in over a year in the draft forum (no offense WW and Mr.E)... You forgot to put Westerman though. He has been an OLB on the depth chart for the whole year and I think he is an upgrade to Murrel (in fact he was active instead of him). That said again I don't really agree with the Pace analysis and our D mentality analysis... but we have discussed it many many times and there is just no way one side can convince the other... I understand the premises of your argument but I don't agree wit the conclusion... hey, shit happens . What I do agree with though is that it would be nice to find someone to replace the "Gholston experiment" (situational pass-rusher). My question is: Will the Jets really give up on Vernon this year or will they give him one more year? IMO if they give him one more year we aren't drafting an OLB... if we do indeed get one it's because: A) He is by miles the BPA (don't see that happening until the later rounds) B) Rex&co have given up on Gholston. I really enjoyed the write-up on the guys available... did you not include Kindle because he is bound to go before #29 or because you don't like him?
Thanks for doing a better job of communicating the "overall" point I was trying to make in the First Mock... thread. All anyone got out of it is that I think BT is better than Suggs. English is not my first language; that's my excuse. Anyway, where's Westerman under what we have? And why would Sergio Kindle not be on that Round 1 or 2 list? He's probably the most ready made 3-4 rush OLB in this draft.
You really think that Sergio Kindle is more NFL ready than Michigan's Brandon Graham? I'm interested in hearing your reasons for thinking this - it'll be nice to see things mixed up a bit. Kindle certainly has a lot of experience playing standing up, but there's usually four linemen on the field with him. I think his game translates well over the NFL too, but I don't know if he's more prepared than Brandon Graham and South Carolina's Eric Norwood.
You stated all my reasons. I'll just add the measurables which is prototypical for the position. Everyone has their top prospect at a certain position. He may not be yours but he is mine. What can't be argued is that he should not missing from this list.
I agree that he should be on the list, but as a second rounder, and there's nothing wrong with having favorite prospects.
Kindle's not there because I'm pretty confidant he'll be gone by the time the Jets pick. That might sound strange seeing as how I have Graham go before him in my mock, but it's just that, to me, Kindle is the type of overall prospect that just won't make it to 29. Graham is great, and could go as early as #12, but Kindle WILL go in that mid 1st range, he's just too prototype not to. It's for the same reason I didn't include Everson Griffin, who I think would take a lot of development, but could be a very different, but very dangerous OLB option.
from what ive read, norwood struggled mightily at the senior bowl. anyones opinion of him change after his showing there?
I think you're the first I've come across (besides myself) to make this point. Rex is the type of coach to adapt to his personnel, which, IMO, is what makes him great. Great writeup. I agree with nearly everything you've said, though I'm not sure what it is specifically that has you "not quite sold" on Jerry Hughes. Personally, I think he would be a steal at 29 if he's still around. He has a great motor, versatility in his pass rushing skills, and is an above-average tackler who can play the run. If I'm Tanny and set on staying at 29, this is the guy I'm eying. Haven't had a chance to go through your 2nd rounders and on yet, but your notes (and others I've seen) on Norwood have me excited at the possibility of trading down, and still acquiring good DE value in the 2nd round. :up:
Wait I'm confused... I thought OLB was more of an unnessiary want than a need??? :smile: OK back to reality. We could use one. Anyone who watches the Jets should see this. Your analysis of our current situation is spot on Hurricane. I really think JPP and Graham will be gone, but would love Hughes at the end of the first. His first step and speed off the edge are some thing this defense sorely lacks. Sapp and Norwood would be good choices in the second. The others on your list, from my little knowdge of them, may take a bit more time to develop. Selvie is an intresting project guy. He has the tool but lacks production. Those type of players scare me a bit.
Does anyone have the numbers on how many pass rushers were drafted over the last three or four drafts that actually have done anything?
Eric Norwood's biggest strength is rushing the quarterback, and linebackers couldn't blitz in the Senior Bowl.
