If you're going to make Rex work with the CB's available on the cheap it makes a lot of sense to give him talented but flawed options to choose from. Patrick and Patterson are definitely flawed. Ras-I Dowling is definitely flawed. Put enough of those guys together and let them promote the best among them and you give Rex the best chance to put together one of his defenses without having CB be a cap-sucking horror that caps the team due to resources unavailable elsewhere. The Jets went through a run in 2010 and 2011 where they had two of the best CB's in football and certainly among the most expensive. We've got to put that era behind us because we're not likely to see it again, at least not the most expensive part.
Yes, although if we end up with Dennard we could have the best and cheapest CB tandem in the league by 2015.
This is true also, however I doubt that Dennard is going to be the BPA at 18. The Jets sunk a 1st round pick into CB last year. I just don't see them doing that two years in a row unless the guy is a no-brainer of a pick. In this draft with the depth of talent available I'm pretty sure there's going to be a no-brainer talent sitting there at 18. As an example: I see CB as one of the weaker positions on the Jets right now, but likely a position they can fill adequately from the ranks. I see LT as stronger but with strange winds blowing around it in the form of an aging star player who appears to be on the decline. I'd be much happier with Taylor Lewan falling to 18 and the Jets making that pick. I see all the LB's with the possible exception of Davis as not fitting into the opening window very well. I'd be much happier with Mosley or Barr falling to 18 and the Jets making that pick. I see an open wound at FS. A hole that has been there since Kerry Rhodes left town. A gap that makes me wonder if Rex really understands what Ed Reed meant to the Ravens and Rex's defense when both were in their primes. I'd be happier with H-H-C-D and possibly even Pryor at 18. I guess Pryor depends on whether you see him as a Polamalu type free lancer or an undersized strong safety in free safeties clothing. I can't tell which from looking at the tape I've looked at. The point is that there is likely to be an impact player sitting on the 18 for the Jets at a position where they have a critical need moving forward or an open wound now. Going back to the CB-uber-alles strategy is just going to be taking the Jets back into an area where most teams have failed over time and in which the Jets ultimately declined. Yeah, 2010 was great with Revis and Cro and the Steelers ran the ball right down our throats and we couldn't cover the 4th receiver for the second year in a row when it really mattered. Right? Then 2011 happened and we saw how rudderless a CB-led team could be. Not that Darrelle Revis is not a great player, because he's a really great player. Not that Cro wasn't the best 2nd CB in the NFL, because for that year he was the best #2 in the NFL. But that's not where you get your impact on the field. That team went 8-8 because you can be a very good pass defense on the outside and still get dominated in the middle of the field. You can still get beaten by a great slot receiver. You can still lose to a power running game. The Jets managed all three of those tricks at some point in 2011.
I don't think the Jets need to spend a first rounder on a CB to become the "best and cheapest CB tandem." Even so, the Jets should not be in it to have "the best and cheapest CB tandem." We want the best all around TEAM. That would include serious holes at ILB and FS.
