If the Jets FO feels this guy can be a franchise QB then the 3 guys already on the roster shouldn't have any impact on there decision. Freeman (or any rookie QB) is most likely going to need at least 2 years before he'll be ready to play. By that point we'll know for sure what we have in Clemens and/or Ratliff and Ainge. I don't like the logic of "we already have 3 young guys". Yes, we need to see what these guys can do, but a 1st round rookie isn't going to stop that process. If it turns out none of them can do it at least we'll have started the process of grooming the next guy. If we pass because of the 3 young guys and none of them work out we'll be at least a year behind developing the next QB. From what I've read on Freeman he sounds like he has the tools to be successful but needs some time to develop better footwork. I like the idea that he didn't have a lot to work with in College and that he was pressured a lot. The fact that he was able to succeed under those circumstances says a lot about him.
Absolutely.Both Sanchez and Stafford were surrounded by elite College talent. Freeman had subpar division 1 talent around him. Sanchez/Stafford also already have pretty good mechanics..which has to be computed into this. Stafford is a "What you see is what you get" kind of guy. He has a big arm,decent accuracy,decent leadership and questionable decision making. His decision making will likely get better, but physically...he's reached his peak. Sanchez has alittle more wiggle room, but is mainly solid accuracy wise, elite leadership,decent decision making and so-so arm strength. He'll likely improve his arm strength and may add some muscle to his frame..but he's another guy w/ good mechanics and you likely wont see much more physically. Then there's freeman. He has a huge frame to add muscle to, has some raw throwing skills that need some tutoring and he's never been surrounded w/ elite offensive weapons. There are alot of things that suggest some serious "growth" w/ Freeman that frankly arent as apparent w/ the other 2. I'm not saying Freeman is the best prospect of the 3. That'd be crazy.I'm just saying there are more unknowns(unknowns that likely will lead to some positive growth) w/ him than there are w/ the other 2 guys.
I buy what you're saying, Kurt....good post. But having said that.....do you burn a first rounder on a supposed "project" in Freeman....because that's what i'm interpreting you view him as from your post.
There is a better group of Qb's coming out next year. If Clemens and Ratliff can not do the job then trade up to get the best guy in the draft in 2010 and that is that. We need to have this Qb situation settled once and for all and using a number one pick on a Qb that will be a 2 year project with better options coming next year is not smart. We need to finish Rebuilding the Championship caliber Defense Rex wants, Get a Speed Wr and Rb to replace Thomas Jones after this year. Freeman will only muddle up a Qb situation that has been screwed up since Joe Willie Left the building.
I guess my stance is this.. 3 years ago I targetted this specific draft is a "depth draft"..wherein we take the best player available regardless of position weighing in upside,character and playmaking ability. Overall we have a damn good starting line-up..and what this franchise needs is to start filling in the young talent elsewhere.Once we add that needed depth..we could be looking at an elite roster. That means staying true to the draft board. Don't trade up for anyone, don't reach for a need and don't worry about immediate projections. In other words, Vernon Gholston wouldve been an ideal selection in THIS year's draft b/c he'd add depth and has considerable upside. If Freeman is at the top of our board at # 17, fits the system, and they truly believe he can develop into a franchise calibur player...I believe he should be the selection. It's a move that presents value, depth,competition and again,upside. W/ that said...if he's NOT the best player available on the jets board...he should NOT be the selection. I want an elite roster w/ a healthy mix of young talent given needed time to develop into starters.
Great post right here. IMO, the draft is about taking the player with the best value at a position of need, whether that need is for a starter or a depth player. I can see a situation in which the Jets take Freeman at 17, but I hope there are other players available. If the top two receivers are off the board, Moreno is off the board, and we are unable to trade back and take Kenny Britt, we just may pull the trigger. Freeman comes with a whole lot of risk, but in that situation any pick we made would carry that risk.
What if Clemens or Ratliff is the answer? Are we going to then have drafted a Qb in the first round and have to leave him on the bench for years making first round money when we definitely need a Wr, De and Rb to replace Jones more urgently than a Qb.
Sometimes it takes drafting a first round QB prospect to finally strike gold at QB. This proved true w/ SD(Brees & Rivers) and initially w/ Cleveland(Anderson & Quinn). Competition is never a bad thing..and if it is created at the most important position on the football field..all the better.
The thing is with a situation like Quinn and Anderson you at least got a chance to see both of them play. If CLemens or Ratliff are both good we may never get to see Freeman play or even worse never have true value placed on what we could get back for him. Im not totally opposed to picking him I just think the team should build the other areas of serious need and address Qb next season if the two we have fizzle this year.
I wouldn't mind the Jets picking up a QB in the first round as long as he is 1st round calibre which I do not think Freeman is.
If our team did not have so many other holes or was that bad we were years away from being good I would be all for drafting Freeman. The prob is with our Wr and De situation I would find it hard to take a Qb with the first pick. Not to mention the Thomas Jones saga in the wing.
I don't think Kurt disagrees with this. The problem, as I see it, lies with the position of our pick. I'm not sure Gilbert is worth the risk at #17 anymore, Maclin will likely be gone, and Moreno could as well. In that situation, I'd prefer to trade down and grab Britt or even Donald Brown or Gilbert, but I'm not sure the trading partners will be there. That leaves us in a position to either reach for a player simply to fill a need, or take a player who fills value. I don't know enough about Freeman to comment, but if the FO has him rated highly enough, he could be the pick in that situation.
Exactly my point. Although I do think ultimately someone very good will fall to us at #17. It's just a matter of whether Tanny gets star struck and trades up. My other thing is that I've learned that if you go into the draft dead set on drafting one player/position in a specific round..you're going to be dissapointed 9 times out of 10..and frankly that's not good drafting. It's about playing the odds and drafting based on value. Trust your scouting and your ability to grade players. That's why I'm ok w/ several different players/positions at #17 as long as they make sense value wise. Freeman just happens to be one of those players. I also disagree w/ the given post about us having glaring holes. We don't have any glaring holes OTHER than QB. We have needs, yes..but nothing glaring. When that is the case you draft based on value and build up a deep,elite roster and you don't dwell on individual wants/needs.
Nothing wrong with taking Freeman in the first as long as we end up with a good QB who can compete at a high level by the end of 2010. If not Tannenbaum has to go.
Agreed. Flexibility is key. I'd like to think that we are targeting Maclin or Moreno, or will make an attempt to trade down. However, I can see Vontae Davis and perhaps an ILB being on our radar for the 1st round, as well as Freeman. It's all a matter of where they rank on the board. That's why I'm ok w/ several different players/positions at #17 as long as they make sense value wise. Freeman just happens to be one of those players. This we will have to disagree on. I'd say our most pressing need in this draft is at the receiver position. It's not strong enough to take a receiver simply to take one in round one, though. That's the part that I don't understand, the people who want to reach to grab a receiver at 17 if the right one isn't available. I don't feel QB is a glaring hole, simply because I have a certain amount of faith in the QBs we have and love the top end of next year's draft class. However, I'm certainly not going to blame anyone for seeing things differently with three unproven QBs.
Only for a Qb and give up whatever it takes to get them. If the Jets FO believes any one of the 3 is a franchise QB IMO they need to do whatever it takes to get one of them. Chances are they have no shot at Stafford but Sanchez and Freeman could possibly be in play. I believe all three of them have the potential to develop into a franchise QB, I also believe that these three prospects right now are better then the QB prospects next year. This team can't be taken seriously until they figure out the QB situation. Now is the time, new CS that has time to develop a QB. Even if we draft a QB high we will still find out what we have with the guys on the roster but at least when the likely scenario happens and they flop we have someone to turn to. Bottomline is you don't pass on a franchise QB prospect because you have Kellen Clemens or Brett Ratliff already on the roster. In hindsight(although I was saying this last year) we should have done whatever it took to move up for Ryan last year. We can't put off securing our future at the most important position in the game any longer.
We probably could have done it for our 1st, 2nd, and maybe 4th, meaning no Dustin Keller. We'd be looking this year at grabbing a 3-4 OLB, of which there are several, and might even have been sitting at the end of the 1st round, in great position to grab someone like Kenny Britt and would still have our 3rd. Oh well. Hindsight. We'd probably still be coached by Mangini, too.
