No trades. A few small school prospects. I haven't done a mock in over a month, will be my last till the week of the draft. Addressing the front 7 with the first 2 picks was a must. Comments welcome. RD 1) Brooks Reed, OLB, Arizona...Reed is a borderline Rd 1 pick. Has a non stop motor and terrific work ethic. If Reed is available, he will strongly be considered. Rd 3) Kenrick Ellis, DT/DE, Hampton...Another Ellis replaces an Ellis. Usually when I see a player over 340 lbs it sends up redflags. Ellis at 6'5" can handle the the weight and is very athletic. I like his versatility to play inside or move to the 5 Tech. Rex loves these type of players. Rd 4) Will Rackley, G/T, Lehigh...A player on the rise and might not be available in late Rd 4, unbelievable talent. Has dominated the Patriot league and has excellent strenght and quickness. Gives some competiton on the line to kick Vlad and Slauson in the ass. Woody is gone and Rackley could be a solid RT. I'm not giving up on Vlad, just need more depth. Rd 5) Dane Sanzenbacher, WR, OSU...Had him in my last mock over a month ago. Why change?? Great hands and can separate, great potential slot receiver. Rd 6) Jerrard Tarrant, FS, Georgia Tech.....A player that can compete and make an impact in our secondary. Outstanding special teams player and kick returner. I wanted to get a safety sooner, but have to make tough decisions. Hopefully FA opens up and we can address it later. Rd 7) Lee Smith, TE, Marshall........A big TE, not much production, but an excellent blocker. Jet's 7th round pick is at the top of the round, Smith should be available.
Very realistic mock WW, I think our 1st rounder really breaks down to 4 players at LB: Wilson, Reed, Ayers, or Sheard ( with his impressive pro day he's shooting up the boards.)All those to me sound great, although id want Reed over all of them. Ellis is a beast but I do get concern a bit with his huge weight. Does he lose that 340 and go down to 325? or Do we use it to our advantage? I havent seen this kid in play but have heard big things, I have a question though, If a player like Hagg or Ahmad Black ( who is falling off boards now) is avaiable in the late 4th do we still take Rackley or address the S position? I really believe somethng like this could occur. Everything else is really solid, great stuff WW.
I don't think Ellis' weight is an issue, has a huge frame and is very quick for his size. Rex likes these big lineman that can move around the line. I had Hagg in my last mock, wanted to changed it up. I agree Safety is an issue, but we can't address everything with 6 picks and no Free Agncy. I'm hoping FA will be back and we could look at a player like Dawan Landry. I expect the Rackley pick to raise a few concerns, but this kid is a rising sleeper. I really like adding another lineman, we need to soldify the line and keep our running game and protection solid.
I like it, though I would like to switch FS & OL. I think Callahan can coach a lower round draft pick into a solid contributor. If any type of play maker is available for that 4th round pick, I feel that is a must.
I'm on the fence on the Rackley pick, he dominated at the E-W Shrine Game, but at the same time, do the Jets need another player that needs to "acclimate" to bigger competition when immediate depth is needed?
I don't really see why we would draft a TE when we've already got three (four if Hartsock is re-signed) on the roster.
It's round 7, are you expecting a superstar? Hartsock is awful, can't block or catch. We really don't have a good blocking TE on the roster, Smith would be a good pickup.
I knew I would take shit for this pick. I have no issue upgrading our O-line with a quality player that could eventually be a starter. Another Player is needed for depth. You usually aren't going to find a first year starter in round 4 at any position. I'm a huge believer in the O-line and protecting our Franchise player and keep the running game in good shape. My previous mock, I added depth to the RB position, but didn't this time since LT is staying. I feel I've addressed most positions of need with the Safety to be looked at later. I really wanted the Safety position addressed earlier, but honestly is a Hagg, Black ...going to make that much more of an impact right away??? I don't think so. Tarrant may surprise. As I stated earlier, I'm waiting on FA to sign Landry.
He's not that great, average for his size. Lee Smith is much better engaging d-Lineman. BH has terrible hands...it doesn't matter he won't be back.
Great work as usual, love the first two picks, and Sanzenbacher. The only real thing I might change is something others have already harped on and that's spending that 4th round pick on Rackley. I'm not saying I don't think he's worth the selection, I just think we could go in other directions that would be more beneficial like safety. To tell you the truth I'm starting to think we might be well served to dip back into the D-line for a second time in the draft in the 4th round as long as no safety is worth taking there.
I like it and would sign up for that right now. With the way I'm looking for the 7 rounder I might go with a guy like Deunta Williams in the 3rd, and hope a guy like Jarvis Jenkins, Lawrence Guy, Cedric Thorton, Ian Williams or Sione Fua is there in round 4.
I have nothing against going OL in the Draft at some point, but if Vlad couldn't contribute ANYTHING coming from a small school, it doesn't get my hopes up for other "projects". He may very well be a future All-Pro, but I don't know if the Jets have the luxury to wait if they need depth now. And FWIW, what Vlad did last season =/= Depth. I think in certain situations, higher tier competition experience beats a higher ceiling...
I can see reasons for and against drafting a lineman, not that every AA player needs acclamation and I think Rackley should be a solid player, but we have more pressing needs. Also I do not like the Sanzenbacher pick, not only because if we are going to draft a pure slot guy I would like him to be able to return kicks and have more athletic ability, but also that I just don't see us drafting a WR (maybe UDFA) in this draft Other than that I like the mock
I wouldn't call Rackley a "project". FWIW, Mayock is very high on Rackley. Not many people are aware of Rackley's ability. He was highly regarded coming out of the state of Georgia and could have attend a few SEC schools. Rackley is an Academic All-American and wanted to attend a school with an excellent academic reputation. Rackley couldn't participate in the combine since he had a hip injury. I really expect his stock to rise in the next month. For now, I have him as a 4th rd pick, but that's going to change. I'm not giving up on Vlad, but I don't see that high ceiling for Vlad. I will be disappointed if we don't address O-line with one of our 6 picks.
I love the first two picks. Its the 2 middle picks (Rackley and Sanzer) im not a fan of at all. I feel like WR and OL are so much deeper and stronger next year, that it simply would be a mistake to draft them this year. And we could end up being far better off addressing them both next year. Especially if as speculated it ends up an uncapped year which means we are likely to keep our big 3 receivers (and even Brad Smith as a 4th), and could even result in Damien Woody being back (due to final 8 restrictions) allowing us to postpone drafting OL until a much better draft.
Don't expect Woody to back, he's done. IMO, we have cut ties with Woody. It's just not money, his age and injury history has caught up with him. Without Woody we are down an O-lineman...Rob Turner and Vlad is our depth. There is no doubt the Jets will be adding another WR, Brad Smith isn't a viable option at WR.
True but the Jets might want to wait to see how the Holmes/Edwards/Cotch saga plays out as well. I mean if we cant lock up all 3 long term (assuming Holmes plays on a rfa tender for only one year) then wed like to draft someone accordingly (ie an earlier receiver with big time potential) And same thing with the OL situation. I think the team is better off waiting to see if Slauson/Vlad are going to be starters or nothing more than career backups. That way we could go OL early (in a rather good OL class). I understand we need depth at both positions but we showed 2 years ago (and the first 4 weeks of this season) that this offense only needs 2 WRs to be effective. And its not like drafting an OL in the 4th round is going to be someone prepared to actually start now assuming somebody got hurt ahead of him. I think depth for OL would have to be something we address via FA (ie a bandaid) until we know exactly what the future holds for our current guys. As for Woody I dont expect him to be a long term fix, but maybe offered a contract similar to LT/JT where he would play another year with a option for the Jets for a second so that he gets a final shot at a ring. Only reason I think Jets might do that is since its our best option @ OL to get around the final 8 rules
I'll have to disagree with him being highly regarded in a physical sense, he was a 6-2, 260 pound lineman from a triple option offense. Now he is an intelligent person, so he may have been thought of highly academically. All I'm saying is, the Jets don't necessarily need to hit a home run on what will essentially be a backup lineman for them. Rackley is a great value in the 4th, but sometimes value isn't all you're looking for. This is all IMO of course, I'm not saying you're wrong and I'm right, it's just how I see it...
