It's early, my Jet's Mock draft for 2012. Waited for the roster to settle during this Free Agency period. WR & OLB are my 2 major targets. It's possible the Jets could go OLB in Rd 1. Didn't address MLB, since I believe Bellore is going to make the team and add to our depth. Also, didn't target O-line depth early, I happy with a few players the Jets got in FA. Round 1) Mohamed Sanu, WR, Rutgers - Big target that has ton's of potential. Not a finished product, Rutger's system limited his effectivenesss. Could crack Rd 1 with better QB play this year. Very physical player that could be a solid #2 WR. Another Jersey product drafted by the Jet's in rd 1 3 years in a row. Also considered Floyd and Fuller, but both could be gone in late Rd 1. Mason and Burress are only temporary solutions. Holmes, Manu, Kerley the future of the Jet's WR Core. Round 2) Brandon Lindsey, DE/OLB, Pitt - IMO, a better prospect than Sheard and will adjust to playing OLB. A natural pass rusher. Probably the best defensive player at Pitt last season. Round 3) Casey Hayward, CB, Vandy - A solid cover corner that has skill to make Ints. Played very well against quality SEC players. Stock could rise above Rd 3. Round 4) Harrison Smith, S, Notre Dame - Notre's Dame defense has been disappointing the last few years, but don' blame Smith. He's a smart, tough defender. Some scouts feel he has better potential the Tom Z. Good option to rotate into the defensive backfield and should be a solid ST player. Round 5) Brandon Bolden, RB, Ole' Miss - I love this player's ability to catch the ball out of the backfield. Tough player that has great hands and good running ability. Could be LT's last year and Bolden would be a good addition with Greene, McK and Powell. Round 6) JR Sweezy, DL, NC ST - 6'5" 295. A player that should provide solid depth behind Wilkerson. Round 7) Art Forst, OL, Rutgers - Has played T and G, and adds depth to the Oline. Needs to be more consistent, 2011 will be a good test to see if Forst steps up his game.
I like everything except going after another running back. When LT leaves or retires, this team will be set with Greene, McKnight, and Powell. Powell will most likely be inactive until mid-season. With Sanchez steadily improving, there will be limited touches for the backs. I don't know about going after another corner so early either. At best, he'll be a dime back in our scheme. I know Ryan loves his corners, but some more youth in the front seven makes more sense to me. I really like the Lindsey pick. He's a beast. Mo Sanu has tons and tons of potential, but my gut tells me that if both Mason and Burress walk, Tannenbaum will trade up for a top level wideout prospect. To me, it seems that our front office almost set it up to fall that way.
I'd love to get Blackmon or Jeffery but both would be costly to move up, I understand your thinking. I could see us moving up a few spots to get Jeff Fuller, reminds me of Plax. Lindsey would be a great addition to replace BT. Rex's ground and pound philisophy still holds water and getting a replacement like Bolden, who's one of the best receiveing RBs in College football in RD 5 isn't a bad idea for depth and versatility. Casey Heyward may be a starting # 2 CB in the NFL someday, he's really good corner. I like bringing more depth, Strickland will be around 2 years at best.
I don't know about you, but I loved what Atlanta did to bring in Julio Jones. They were top level NFC team before trading up for Jones. That organization felt like they were one player away from taking the next step. The Jets might feel the same way in 2012.
I'd be down to do EXACTLY what Atlanta did, but in a reversed role. Trade up for a top pass rusher Like Coples or Paige-Moss and sign a top flight FA WR like Bowe, Fitzgerald, Reggie Wayne, Brandon Llyod or Desean Jackson. I would say trade up for Blackmon, Jeffery, or Fuller but I don't see a solid FA OLB for us too sign.
Settle with Michael Floyd please....He has surpassed what Tim Brown did with the Irish!. I just worry that Jets management might view Floyd as another Braylon Edwards case and would not want anything to do with that again even though I feel Floyd is far more hungrier on the field than Edwards and puts himself in far less stupider situations than Braylon does. I like Harrison Smith pick....good run stopping safety. He plays with crap for the most part in the secondary(Well McCarthy was the only good safety next to him) and he shined last year under the team's 1st year defensive coordinator. I expect a pretty big year as the team's 2nd best defensive player behind Te'o.
If Mason and Burress both leave after 2011, we'll be incredibly weak at receiver. Reggie Wayne will be 33 next season. We can't keep going after stop gaps. I doubt Arizona and Kansas City let Bowe and Fitzgerald get away- They'll slap the franchise tag on them before letting them walk. They only way we'll be able to get a top flight free agent wideout is through a trade. Drafting Blackmon or Jeffery could give us stability at the position for at least the next six seasons.
Wow Wayne will be 33 next year? Shit why do i feel like he's so much younger? Anyway, yes I do agree Fitz and Bowe could be untouchable but I honestly wouldn't mind signing Lloyd too a multiyear deal depending how he does this year. Trust me Id love to get Blackmon or Jeffrey but I honestly can't see desperate teams who need WRs like the Panthers, Skins, Vikes or 49ers giving up there pick for a virtual guaranteed productive prospect, like AJ Green was too the Bengals. Now that's not too say if one of these guys drop I wouldn't want the Jets too trade up for him but in my eyes it will be pretty tough.
I like everything but Sweezy. Sweezy is so jacked on PED's, that he's a piss-test from being useless for the team that drafts him.
The Niners and Skins need a quarterback more than receivers. Carolina definitely need to go after a wideout. Alshon Jeffery would obviously be a fan favorite if he ended up there. Minnesota might be okay in the passing game. Kyle Rudolph has the ability to be a special tight end. Percy Harvin just has to stay healthy to make an impact and Bernard Berrian is a pretty talented player. They just signed Michael Jenkins too - he'll be a decent player for a few more seasons.
You're so loyal to the Irish. Te'o is a tremendous player, love his intensity. Smith looks like the leader on the Irish defense, he's a throwback type player. If the Jets have another great year, I feel Floyd will be just out of their reach. I expect Floyd to have a great year.
Smith is a much better coverage safety than Zbi but that isn't hard to do....no idea why the Ravens drafted Tom so high. He came off to me as the white Roy Williams in that he loves to hit hard but not so much cover. He is a very nice special teams player and that should be all he can do. I prefer Smith on the tackles but he isn't the greatest with pass coverage although he might just explode under Irish 2nd year DC Bob Diaco. I am just a Floyd homer.....he was just on another level compared to 2nd rounders Golden Tate and Kyle Rudolph on the field(And Rudolph is a machine when he isn't sidelined). I too think he has top 20 potential based on play but he really has to pipe down on these off the field distractions and really hit a home run come the draft interviews in 2012 during the combine as teams will be throwing questions at him very fast. Te'O reminds me of David Harris....will be a big grab whoever gets him in middle of round 1. Fewell and the Giants will cream themselves all over the place if they land Te'O as he is exactly what they need.
I thought Rd 3 was a reach for Tom Z, and the boxing thing kind of bothers me. Good player, not great, I like Smith's potential over Zib. As much as I like Harris, I think Te'o has a higher ceiling. IMO, Te'o could be at least a top 15 pick. The rest of the Irish's defense just plain sucks.
I can't comment on the Rutgers players because I don't get to see a lot of their games in the South. Obviously I'm aware of how good Sanu is though. I like the rest of the draft, Lindsey will excel at OLB given his past experience standing up and his overall ability. I like seeing Casey Hayward getting some publicity, I'm a member of a SEC site and almost no one knows about him. He's not the fastest DB out there, but he has outstanding ball skills. And damn, it seems like Harrison Smith has been at Notre Dame for this last decade...
I got you on the Rutgers guys, Magilla. Sanu is a stud, and Forst is awful. As for the draft overall, I'd just really love to see a rush LB taken at SOME point by this team. I have little confidence that one will be selected any time soon, seeing as how it took 6 years after BT to get Ghost, but I can still hope.
I can see why picking a wide receiver in the first round would make sense, I just don't know how I feel about spending an early pick on a guy who is likely a long term number two receiver. I like Sanu as a prospect, but I feel like we could get a quality number two latter in the draft. And in the event we really wanted to get a receiver with number one ability, than I would say trade up for one. Pass rush should be the first need on this team (yes the talent has to match up). Other than that nice mock
Same reason it made sense for ATL, being a solid WR away from a shot at the superbowl, just as they feel and we may feel next season. Also that pass rusher could easily end up in the 2nd round. Even if we have to trade up with our 3rd rounder. WR is too talented not too get one early.
This rookie cap changes a lot. Teams don't have to invest tons of cash into their top picks anymore. The Jets have WAY more money invested into their linebacking corps than they do at receiver.
Alot of good stuff in this thread. I agree that Wideout would look to be priority #1 this off season. The only thing that could chage that, although only a little, is the development of Kerley this season. As for the Julio Jones Idea, I both love it and am scared to death of it. Dropping so much into one guy is a bit scary and the only position I like to do it for is QB. That said I know its a stellar class and perhaps this could be that kind of year, but with the rookie cap the cost to move high in the draft will likely be going up compared to previous years. OLB would look to be another sore point. Even if the Staff Feels Westerman can develop into a full time starter both Thomas and Pace are getting up there and youth is needed at the position. I'd like to add to that every year 100 or so idiots will come here around draft time and say "Not another DE to OLB conversion, Gholston was a bust". Guess what dumbass, both our current OLB's started as DE's, so go fuck yourself.... there I feel better. Safty has not been adressed through the draft in a long time and I would expect the Jets to look hard here as well. God can't it be fall already. I'm pumped.
