But what if he's paired w/ a great COLLEGE QB?Or he played in the early 90's run & shoot? One of the many modern spread offenses?A run first offense?What if he had issues w/ the coaching staff? My point is there are just as many factors at the college level that lend to production as there are in the NFL. I'm not saying college #'s don't matter.Of course they do. But you've got to look at the whole picture. Production/Measurables/Intangibles/triangle #'s/system fit.It all plays a part.
Eh, I was never to high on Lee - but I believe he's going to be there at 18 so I am bracing myself. He did have that amazing 2012 season - I know people compare him to Holmes, but 2012 he was far more productive then I've ever seen Holmes. And I know everyone is knocking Lee because of that one video but I think people are over-exaggerating on it
Alshon Jeffery. Had the great sophomore year then an injury plagued junior year despite which he declared for the draft. His second season in the NFL looked like the great sophomore year. I do think Lee's physical condition is a cause for concern and that he should be evaluated carefully in terms of his ability to have a relatively injury-free NFL career. However assuming that he passes the physical check I'd much rather have him than any receiver other than Sammy Watkins. Because in two years I'd expect him to be rounding into a clear #1 WR with great playmaking ability. That's what he flashed in his freshman year and fulfilled in his sophomore year before the third year injuries caused him to deflate some. The man had an ankle, a shoulder, some ribs and he still caught 57 passes from two different QB's. He still had one of his best games in the bowl at the end. If he stays healthy he's going to be a very good NFL WR. One of the few guys in this class that might actually catch 100 balls in a season one day.
After Watkins & Evans, It's going to be interesting who the Jets will have #3 in the WR rankings. It could any of these players......Beckham, Lee, Benjamin, Matthews, Cooks, Adams. After the top 2 WRs teams are going to differ greatly in their preference. I like Beckham & Cooks versatility to help on special teams.
It does all play a part but intangibles is a very small part. As an example, Kelvin Benjamin looks like a great prospect, albeit with some flaws. However he's never caught more than 50 balls in a season at FSU. What intangible quality could the Jets possibly get back that would make it worthwhile to have drafted him if he turned out to be a 50 catch guy in the NFL? Is there anything that he could provide that way that would make up for the missing 30 catches that a #1 WR produces as a baseline? The problem the Jets have right now is there is too much potential and not enough production on the team. That's a kind way of saying they've drafted a bunch of dorks recently and are having trouble getting solid NFL numbers and play out of them. I'd really like them to make production a key part of the drafts to come. Taking projects only works out if those projects come through for you and the Jets have a bad track record on projects over the last decade. A really bad track record.
I see your point regarding projects. And I don't disagree. That said we need to remember that they are ALL projects to some extent. Very few if any players come to the NFL level & immediately flourish.And even those guys have things they need to improve upon moving forward.Perhaps the "physical speciman" w/ limited experience & production aren't good fits for this team/market. For one the Jets have a terrible track record of player development & secondly the fans are ready to CRUCIFY the young player if they even struggle in their rookie training camp(I wish the fan part would get better & I argue w/ the culprits almost daily..but some things never change) As for your scenario w/ Benjamin...I think it depends. Is he catching 50 balls which includes 12-15 TDS b/c nobody can cover him in the red zone? Do the Jets have 2 other guys who are also putting up 50+ catches a year & compliment one another? If so..he could be worth the 18th pick. If it's 50 catches a year with only a handful of TD's & nobody else steps up..that's likely a bad choice.
I don't like Beckham that early. I think there will be a lot better BPA candidates available at our pick. I do like him at receiver and I think it is scary how much he resembles Ted Gin Jr. The upside to that is I do believe that he is a better version of Ted Gin Jr. coming out of college. His routes are very fluid and smooth, unlike the former. Speed is the same, build is the same, return ability is the same. I like Beckham, just not that early. The thing that scares me about him is that he wasn't as productive as I thought he would be last year, not saying he wasn't productive but I thought he was going to have a much bigger year. He struggles to catch the ball a lot of the time and he needs a lot of work on his technique beating press coverage against stronger competition. IE: Jason Verret (TCU) - He did a fantastic job against him and really shined when he pressed Beckham. If they would have kept Verret on him all game, that game might have been a different story. Maybe not though. Speculating is for the birds, I get it. Those two weaknesses from Beckham leads me to believe he probably wouldn't be an ideal fit in MM WCO. I've been wrong before. WW, I don't usually disagree with you but It's bound to happen from time to time.
I agree it will be very interesting to see who they value at #3. In that group i think this is the ranking: Benjamin Cooks Beckham Adams Mathews Robinson* Lee
I will loose it if they take Lee. He is not Alson Jeffery! Alshon Jeffery catches everything! Lee has hands of stone and very poor technique.
No he wasn't. He was a player in my opinion that didn't have a lot of upside but he clearly surpassed his projected ceiling. I don't think it's a good comparison, I agree - we will have to see.
Beckam is a bit of a reach in round one if we do not trade down. After Watkins and Evans, the next tier of WRs are a dime a dozen. If you like Zach Mettenberger half as much as I do you take him in round three because he ain't gonna be there in round four.
In that draft he was known as very Raw but had all the tools to be a solid DL. There were 10 yes 10 DL taken in front of him as well. Kelvin Benjamin and Mo Wilks had the same chatter about them (raw with great size, speed, huge upside) and the 2011 draft it was extremely deep at DT/DE like this year with the WR group. It's a very similar situation actually.
That kid has hands of stone. 118 catches yes but how many did he catch with his body? 70+ for sure! I like WRs that CATCH the ball with their hands not hands/chest. At the nfl level if you dont have strong hands and to catch the ball and you need your chest to brace the velocity of the pass, DB's will own you and jar it loose 8/10 times.
Mo Wilk was NEVER a project. Mo's resume spoke for itself at Temple. Mo was very highly rated, in fact Kiper had him rated around his 12 th best player in 2011's draft. Players occasionally fall, going to to Temple vs a SEC school hurt his stock, not his game on the field, he dominated.
There are some concerns with Lee dropping passes, but I think it's not a huge concern. There is no question after the catch Lee is an explosive player. There a many reasons Lee's production was down in 2013, some team will draft Lee hoping he returns to the player he was in 2012, still a down year will effect his draft stock.
