Rd 1.........#17 Hakeem Nicks WR North Carolina- he is going to improve over the long haul that he is one of the top recievers in this class. Hard to argue against Crabtree, but he is a tough wide reciever with excellent hands, good routes, nice size only thing holding him back is the 40 time which is overated. Reminds me a lot of Boldin. Rd 2.........#52 Rashad Johnson FS Alabama- read above post. Rd 3.........#77 Darius Butler CB UCONN- Really hope he is still there. Could be a great compliment to revis. Too early to really predict who drops after this point, but if we can get Bart Scott With these additions we should be looking good. This is assuming Sanchez is gone by 17.
As much as I love Hakeem Nicks......see Avatar There is no question.....Maclin is a better player. If Maclin runs real well, he will be gone before the Jets are on the clock. I'm not as high on R Johnson as you. RJ is a very good player and a team leader on Bama's defense this past year...I just prefer Delmas. I believe Delmas has a higher ceiling and would be a better fit w/Jets. It all could be a moot point if we sign Leonard in Free Agency, which is likely. Suggs was tagged today....so I believe Scott and Leonard are front runners to be NY Jets. Raven can't sign everyone. They will probably put all their cash into re-signing Ray Lewis......so Bart Scott is a goner. Ravens haven't shown much interest in keeping Leonard.
Scott would fit in perfectly with us, and would really solidify our D up the middle. Maybe I have some bias towards Rashad, but I can't say enough good things about his character/ work ethic. I have seen Maclin play and there is no doubt he is really impressive. I just prefer Nicks and think there is a great chance he will be there by our pick.
I appreciate your excitment for Nicks, he's a great player with great hands, probably the best in this draft and is a tough SOB. There's no doubt he's going to be a Very good #2 WR in the NFL.......I'm willing to stake my reputation on it. In middle Feb drafting Nicks at #17 is a reach and a not good value. This doesn't mean I don't like Nicks, he's a great talent and I'm very much in his camp. Things could change by late April, we have 2 months. If you would trade down to the mid -twenties and pick up some more draft picks.....drafting Nicks would be great. Maclin is a better WR than Nicks and would compliment Cotchery very well, since Cole's career is on the decline. Don't believe the Hype that Maclin is one-dimentional. Nicks is a Cotchery Clone and while I would love him on the Jet's roster, I believe Maclin can be that special player stretching the field. Maclin did what he was asked to do in Mizzou's system, not his fault that his route running was limited. IMO, I've seen enough of his body of work and great speed that he will adjust to the NFL. Maclin wouldn't have to be that slot player, like Cotchery, Stuckey & Keller and go inside and make every tough catch. Maclin would be our #1 receiver and deep threat. Maclin does fine also with reverse plays, out-patterns and WR screens....so there's plenty of plays to make Maclin a dangerous weapon. There also no reason to think Maclin would become a better player and route runner in time, he's done very well in every other part of his game. Drafting is all about value and reaching for a player without attempting to trade down and acquire more picks is bad draft management. So drafting Nicks at #17.....isn't smart right now. As I mentioned in an early post, this could all be moot, if Maclin runs well he might not make it to #17. IMO, there's a strong chance that teams like JAX or OAK (they should both take OT) who can use WR help, could take Maclin. After Jax, there really are no teams that might target a WR in RD 1, so Maclin could fall to the Jets. Finally, I had Maclin in my mock, but that doesn't mean I don't think there are other options at #17........there will be some other good options come April.
