I've been thinking about what it would be like if the Jets, in traditional Jets fashion, targeted defense again in this draft. First of all, the reaction will overwhelmingly be the picture above. In fact, I know this mock is going to be incredibly unpopular, but sticking with the theme here I'll do my best to make this work. I'm making a few assumptions, some carried over from my last mock. First is that the Jets will trade Sheldon Richardson by draft day. I believe it is inevitable, and that he will most likely go with a 4th round pick. Despite this belief, I spoiled myself and gave myself a 3rd round pick for the Sheldon trade. Second, I believe the Jets will pass on drafting a QB high in this draft, preferring to wait until next year, once they've got more perspective on Petty and Hackenberg, to draft the franchise QB of this team. Third, the Jets are advertising out loud that they want to trade down. I believe them that this is not a smoke screen. Like my last mock, I will be trading down again. Here goes, the "oh fuck they chose defense again" mock draft: Trade: Sheldon Richardson for MIN pick 86 (R3). Trade: Pick #6 (R1) and #150 (R5) for BAL pick 16 (R1), pick 47 (R2), and a 2018 2nd round pick. Pick 16 (from BAL) - Jabrill Peppers DB Michigan - Since I'm making an unpopular position pick, I'll compound that by choosing an unpopular player too. The way I see Peppers fitting in with the Jets is as a SS who covers the slot WR when utilizing a 3-4 vs. a 3WR set. He's not going to cover TEs however he will cover slot receivers, blitz, seal the edge, and upgrade the overall athleticism and speed of the defense. Bonus points in that he can be a special teams demon and even contribute on offense a little bit as a gadget RB. Pick 39 - Carl Lawson DE Auburn - Extremely talented edge rusher that will only make it this far because of injury red flags. If this guy didn't have the injury history that he has, he'd go much much higher. Assuming he even made it this far, the Jets throw the dice and try to land the edge rusher that they've been so desperately lacking for years now. Pick 47 (from BAL) - Kevin King CB Washington - The Jets like their perimeter players to be big and athletic and King fits the bill. He's got all the attributes that you'd want in a starting CB and improves the Jets badly depleted CB position. Pick 70 - Sidney Jones CB Washington - In a move that has Jets fans jumping out of windows and in front of buses, the Jets pick the fourth straight defensive player, the second straight CB, and the second straight Washington player. If not for Jones' ACL injury, he's going much much higher than this. The Jets don't realistically expect to compete for much besides the first overall pick in 2017 and decide to stash Jones on their roster and help him slowly regain his health for down the road when the Jets do want to truly compete. Pick 86 (from MIN) - Antonio Garcia OT Troy - Finally getting away from defense, Jets select a highly talented OT that really needs to add some strength to his frame, this is a down the road starting tackle for the Jets who can be given a year, if not two, to develop the kind of conditioning necessary to excel in the NFL. Pick 107 - Jordan Leggett TE Clemson - Jets get an absolute bargain in this stacked TE draft getting Leggett at this point in the draft. Leggett should be able to compete with ASJ for the starting TE position immediately. Not nearly as good a prospect as OJ Howard, however can do many of the same things as both a blocker and and receiver. Pick 191 - Josh Malone WR Tennessee - Jets continue to target players with high upside as they take a big target with good speed and hands late in the draft. Pick 224 - Sam Rogers FB Virginia Tech - Widely regarded as the best FB in the draft, the Jets close out the draft filling a need that they've stated publicly their seeking and to date have not filled.
LOL Funny idea. You're right. I absolutely hate your first two picks. Peppers would probably be THE worst pick the Jets could make in the first round aside from Allen. Lawson may be really good, but I don't like the idea of taking a player with an injury history that high. I like the rest, and taking Jones wouldn't bother me since he's so talented.
I thought Peppers was one of the more overrated prospects in this draft, but when I watched that video it totally changed my opinion of him. He can cover man to man, good on the outside to stop the run, explosive in the return game, and he's absolutely a stud athlete. Everything I saw during those Michigan games, it wasn't what I thought. He was being asked to play an outside edge protector [not setter]. Jets would have to trade down considerably, but Peppers can play nickel corner, strong safety and some linebacker. The kid can actually play, but I still think he's the 3rd best safety in this class.
Peppers is such an odd case. He has all the skills and athletic ability to make a case for being taken in the top 15 for sure, BUT where do you play him, especially on the Jets? That said, from what I've read and seen of him, he's a great competitor, which is backed up by his willingness to play wherever they need him. Personally I would like him on the Jets, but don't know if they could make use of him - which is more of a knock on Bowles & Co. than on Peppers. I wouldn't use a 1st round pick though, and I think that they have bigger needs than a "jack of all trades", but he is intriguing.
And I love the Wolverines but a tweener with the 1st and an injury prone pass rusher with the 39 would absolutely kill me when the Jets tweener projects have been so iffy and their injury prone picks have been so injured recently.
Just wanted to add: one of the reasons the Jets bad seasons aren't terrible is that we over-emphasize the defense. That's also why we tend to slightly overperform when we make the playoffs - defense is important. However in today's NFL defense takes a back seat to offense in winning championships. The best way to win a championship is to have a consistently strong offense and then have an up year on defense - which is basically bass-ackwards from the status quo of the 70's, 80's and 90's. In addition, going 4-12 in your down years means you never get a top pick and so you never get the best QB prospects unless you get very lucky. Adding a defense heavy draft this year increases the chances that our down year next year is 4 to 7 wins. That in turn decreases the chances that we find our franchise QB in the 2018 or 2019 drafts.
Excellent point. Keeping games close, and "just missing", are hallmarks of teams with good "D", and mediocre or poor "O", which is another way of saying a hallmark of the SOJ. "Defense wins championships" is true, but ONLY if you get there, and to get there you need a great offense, especially with how the rules are set up - and how the refs are told to interpret them - today. As for this year's draft, given how deep it is in defensive talent, it makes more sense to grab your premium "O" guys first, and then go for "D" than the other way around, since the "O" shelves will be empty if you wait until the later rounds.
That's definitely one way they could handle the draft. Another is to go with the flow and grab the great defensive prospects in two of the first three rounds with a RB or TE in the second round (which classes are strong and deep) and the other with one of the 3rd round picks, and then next year when there is a better class of QBs, LTs and OL, go with offense in maybe the first 4-5 rounds. As long as they get great players who can contribute immediately in the first 3 rounds and who look to have a great future, I'll be happy either way.
Balance is key. Opportunistic defense, move that chains offense. Jets can't generate turnovers and they turn the ball over on offense.
