Friday, April 26, 2013

First Round Draft Thoughts



The life of being a Jets fan….

Here is the rollercoaster we have been on over the last few months.

September 23, 2012: We watch Darrelle Revis go down with a season-ending (both for him and the Jets) knee injury; Jets were 2-1 at the time

Next 13 Weeks: Jets fans try to shield their eyes each week as team goes 4-9 the rest of the season and finishes as the ninth worst team in football

Next Four Months: Woody Johnson and Co. butcher any leverage the team might have with either the player or with any teams interested in trading for DR.

April 22, 2013: Jets trade Revis for the 13th pick in this year’s draft and a conditional 2014 pick, a meager return for one of the best defensive players in football

April 25, 2013: Jets take Alabama CB Dee Milliner (like this pick a lot, predicted it on Monday here). Even though everyone knows he is a replacement for Revis, I think it’s good for the kid that he wasn’t picked in the exact pick acquired for Revis.

Less than an hour later, they take Missouri DT Sheldon Richardson.

First reaction: shock.

Second reaction: Hated the pick. We had him going to the Panthers at 14 in our final mock so I don’t think it was terrible pick in a vaccuum, but the Jets already have two stud defensive tackles in Mo Wilkerson and Quinton Coples. They have much bigger needs than DT.

Then, I watched a little tape and started hating the pick a little less. 



After a little more research though, I saw that he bashed the whole SEC - specifically Georgia - before Missouri had ever played a game in the conference. Do we really need this kind of player in New York? Don’t we have enough media attention / problems?  He’s also had weight issues and has less than a dozen college starts to his name. I don’t have high hopes for this guy.

What would I have done: trade down.

Two teams traded up in the draft. The Jets should have been the one trading down with them.

A trade down with the Falcons would have sent the 13th pick to Atlanta for picks 30, 92, and 198 (the Rams got this return for the 22nd pick so there’s no way the Jets would not have gotten this deal).

Follow that up with a trade with the Vikings which would have sent that 30th pick to Minnesota for picks 52, 83, 102, and 229 (the Patriots got this return).

That would have left them with these picks to fill a lot more needs: 39, 52, 72, 83, 92, 102, 106, 141, 178, 198, 215, and 229

Eight picks in the top 106? YES PLEASE!

Nah, instead, we’ll fortify the only position on the team we can actually call a strength.

********************

Other thoughts

*Overall, I’m pretty pleased with our mock. We drilled 27 of the 32 first rounders which was the same as Scouts Inc and Todd McShay and one more than Mel Kiper, Jr.

*We either exactly predicted a spot or were one slot off on 13 of the 32 picks.

*Biggest regret was including Ryan Nassib. We should have seen through the smokescreens.

*Tweeted this last night but haven’t heard any response: How do I make a wager that Bengals will take Damontre Moore? Huge DLine prospect entering season from big school that slips following Michael Johnson, Carlos Dunlap, Geno Atkins, Devon Still, & Brandon Thompson. Only question is which round.

*Best Available: RWoods, KMinter, ELacy, MWatson, JCyprien, TCarradine, and ABrown. Would be happy with any of these seven.

*Best pick: Nuke Hopkins was one of my top five players in this draft.  Great pick by the Texans at 27.

*Worst pick: Aside from Travis Frederick who was AWFUL at #30, the Bills didn’t solve their QB needs with EJ Manuel. I wagered enough units on Florida State last season to know this guy is not worthy of a mid-first round pick.

*Mock of the Next Seven Picks:

33) Jacksonville: Kevin Minter, LB, LSU
34) San Francisco from KC: Jamar Taylor, CB, Boise State
35) Philadelphia: Geno Smith, QB, West Virginia
36) Detroit: Jon Cyprien, S, FIU
37) Cincinnati from Oakland: Arthur Brown, LB, Kansas State
38) Arizona: Mike Glennon, QB, NC State
39) New York Jets: Robert Woods, WR, USC

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