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 13^th 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 13^th pick to Atlanta for picks 30, 92, and 198 (the Rams got this return for the 22^nd 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 30^th 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