I just thought I'd do another mock before the draft. My prior draft is now grossly outdated (having been written prior to free agency) and players have moved quite a bit around draft boards recently. I'm deliberately showcasing different players this time around - No redundencies. Time for another craaaaazy mock draft, kiddos! Trades: Cleveland Browns receive: NYJ 1st Round Pick (#1.29) New York Jets receive: CLE 2nd Round Pick (#2.6), CLE 3rd Round Pick (#3.21) Pretty much the same trade from the last mock, different value for the Jets and different reasoning: The Browns will want to get ahead of Minnesota to take Colt McCoy so that they're not stuck with Seneca Wallace at QB. The Jets get premium value for their pick due to the crowd wanting to sneak into the end of round 1 to avoid the chaos that will be the beginning of the second round on day 2. Alternatively, Tampa or Detroit may try to move ahead of Indianapolis to get Brian Price at a similar cost. Houston Texans receive: Leon Washington, NYJ 4th Round Pick (#4.26), NYJ 7th Round Pick (#7.29) New York Jets receive: HOU 3rd Round Pick (#3.17), HOU 5th Round Pick (#5.19) The Texans, for the price of a late 3rd rounder, gain yet another weapon for their offense. Leon Washington isn't the physical running back they're looking for, but they can easily pick one up in this draft and a steal is a steal. With a short yardage/goal line back to spell them, Slaton and Washington will give the Texans one of the best backfields in the league. The Jets look to offload Washington for a whole slew of reasons that we all know here and I don't need to go into detail about at this time, so it makes sense for both parties. The Jets then trade up again, this time with Denver for the 11th pick in the second round to jump ahead of New England, as well as San Francisco and Denver's second pick, effectively skipping the majority of 3-4 teams and pissing off the league in the process. New York Jets receieve: DEN 2nd Round Pick (#2.11) Denver Broncos receive: NYJ 2nd Round Pick (#2.29), NYJ 3rd Round Pick (#3.17) And one more: New York Jets receive: BUF 5th Round Pick (#5.9) Buffalo Bills receive: OLB Bryan Thomas The Bills are building a 3-4 defense and could use a solid run stopper opposite Maybin, who they hope will develop into a better pass rusher. A 5th rounder isn't a terrible price to pay for Thomas. Schoebel and Maybin would be too small of a pair at OLB and Schoebel is getting long in the tooth anyway, so they need a non-old OLB with experience in the 3-4 to help them out. New England Patriots receive: QB Kellen Clemens New York Jets receive: NE 2011 7th Round Draft Pick The Draft 2.6 - NT/DE Cam Thomas, UNC Like many other defensive linemen, he lit it up at the Senior Bowl. He's interchangeable with Cody in this pick, but I committed to diversity of prospects so here you go. Thomas isn't quite the space eater that Cody is, but he has the ability to flex out to end that I wouldn't trust Cody with. 2.11 - DE/DT Lamarr Houston, Texas Lamarr Houston is a high motor defensive lineman who can handle double teams in the running game and is a good pass rusher to boot. I don't know how he isn't ranked higher on most draft boards, but I'd rather have Lamarr Houston than Linval Joseph any day, and Houston can probably be gotten for a lower pick with Joseph's rocketing stock. You might ask, why two defensive linemen? I say, why not? I understand next year's draft is supposed to be stocked with 3-4 DEs, but the Jets need an infusion of youth now and if there's anyone in this draft within reach of the Jets' picks that I would like to have on their defensive line, it is Lamarr Houston of Texas. Think Shaun Ellis, only with better penetrating ability. 3.21 - FS/CB Myron Lewis, Vanderbilt A corner with the size to play safety, Myron Lewis is an intriguing prospect for NFL teams. Lewis can get playing time throughout the secondary while he learns Ryan's system, and he could eventually be the ball hawking FS that Ryan wants in his defense - The kind that Kerry Rhodes couldn't be. 5.9 - OT Sam Young, Notre Dame Not exactly the product of a great offensive line, Young actually played pretty well at the Senior Bowl and should be a great project who will, with time to learn and develop, be able to fill in at either tackle spot. 5.19 - DE/OLB Brandon Sharpe, Texas Tech Brandon Sharpe is an underrated pass rusher out of gimmicky Texas Tech. He is by no means explosive off the line but Sharpe is a relentless, high motor player who uses his hands well to get around blockers and disengage from them in the run game. He has decent strength to hold up against blocks in the run game and also uses that strength to bull rush effectively. Sharpe is great at slanting and stunting. He should start off as a pass rushing specialist but could become a quality starter in the future. Why he is rated so low by so many people is beyond me, but I feel like Brandon Sharpe is favorably comparable to many pass rushers that people are predicting to go in the second and third rounds of the draft. Koa Misi, for example, is more explosive but not as strong at a nearly identical size. 6.29 - CB/KR Ray Fisher, Indiana From WW85: UDFA - CB Bryan McCann, SMU Bryan McCann had a great pro day, running a 4.28 40. Southern Methodist is not exactly a major school and as such, McCann has not faced premier competition in his time there. Regardless, he has the size and athletic ability to succeed at the next level. If you can't trust your coaching staff to develop players, then you should find a new staff. UDFA - TE Mickey Shuler Jr., Penn State The bloodlines are there for Mickey Shuler Jr. and the Jets. On top of that, the team needs a blocking tight end to compliment Dustin Keller, and Shuler is one of the better blocking tight ends in football. UDFA - RB Joique Bell, Wayne State Joique Bell is a division II prospect who did everything for Wayne State short of running a quick 40 yard dash. He has great hands, great vision, a full armory of moves and his legs continue moving through contact. Unlike a certain familiar DII prospect (Woodhead), Bell does have the size to succeed at the NFL level. He reminds me of Tashard Choice, who I also loved until he donned that ridiculous shiny jersey of his. UDFA - WR Armanti Edwards, Appalachian State Remember the App. St. - Michigan game? That was all Edwards. The kid is athletic as heck and led his team in rushing yards last season. He has the shiftiness to make defenders miss and the potential to develop into a good slot receiver. It will take him time to learn the receiver position. He is, at the very least, worth bringing in. The resulting 2010 New York Jets' 53 man roster: Offense (24): QB (3): Mark Sanchez, Eric Ainge, Kevin O'Connell RB (3): Shonn Greene, LaDainian Tomlinson, Joique Bell FB (1): Tony Richardson WR (6): Santonio Holmes, Braylon Edwards, Jerricho Cotchery, Brad Smith, Danny Woodhead, Armanti Edwards TE (2): Dustin Keller, Mickey Shuler Jr. OT (4): D'Brickashaw Ferguson, Damien Woody, Wayne Hunter, Sam Young OG (3): Alan Faneca, Brandon Moore, Matt Slauson C (2): Nick Mangold, Robert Turner Defense (26): DE (4): Shaun Ellis, Lamarr Houston, Mike DeVito, Ropati Potoitua NT (3): Kris Jenkins, Sione Pouha, Cam Thomas OLB (5): Calvin Pace, Jason Taylor, Brandon Sharpe, Vernon Gholston, Marques Murrell ILB (4): David Harris, Bart Scott, Jamaal Westerman, Kenwin Cummings CB (5): Darelle Revis, Antonio Cromartie, Dwight Lowery, Ray Fisher, Bryan McCann S (5): Jim Leonard, Brodney Pool, Eric Smith, James Ihedigbo, Myron Lewis Special Teams (3): K: Nick Folk P: T.J. Conley LS: James Dearth Rookies are in italics. There are 10 rookies listed on the roster. This draft, in my mind, would result in four future starters for the team: Houston and Thomas on the defensive line, Sharpe at OLB and Lewis at FS. It would give the Jets solid depth in the secondary with the addition of the two corners and would bring in a solid blocking tight end to compliment Keller, as well as special teamers in Edwards, McCann and Fisher. Not the flashiest draft, but fairly ideal to me. The team may not be as good as last season, but it would be far more consistent and with greater potential to grow in the future. This would leave 2011 needs as an offensive lineman (starter or depth, depending on how our backups progress) and . . . Nothing else. The common complaint among Jets fans about Tannenbaum's drafting is that it doesn't allow for depth - Well, this draft corrects that while bringing in starters. 2011 would be, barring disastrous injuries, a luxury draft. The team would be able to target whoever it wanted next year. Everyone is clamoring for a pass rusher but the real issue is that the Jets can't get pressure without blitzing. Defensive line is the way to go. Alright, critics, cue the pot smoking jokes!
2011 7th. I'll add that to the post. Edit - And there you go. More than what anyone expected to get for Clemens.
To be fair, he did say it was Quaaaazy. I thought about objecting to Houston trading a 3rd and 5th for Leon, but then I looked at the whole and thought...nahhhh.
How so? Leon has never been a starter and his skillset doesn't differ much from Slaton's. No way do they give up 2 picks even if he's healthy. They want Mathews, and they'll likely take him.
