Ok I didn't realize you were advocating for staying a 6. I can get down with that. You have to be comfortable that either Allen or Mayfield will be there though, and that they will be the answer. Otherwise we are back to McCown and a later pick again. As far as Cousins, he's definitely top 10. McCown was top 15 this year, and Cousins would be an upgrade. Outside of the obvious Brees, Rodgers, Ben, Stafford, Wilson, Wentz, Br*dy, I'd put Cousins right there in the next wave with Ryan and Rivers. Some younger guys may start cracking that top 10 list, but by the time they do some older guys will be out. Cousins is one of the most accurate QB's in league, high football IQ, high character, excellent leader.
I disagree with your last point, trading down to recuperate lost picks and create volume. Simply put, a lot of shit is still shit. Based upon stats I've posted here several times, as you drop lower into the draft the value of those picks grows exponentially lower. Having extra lower round picks does not make up for the value you gave up with a higher pick. Based upon this, I would prefer to stay with the highest picks I could, even if I had less of them. Getting one or two truly stud - All Pro likely potential - is better than adding camp fodder or guys who won't improve your team IMO. If you add 4-6 difference-makers over the course of say two years, and then fill in the other spots with the best FAs you can sign, you'll have a much stronger team over the long haul.
I guess it depends on how badly you want the QB position fixed. I'd much rather avoid Cousins all together & take my chances in the draft. But this at least provides more security...granted w. an extremely expensive price tag. I'
I completely disagree that he isn't a FQB. I do agree that 28-30 million is a lot for him, but that is where the QB market is at today. Finding a Tom Brady type player who will forgo a larger salary in order for the team to have extra cap to use on other players likely won't ever happen again.
Well let's assume that we dont sign Cousins & fill most of our other needs in FA. Let's also assume we move up for one of the QB's. At that point we look pretty decent on paper in the starting 22...but we still have terrible depth. While trading down can be a bad move when you have front line needs & need overall talent...I don't think it's a bad move when you're looking for spare parts to fill secondary/special teams type roles.You can throw numbers at those less vital roles & let it get sorted out come TC. And if you're lucky...a couple of those depth guys turn out to be better than anticipated resulting in a larger return.
The "major cost" is relative. If Rosen or Darnold become your FQB for a decade or more, that "major cost" is peanuts. Of course they may turn out to be busts or suffer career-ending injuries (although that's really unlikely given the rules in place to protect QBs these days)., in which case you gave up some valuable draft picks, but in reality how valuable given the success rate of draft picks? Worst case, it hurts your draft this year and next year, but then your "price" is paid up. But if Cousins doesn't turn out to be that good - or HE suffers a career-ending injury - you're on the hook for his salary and the impact on your cap for longer than two years. I'm not certain which is the best route to take honestly. I can see the pluses and minuses for signing Cousins and using the draft picks to upgrade a number of other holes, but he's going to cost a TON, and there are no guarantees he becomes what you're paying him to be, and you might set the rebuild back again.OTOH, if he does work out, the investment in him is a good one. I really prefer we draft the guy to be the "face of the franchise" and build around him, but that might be my heart talking over my head. Right now I'm hoping Cleveland signs him and trades the #1 pick to us - if you're going to dream, dream big, right?
Right, using draft picks to build around cousins= spending cap space to build around draft pick. Either way the grocery list does not change. Only difference is you are paying a qb you know can play in this league rather than paying other players to see if you can find a qb that can play in this league. Considering the direction the league has gone, give me the known over the gamble
But how many of these knowns have worked? Brees with the Saints for sure, but the Chargers thought highly enough of Rivers to let Brees walk. Peyton was a HOFer by the time he got cut by Indy.
Cousins isn’t a gamble, he is a known quantity. The gamble is spending $100 mil and then looking in the draft for a qb.
Except the financial commitment is a bigger gamble than that of a draft pick & there's inherent risk in passing on the QB prospect in what is widely considered a quality QB class. We can just agree to disagree. You view Cousins as a franchise option...I don't. If I felt he was indeed franchise quality I'd have the same thoughts you do. The price tag does not match the return in my estimation
I realized I wrote gamble instead of known. The point I was making is that a known commodity at QB who isn't elite might be a signing we'd regret in a year or two. I'm weary of giving Cousins a big contract, but I understand the logic of doing it.
the good news is we clearly have a ton of options to solve our problems. there will be other QB classes as well. signing cousins means we have more flexability. doens't mean we need to take a QB this year. we can take one next year or the year after etc etc. we can grab a stud pass rusher at 6 or trade back improve the o-line and get more picks
QB's switching teams and having success isn't too uncommon. Brees, Gannon, Warner, Manning, Alex Smith, Testaverde, Plunkett, etc, all had varying levels of success.. Even Favre would've worked well here had he stayed on with Rex, rather than having a great year in Minnesota. Not too many of these guys hit FA in their prime though, which is the unique situation we have with Cousins. Brees one of the only ones, and he was coming off major shoulder injury.
When looking at the decision to sign Cousins or draft a QB, you need to step back and look at the entire picture. The Jets are not being run by a new regime - Macc & Bowles have been on the job 3 years and heading into their 4th and have not even gotten to the playoffs. You can argue all you want about how the right thing to do is to build "slow and steady" but the reality is Macc & Bowles no longer have that option. According to th Johnsons they don't have a mandate to "win now", but again, the reality is they need to show massive improvement this year and then be contending the next - that's not a situation for a rookie QB unless he's truly exceptional, like a P. Manning or maybe Luck, and no one, with the possible exception of Rosen, is predicted to have that ability in the draft class. Furthermore, Bowles and his CS has shown no ability to develop a young QB. Sure you can say that Petty and Hack are trash and are not proof that Bowles can't develop a QB, but they actually regressed; and n any case you don't get multiple chances to prove yourself - he had his chances with these two, and if the Jets thought they were really garbage wouldn't they have brought in other guys? So the were assumed to be teachable, and yet Bowles and his CS didn't do it. The reality, given who the GM and HC are is that drafting a QB and expecting him to succeed with these two is unrealistic. It pisses me off that Macc and Bowles are still here, but that's the reality and my anger isn't going to change that. So, while my heart says "Trade up whatever it takes and get Rosen, Darnold, or Mayfield", my head tells me "Sign Cousins and try to get Barkley, a stud pass rusher, and upgrade the OL". The only "middle ground" that I see is if they can sign a lesser FA - or McCown if he's cheap enough - and get Barkley to substantially reduce the load the QB has to carry, and then take a "Tier 2" QB wit their 2nd pick, maybe trading up into the 1st round to get him. It's not what I really want, but what reality dictates.
exactly. and even at that we still have no idea if cousins will hit the market. there is like 6 weeks until free agency and the skins can resign him, tag him, or tag and trade him before that happens
Ok, must have quoted you before the edit. Hate when that happens to me. Bottom line is this, name of the game is find a qb. Rebuilding is a fallacy, you either have a qb and try to load enough around him to win or you are looking for a qb. If you are looking for a qb, what more are you realistically looking for?
If the Jets can get a new center, perhaps another tackle that will make the guards play a little bit better. The line will be in better shape. I look at the weapons, and I think we have better weapons then the Broncos. TE, RBs, younger receivers that can fly down the field. Offer him a good amount of guaranteed money, specifically in the first 2 years. Find an out after the 3rd year. I wouldn't be super scared of the Pats, we've played them hard in each game, we need some difference makers and maybe we can finally get over the hump. Besides the Ravens, no team plays the Pats harder then the Jets. Not even the Steelers. I consider Kirk an above average QB, I would take a Rosen for sure over Cousins, but I wouldn't take a Josh Allen over a Kirk Cousins ... if the opportunity of course presented itself.
