I think it's more the bold. Connor Hughes was saying right after last season that the Jets preferred a vet WR for exactly that reason. I wonder if the Jets may target a WR they feel is more pro-ready rather than one with more upside in the draft?
I think (and I certainly hope) that he's just trying to make things easier for Zach with a proven vet. That said, I could certainly see where the Jets had no interest in London and like Watson and/or Burks better than Wilson if they think they need a taller, bigger-framed WR than Wilson or Dotson. Hopefully, they do. The problem arises in that neither Burks nor Watson are likely to make it to pick #35. I can easily see Wilson, London, Olave, Burks, Watson, J. Williams, and Dotson all going in the 1st round. That would be a disaster with the Jets planning to take a WR in the 2nd round. It could force their hand to trade up to get one of those WRs. Ideally, imo the Jets should take a WR at #10 (or at a lower pick following a trade down) and then another at #35. One of Wilson, Williams and Burks in the 1st, and Watson in the 2nd would be awesome imo. That's why I'm so deadset against taking Sauce. If they do, that either means that the Jets won't take an Edge in the 1st round, or won't take a WR in the 1st. It also means that they might wind up burning precious draft capital trading back into the 1st round. IMO that best, ideal scenario for the Jets' draft is to take an Edge at #4, WR at #10, WR at #35, and S at #38. If they take a CB, DT, or OT, more than likely, it screws everything up, unless JD is able to trade down from either #4 or #10 and add another 2nd round pick in this draft. One of the things I hate about the draft is that things never or almost never work out in an ideal fashion. Some other team (or the Jets' GM) always screws things up. I trust JD. There are outcomes that will disappoint me or may leave me scratching my head, but I will hope for the best and give him the benefit of the doubt until it's clear that things didn't work out.
Yeah…it’s gonnna be tough and this is why I am REALLY disappointed we didn’t get a quality receiver in free agency or via trade. personally I see our biggest needs right as edge, WR, OL, but we also need help at DB and LB we need edge because we just don’t have anybody at all…maybe Lawson comes back strong, but he’s been a 5 sack guy and that’s before a serious injury. I’m not banking on him we need OT because I have very little faith in Becton…dude is STILL recovering apparently and won’t be ready for OTAs. And he misses a bunch of time his rookie year too. He was good when he was on the field, but I have very little faith in him…I’d rather draft a top OT and let Becton back up or trade him And we need WR because Davis had too many drops and every one of our WRs misses too much time. We need help her for sure unfortunately we have three first round needs and only two first round picks…I agree with NC I think none of these top receivers make it to round two, especially with both GB and KC needing WR and they both have two first rounders. If we want a top guy we’re going to have to take him at 10 or trade down and pick 4 may be a choice between top OL or edge available. I do think we need more at CB and S but I don’t want to use first round picks on those because the other spots are bigger needs for us plus JD has shown he’s not gonna spend high oicjs on DBs … last year our need was bigger and he still didn’t use any high picks there so to me I want to come out of the first round with a DL, WR, or OT probably in that order
I feel like the Jets have too many holes to use 2 of the 4 top 38 picks on WR's. What makes you think JD would do that? Wouldn't it make more sense to draft a WR and sign one of the remaining FA WR's to be WR4/5?
I understand that, but our WR corps needs upgrading if we're serious about ensuring that Zach develops. Our two best WRs are Moore and Davis and neither could stay healthy last season. For that matter, neither could Berrios. The bottom falls out after that. Our other two WRs at the moment are Mims and Jeff Smith. Jeff Smith doesn't belong on the field or on our roster. JD supposedly isn't ready to give up on Mims yet, but unless he comes to OTAs healthy, knowing the offense, having improved his route running, and lights it up early, he may not last thru TC. We cannot afford to have the likes of Tariq Black, Montgomery, or any of the other crap WRs we've trotted onto the field over the last 5-10 years. We need quality depth. IMO the Jets could totally afford it, especially if JD trades down from either #4 or #10, but even if he doesn't, they could afford to do that. 1st round - WR & Edge 2nd round - WR and S 3rd round - LB 4th round - OT depth & RB 5th round - IOL depth & TE In that way JD could address every one of our positions that have needs. Do you see some other position that needs to be addressed? I don't. The DT need was addressed in adding Solomon. They could want to take an NT in the draft, but that could wait until next year, or they could take that NT in the 2nd round instead of a S. Tyrann Matthieu, and Landon Collins are still available in FA. I never thought we really needed a CB, but even that was addressed with Reed. Hall is too good to bench, and we ought to see what Hall, Echols and Dunn can do with a year's experience in the NFL and the system. We also still have cap space, so JD could still trade for a player or sign another FA or two or a camp cut or two. IMO there are no WRs out there in FA worth signing.
Remember that the Jets will be heavily using 2 TE sets, so they likely won't have more than 2 WRs on the field very often (assuming that they're generally going to have at least 1 RB). If we can't get a #1 WR via trade, Moore and Davis are a pretty good pair of starting WRs to be playing when combined with their solid TEs; add Berrios, Mims and a high draft WR should be a pretty good WR corps, given how much the Jets will be using their TEs. I'm not saying that the Jets shouldn't draft a 2nd WR if the opportunity presents itself, but the 2nd one should be a developmental player selected on the 3rd day of the draft. The Jets need a safety and much better OL depth than they currently have. They also should pick up at least one LB, a TE, an RB and an additional DT in the draft. We have too many holes to use top draft picks for 2 WRs.
Chris Simms is very high on Alec Pierce. Simms rates him the #2 receiver in the draft behind Jameson Williams. I went back and watched some of Pierce's tape, and I can see why. If JD and the coaches like him as much as Simms does, he could be an extreme bargain given where he's currently projected to go. He's big, he catches well, and he seems to get open a lot. I could see this strategy: #4: Sauce #10: Edge (Johnson or Karlaftis) #35: Dotson/Pickens/Watson, whichever you like that happens to be available #69: Pierce That could be a pretty nice haul, if the coaching staff is half as high on Pierce as Simms is. He may not last until #69 if Simms' video gets everyone's attention. Might need to couple our #69 pick with a later pick to move up to the 50s to ensure we get him.
LOL. I still think Zach's going to be awesome. He didn't exactly have a Tyreke Hill to throw to last year. Let's see how he does with another year under his belt, some TEs, and some 1st string WRs. With that said, everyone gets some right and some wrong. My point wasn't about Simms, but about Pierce. His film is impressive. Dude is always open, and at 6'3", 210 lbs he looks like a tight end next to a lot of these DBs, and ran a 4.41 40. I'm not an expert on breaking down receivers, but he's an interesting candidate.
I definitely also see something in Pierce. I think if you want him you take him at 38. The knock on him is he didn’t run to many routes. It’s mostly Go’s and Posts. He’s a deep ball threat that can also make red zone 50/50 balls.
They will probably only use the 12 formation around 30-40% of the time, so I disagree with your assertion that they won't have more than 2 WRs on the field very often. I agree that we have needs at some of those other positions, but imo those should take a back seat to ensuring that we have a very good WR corps for Zach. Nothing is more important than ensuring that he develops. If need be, another DT or LB can wait until next year, as CB definitely can. We can still get a S early, a LB a TE, and a RB even if we take a 2nd WR in the 2nd round. OL depth means 3rd round or lower, not 2nd round. A 2nd round OL should be a starter. We'll just have to agree to disagree.
I think they'll use the 2 tight end formations around 50% of the time (not just 12 but also 22 formations), but the question is really how often will they have more than 3 wide receivers on the field - remember that a 3 WR set would have Moore, Davis & their new high draft WR (barring injuries). Leaving Berrios and Mims as backups. They could and have also split Carter out as a WR. The team doesn't appear ready to give up on Mims, so they still view Mims as potentially worthwhile, so he might also surprise. If they drafted a 2nd wide receiver with a high draft pick, when does he play? Will he take snaps from Moore, Davis or their first WR pick? If there are no serious WR injuries among the top 3, will they just warm the bench for the whole season? Its clear that the Jets need better depth at WR and that's why I agree that they should draft a developmental WR late in the draft. We have too many other holes that need to be addressed to use 2 high draft picks on WRs. We really need depth on the Oline. While our starting 5 are good, the backups they have are very questionnable. I guess we'll have to agree to disagree.
How often does that actually happen? WRs get banged up. At one point last season, all three of our top receivers were sidelined with injuries at the same time. Even without injuries, we currently have only two legit starters in Moore and Davis. We need one more just to have three quality starters. But I don't think we can be successful with only three quality starters and then some also-rans for depth. It's a long season, and there will likely be weeks in which we have more than one receiver out with injury. We can't just throw in the towel those weeks by giving our second-year QB only one starting caliber receiver as a target. I'd like to see four starter-caliber receivers on the roster. That's two more than we currently have. There are positions where you can get by for a couple weeks with a backup. I don't think receiver is that position when you are playing a second-year QB.
Saleh said in his press conference they need explosive players, guys that can take it 80 yards on one play. The only WR they have that can do that is Moore. So far there are only a few WR that are available in this draft that have that ability. That’s what they are looking for to help the offense as a whole.
We already added two good tight ends and improved the offensive line. Throw in a stud at running back and we might just be a ground and pound team this year.
