Last year’s draft isn't looking that great after all the hype. Every team hopes to get at least one starter out of each draft, who would have thought it would have been our last pick... The Jets were thinking they landed at least three future starters and many people thought they were right, but one year later the hype is gone and though we have no bust like the Ghost around the draft left something to be desired. Many people say you need three seasons to evaulate a draft class, well as the Jets are finding out, that's not always the case. Big new contracts for Hunter and Cromartie, plus drafting Powell shows the lack of support for last years draftees. Wilson was to be a starter if not last year, then surely by now... yet unless there is an injury he will NEVER be a starter for the Jets. Revis and Cromartie will be teamed up for the next three years and by then Wilson will be gone. Vladimir Ducasse, the home town prospect was supposed to be a starter last year and a year later he’s still only the seventh best O-lineman on this team. I would rate Felix ahead of him after last night dropping him to eighth best. If it wasn't for his high draft status he might be in a fight just to make the 46 man active roster week one. Hell by the start of regular season even Matt Kroul who is a converted DL might be better. Joe McKnight might not even be the third best RB on this team and considering the guys we let go last year to keep him on roster it must make the coaches sick. He was supposed to be a KR/PR guy and then we drafted Kerley for that this year. He was supposed to be the 3rd RB and then we drafted Powell for that this year. McKnight was once labeled a poor man’s Bush; well someone was way off in that statement. He's not even a poorman's Woodhead. Last year after the draft was over many people thought our worst pick or biggest reach was John Conner. There were so many good college players available and we drafted a FB. Most people had never heard of Conner before we drafted him. One year later he looks like the only good pick and is now our starting FB. Three years from now he will probably be the only one left on the roster from the 2010 draft and considered a 5th round steal by many. Just my thoughts, bash them all you want...
Yeah, I hate to admit it but Tanny totally whiffed with this draft. Conner's pretty damn good though.
I don't agree with your assessment of McKnight at all. Who did we let go of? Woodhead? Leon? I'm not convinced Woodhead would be the player he is for the Jets that he is for the Patriots. What's to say he doesn't do shit this year? The league has a year of videotape on the guy now. He didn't exactly light us up in the Divisional game. Leon, I hate to say this, but we really don't miss him at all. It's too soon on McKnight. Way too soon. Same on Wilson. He's a 2nd year CB. Too soon on him too. 1st year CBs get burned left and right consistently in this league. Let's just see what the kid can do before we completely dismiss him. Bash me all you want, but he'll have an impact...this year, too. Cromartie's still young, entering the prime of his career, so it's hard to fault the Jets for signing a tall, fast CB during his prime years. The Ducasse pick, and I know it's still early on him, is hard to like this morning.
Exactly. It's way to early to give up on Wilson and McKnight. Even if you assume Ducasse is a total bust if the Wilson and McKnight picks work out it's a reasonable draft.
While i understand your concern this is a little premature. Wilson is going to have a great year and will give the Jets leverage in a year or so when either cro or revis hold out. McKnight is being groomed to replace LT as the 3rd down change of pace back. HIs blocking kinda sucks right now but they've got time and his ceiling is higher than woodhead or washington at this point. You might be 100% right on Vlad though...,he did not look good at all in pass protection. Run blocking he was fine. That said...wayne hunter was out of the league a few years ago. There is reason to believe Vlad will get it eventually...just might take longer than the jets hoped.
We drafted Wilson to be a starting CB, that is what you spend 1st round picks for, starters... Cromartie and Revis are the two starters for the next 3 years and probably longer. Wilson's contract will be up by then and he will be gone. Equals... no starter for Jets McKnight was drafted for his return ability and to be our 3rd down back. He never was and will not be our return guy unless thereare injuries. As for a third down back he has to be able to pick up a block which he seems to small, weak and unable to do. If we actually had so much faith in him, why would we draft yet another RB? We wouldn't have.
You're talking about draft picks on a team that's been to back-to-back AFC Championship games. It's tough for any draft pick to have a big impact on a team like that. Any team that makes it that far in the season is gonna have a lot of talent and a lot of experience, so just be patient. I can see McKnight and Wilson having an impact, and soon, too. Powell and McKnight are apples and oranges. Other than the fact they are both RBs, they are different types of players.
Vlad and Wilson were never supposed to be starters last year. Vlad was drafted as a raw project. And McKnight will be the 3rd running back, and is more of an LT type back. Powell is just like Greene. It's also too premature to talk about draft busts a year in.
The truth is none of us know this. There's no chance that Wilson was starting if Cro and Revis were healthy but did they think he would be the nickel/third corner (and play a ton as a rookie)? Probably but we can't be sure. Did they think Ducasse was larry allen type who could play as a rookied and beat out Slauson in 2010 despite being raw or did they think he wouldn't be ready until 2011 (maybe at RT)? We can't be sure--we're not in their heads.
The Jets play so much nickel that Wilson is pretty much a starter anyway. And even if he isn't on the field to start the game, he will play plenty, and he will play a major role against teams like the Pats, Colts, Chargers, Texans, etc. Saying he was a bad pick because we re-signed one of the best corners in the league in Cromartie is silly. Ducasse I didn't like at the time, but had full confidence and trust in the front offense and the coaching staff to know what they were doing. So far, he looks like dog shit out on the field obiously, but he definitely has the potential to be a solid NFL player down the road.. I hope anyway haha.. I just don't like investing high draft picks like that in such major "project" players. Conner is our starting fullback, and it's too early to pass judgment on McKnight.. he showed some good flashes last night, and I think he will be a good player for us this year out of the backfield.
You're ignoring that the Jets didn't even use Wilson as the nickel last year. Coleman? Using Coleman over Wilson said quite a bit, imo. And McKnight hardly played last year. He and Wilson looked better last night, but not great.
The more damning thing about Wilson's rookie year is that he did start as the nickel back and they gave him a real shot but he just kept getting demoted to the point where he was the number eight or nine defensive back behind Coleman and Cole and Lowrey (who was playing hybrid stuff). However Rookie corners do struggle frequently so I wouldn't write him off.
You are wrong. You DO need three seasons to evaluate a draft class, but that doesn't stop people from making proclamations after one season, let alone two. Hunter would have been signed regardless. He's an important member of our offensive line for the purpose of depth whether he was starting this season or not. As far as Powell, last season demonstrated the need for 3 backs who can contribute on this roster. Powell was drafted to learn this season like McKnight did last year and to contribute when LT leaves. Besides, there's no guarantee we can keep Shonn Greene after his contract is up given our money committed elsewhere. As far as Cromartie, the team didn't feel Wilson was ready to start. Were it not for Rex's love for corners and his desire to field significant depth at the position, the decision to let him learn on the job may have been different. We traded for Cromartie prior to last year's draft. How in the world was there even a possibility that the team felt he'd be starting immediately? To be honest, I have no idea what will happen with Wilson at this point. I wanted to see him given the starting job, but I'm also glad Cromartie is back. Again, Rex wants what the Eagles have: 3 quality corners spread across the backfield. It's way too early to assume Wilson doesn't factor into that. Vlad is certainly a concern. I'm waiting to see what happens. Kroul? Kroul? Are you sure you watched the game? Kroul struggled even after the 3rd stringers came into the game. Houston didn't even replace all of its first stringers when our 2nd string OL first came in. You had guys out there who aren't going to make the team for us going up against contributors for the Texans. Joe McKnight and Danny Woodhead are completely different backs. I'm so tired of this idea that we gave up guys who were going to contribute for us. It's unbelievably ignorant. McKnight and Kerley very well could be lined up together back on KOs. We did NOT draft Powell to be a 3rd down RB this year. He'll develop on the inactive list, and with the 3rd QB rule now gone, if we want to carry a 4th back on the active roster to keep everyone fresh, we will. Powell is here because of our issues with fresh legs last season, not because McKnight's not developing. Anyone who watched the game last night can see McKnight's developing. No one who knows anything about football thought Conner was a bad pick or a reach. You might want to look back to the draft thread so your thought can be corrected.
He had never played the nickel and is a poor fit. He then spent most of camp playing outside. That was no situation for him to suddenly learn to play the nickel. Wilson's coverage skills fit in well with an outside corner. His problem was that coming from a small conference, he was ill equipped to play press man coverage from a mental standpoint. He couldn't get a handle on WR's tells at the NFL level, so while his coverage was good, he frequently failed to read when the ball was in the air and get his head around. That's teachable. His talent is not. Wilson really could have benefited from a full offseason in the nickel. Instead, he'll be learning on the fly again. I expect improvement this season.
You do understand the premium Rex puts on corners, right? After 2009 he was determined to have a solid 3 corners. Why in the world do you think he traded for Cromartie AND drafted Wilson?
Wrong, wrong wrong...... 1st - Vlad was suppose to start last season and was even penciled in after the draft as our starting guard, but after a horrible preseason he was beat out by Matt Slauson. Look back if you can't remember... 2nd - Wilson was drafted and the coaches originally planned for him to be the starter opposite Revis this year. That's the reason we didn't extend Cromartie during the year last season, which would have saved a lot of money and CAP space. Many people considered Wilson to be the best cover corner in the draft last year. To say we didn't expect or at least hope for him to be in the starting lineup this year at CB is crazy. 3rd - McKnight is not as good at Washington who we traded or Woodhead who we released and their new contracts shows their value. McKnight won't get a second contact with the Jets.
