If the Jets draft McFadden I'll be pissed. Here's why: 1. What good is a RB if there are no holes and no threat of a passing game? The OL needs to be addressed before the Jets spend millions on a RB. Thomas Jones was ordinary behind this line. What makes anyone think that McFadden will be better? The Jets don't have Minnesota's line - so don't throw me any Adrian Peterson comparisons. 2. If you examine past drafts, there are more early first round RB busts than at any position. You just can't predict success at the NFL level when these RBs have to run through smaller holes against faster defenses and have far less time to react. 3. NFL teams are moving away from dominant RBs to RB by committee. RBs are easy to find - look at how many good RBs there are in the NFL. There is no need to use a top 5 pick and tie up that much cap money in an unproven RB when RBs are so easy to find. 4. RBs have the shortest shelf life in the NFL. 5. The Jets have far more pressing needs - particulary on the OL and DL. Anyone watching the Jets this year with a semblance of knowledge should know that the Jets lose the battle in the trenches every week. Passing up the opportunity to take an impact lineman in favor of a skill player with the obvious weaknesses on this team would be a terrible decision. McFadden may be the "sexy" pick, but it will not bring the Jets any closer to a SB. The last teams to win a SB with a high first round RB having an impact was Baltimore in 00 (Lewis) and St. Louis in 99 (Faulk - acquired in a trade). The only recent teams to get to a SB with significant contributions from a first round RB are Seattle (Alexander) and Chicago (T. Jones, who was in his 7th year and then was traded). McFadden is not the right pick for this team.
If i had to ask some fan who isnt a die hard fan of the nfl to name one player on the jets...they would have to think for a little bit mcfadden is a game breaker. We have no one on this team, but i agree there is no OL and we need to get stronger there in the 2nd round+++++ or get the OL from the free agency...like that guy from pittsburgh
exactly how will we be able to afford a top 5 pick, thomas jones, and leon washington. the latter will command a nice raise from his first contract...... that will be too much coin at the RB position. i would rather the jets slither out of that top 5 area down into the 9-12 spot jil
One item I have an issue with is the point that "Thomas Jones was ordinary behind this line.". Thomas Jones is that kind of back that needs big holes. He is your classic north/south runner that really can't "make something happen" the way that special backs do. Obviously McFadden alone doesn't solve our running game - but if our FO believes his talent equals his hype then it isn't as nonsensical as it seems. When drafting this high I tend to agree with Parcells philosophy: "There's a high economic risk in making the first pick of the draft and you have to make sure you pick a solid football player that with good fortune is going to be solid for your franchise for a long time." http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3165580 The last thing I want to do if we can't trade down is pay top dollar to a "reach pick".
Addai and Mauroney don't count? This whole school of thought is foolish. McFadden is by far the best talent in the draft. To not take him (especially when at least two other players who would potentially make sense for the Jets will be off the board to the Fins and Rams) would be negligent.
Whoever we take with numero uno largely depends on our Free Agency period and the players we are at least targeting in the draft. If we get LG,RT,OLB pass rusher in those two phases, McFadden wouldn't be so bad, although that is a lot of money towards the RB position.
If the jets were smart they would be VERY active this offseason, and that includes taking McFadden if available. The jets NEED McFadden if for nothing else to give them an IDENTITY. What jets player does the AVERAGE football fan knowof-NONE. Their is nobody on their current roster in the pro bowl. I say take McFadden if there or else trade down. Don't take a DBrick or Drob really high and watch them perenially underachieve. This franchise, IMO, should: 1. DRAFT MCfADDEN and start him from day 1 2. Trade Thomas Jones (after you draft McFadden) 3, Get what you can for Chad and Vilma 4. Build up both lines, trade down often 5. Accept the fact that Brad Smith is NOT a WR 6. Cut Justin M. 7. Get a REAL third WR 8, Restructure Bryan Thomas contract to next to nothing--that is what he gives you.
Runningbacks get hurt easily. The Jets have bad luck with impact players getting hurt. Drafting McFadden would be like lying down in the middle of the highway and hoping that you got hit by a car instead of a truck. Odds are it's going to kill you either way.
The bottom line is that in the NFL there are plenty of quality running backs available every year by trade, free agency and mid rounds. Spending $50 million plus the money owed Thomas Jones and Leon is just stupid. The biggest hole on this team if the offensive line. Until the offensive line is set taking skill players on offense is like building the 2nd floor of a house before the foundation is in. It serves no purpose. Furthermore, we don't need a running back. Thomas Jones has plenty left in the tank and Leon is a solid backup. We need a RT, LG, NT, DE, passing rushing linebacker before we even think about another running back.
So by your logic we should never pick up a big time playmaker? I hope your post was sarcastic and not serious at all.
1. McFadden alone does not make the Jets (or anyone) an elite offense, that doesn't change the fact that premier RB does have an impact on the passing game as well. I guess we all forget how much more effective Chad's play actions were when it was Curtis at RB. McFadden is also a receiving threat out of the backfield. Also I'm sick and tired of the Vikings O-Line excuse. Yes, Peterson plays behind a great o-line, but Peterson is averaging 5.9 yards a carry. The o-line helps, but the idea that he'd be an average or slightly above average one elsewhere is absurd. 2. The draft history argument is ridiculous. If you go through draft history you'll find busts at every position. You can't predict how RB's can run through smaller holes yet you can predict how OT's can can block bigger and faster linebackers? 3. A part of the reason teams use the RB by committee is because they don't have an elite running back. It should also be noted that 7 of the 12 teams that are in line to make the playoffs have a 1st round pick with 4 of them being top 10 picks. Those numbers are 8 and 5 respectively if you count Cadillac Williams. 4. The shelf life of NFL players in general are short. RBs don't last forever, but neither do OTs, OLBs, CBs, etc. Orlando Pace has broken down completely after eight years. RBs do have a short shelf life, however the idea that Jake Long, Chris Long, Vernon Gholston, etc. are a lock to be productive and healthy for a decade is naive. 5. Just like one elite running back doesn't necessarily make an elite running game, one elite lineman prospect does not make an elite o-line. Heck, if that was the case, we should already have a top notch o-line after drafting the top OT and C from the 2006 draft. Is RB the biggest need? No Should the Jets trade multiple picks in order to land McFadden? No However, that does not change the fact that he would be a game-breaker that this offense hasn't had in a long time and if you feel he has the ability to be a HOF running back (like some have suggested), you don't pass up on that type of talent because you have a bigger need at RT.
maroney no, but addai,benson, bettis, antowain smith, so 6 1st round rbs in the last 4 years on superbowl teams.
Dead serious. Namath, Klecko, O'Brien, McNeil, Toon, Byrd, Vinny, Chad, etc. This franchise has a horrible way of having the key guys go down for the count when it really matters. In that context drafting a top 5 runningback when we have a weak offensive line just looks and feels stupid.
Benson is terrible, Bettis was over the hill, smith was nothing more then a 3rd down back and Addai was only a rookie and had Rhodes with him.
1. Minnesota didn't get that line by spending top ten draft picks on linemen (other than McKinney five or six years ago, but thats only one, and weve already got a 4th overall pick invested in our line), they got that line by developing talent and adding a few nice free agents. The pick may not pay off until you get the line, but not having the line isn't a reason not to make the pick. By that logic you would never add wide receivers unless you've already got a great quarterback, and never draft safeties if you don't already have the corners. It's true that the Jets need a better offensive line, but you can't honestly expect them to spend the third overall pick on a guard. 2. If theres ever been a player, at any position, that was an easy, safe pick, it was Adrian Peterson. I remember watching his freshman year at OU and hearing personnel people say he was the only player they ever saw who was ready for the NFL as a highschooler, and while I never saw him in highschool, I saw him then, and he was a monster. There was no mistaking that absent injury, Peterson would be successful. I don't know as much about McFadden, but if hes as much a clone of Peterson as they say, I'd draft him; that ones up to the scouts. 3. The fact that other teams are doing things one way isn't a reason to do it the same way, in fact, if anything you should go against the grain. When every team was moving to a cover2 defense, the Patriots went 3-4 and kicked ass because nobody played against it all year until they faced them. Everybody else in the league is using the pass to set up the run, but Minnesota is steamrolling people on the ground, and its working fine for them. I understand the trend, but that has more to do with the lack of elite talents at halfback than anything else. If you're suggesting that it's better to have a tandem of serviceable guys than to have an LT or Adrian Peterson carrying your team just because thats what most teams have got, I just have to disagree. 4. If anything, this reasoning suggests that drafting talented halfbacks out of college is a must, since they'll already be mostly spent by the time they're proven and on the free agent market. Gotta get em while they're still fresh. 5. Pressing needs I agree with, and this comes down to a question of strategy. You've got bigger holes at other positions, other positions where there are phenomenal talents available as well, so who does more to improve your team? Thats ultimately a judgement call, but I think the Vikings are clearly better off for having taken Peterson, despite the presence of Chester Taylor, than if they had taken Brady Quinn or Ted Ginn. Need vs. Talent is a tricky balance, and in the end it simply comes down to how much talent are you passing up to fill that need. I havent seen much of McFadden, but I'm approaching the question in hypotheticals and assuming that as a prospect, he measures up similar to Adrian Peterson last year, since thats what everybody says. Had the Jets been in the Vikings shoes and passed on Peterson despite their gaping hole at cornerback, I wouldve been pissed, even if I could have known how successful Revis would go on to be (I'll admit I was skeptical of the pick at the time; I wanted the corner, but didn't know squat about Revis). Thomas Jones and Leon Washington bring enough to the table that I've got no problem going into next season with the two of them at halfback, but if McFadden is as good as they say he is, you don't let him slide just because you've already got a serviceable group of backs around, you pick him and hope that the upgrade there, combined with (hopefully) some help in the trenches through free agency and later draft picks, is enough to make the team competitive again.
I like Mcfadden as a player, but some of your information is tweaked. Green Bay has a guy come out of nowhere in Grant that has been huge in the 2nd half and Cadilac goes down for the Bucs only to be replaced by a 3rd string running back Grahm that has done a better job then him. Willie Parker was undrafted and was leading the league in rushing before getting hurt for the Steelers. The Cowboys use 2 running backs and both are very effective with Barber going to the pro bowl. Jaxonville uses a 2 running back system, and Taylor was a 1st round pick but that was a long time ago. The Patriots barely even use a running game, Maroney one game didnt even see the field untill 10 minutes left in the 3rd quater. Cleveland did not draft Jamal Lewis and signed him to a cheap one year deal because he has had a couple of so-so years. The Giants lost Tiki Barber and have picked up the slack and there yards per game on the ground is almost identical as last year. Running backs really do come and go year to year, but there are some special ones like L.T..
