2008 Draft preview: Jets' game plan March 17, 2008 J.P. Pelzman For Sporting News An in-depth analysis of the New York Jets' plan for the 2008 NFL Draft: NEEDS 1. Wide receiver. The Jets have lacked a speedster who can stretch defenses ever since they traded Santana Moss to Washington three years ago, and haven't had a tall, imposing target on fade routes since trading Keyshawn Johnson to Tampa Bay in 2000. Indiana's James Hardy (6-7) might be available in the second round and could solve both problems. Other tall receivers with speed who could be on the board are Arkansas' Marcus Monk and Texas' Limas Sweed. 2. Cornerback. Darrelle Revis should man the left side for a long time, but the right side is a different story. Veteran Hank Poteat finished 2007 as the starter and, while he is one of coach Eric Mangini's favorite players, the Jets need an upgrade at this position. Possibilities include Colorado's Terrence Wheatley, Nebraska's Zackary Bowman and Oklahoma's Marcus Walker. 3. Outside linebacker. Bryan Thomas slumped after a breakout 2006 season and finished with only 2 1/2 sacks last year. The team signed free agent Calvin Pace to energize the pass rush, but he'll need help. Ohio State's Vernon Gholston could solve that problem, as could Auburn's Quentin Groves. 4. Right tackle. The team signed free agent Damien Woody and cut Anthony Clement. Woody, a guard for most of his career, hasn't played outside much, so if Michigan standout Jake Long falls in the draft, New York should take him. Second- or third-round possibilities include Texas' Tony Hills and Auburn's King Dunlap. 5. Quarterback. Kellen Clemens didn't impress anybody in his eight-start tryout last season. While the Jets haven't lost confidence in him, the strong-armed passer has yet to prove he's the quarterback of the future. Chad Pennington will be 32 on opening day, and his arm hasn't gotten any stronger after two shoulder surgeries. The Jets could look at Michigan's Chad Henne, Delaware's Joe Flacco or USC's John David Booty in the later rounds. 6. Defensive end. Shaun Ellis will be 31 when the 2008 season starts and was a better player in the 4-3 system. If Virginia's Chris Long (who played in a similar 3-4 set in college) falls to No. 6, the Jets would probably take him. His character and work ethic would be very appealing. But if Long isn't there, there are many other positional needs to be addressed first. OUTLOOK The Jets were aggressive on draft day last season, trading later picks in order to move up and select Revis in the first round and linebacker David Harris in the second. The team's strategy has to be different in 2008 because there are so many immediate needs at positions on both sides of the ball. If anything, New York might look to trade down to perhaps net an extra pick or two, especially if the player the team is eyeing at No. 6 is off the board. The primary goal of general manager Mike Tannenbaum and Mangini should be to increase the number of playmakers on both sides of the ball. The duo also might have to be a bit more flexible about the type of player they select. Overvaluing character, sometimes at the expense of physical talent, has led to reaches like linebacker Anthony Schlegel, a 2006 third-round selection who played in just four games before being released. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Now i am as excited as anyone about the upcoming draft but there could be a few scenarios where the jets could be in a bad spot as far as drafting a player that fills a need or is worth the #6th overall selection in the draft. according to the draft preview, we have 6 major needs. i am going to address each need and which players we could potentially fill the need with. since we don't have a 3rd round pick yet, i am only going to address the 1st and 2nd rounds. NEEDS 1. WR- no one is worth a #6 overall selection at this position. we do desperately need another playmaker at WR since coles is getting older and seems to be a hassle for the front office. i would really love to have james hardy at pick #37, but who knows if he will be there. 2. CB- again, no one is worth a #6 overall selection at this position, not to mention we drafted a CB with our 1st rounder last year so its not likely we do so again this year. drafting mckelvin or rodgers-cromartie would be a reach and would be investing a lot of money in the CB position. 3. OLB- i like gholston at #6 but who knows if he will still be there. he has been lighting it up lately, and may be gone before we get to pick. i doubt groves falls to #37, he will probably be a late 1st rounder. 4. RT- again, we cannot use our 1st rounder on an Olineman this year at pick #6. we can use our 2nd rounder to draft depth and to eventually start at RT. someone like cherulius would be a good pick here. 5. QB- we cannot draft a QB on the first day. period. we invested a lot of money in the Oline this offseason and must give clemens a fair chance at QB. 6. DE- no one besides chris long should be picked at #6 and im pretty sure hes not gonna be there at that point. so this is our dilemma, what if chris long, darren mcfadden, and gholston are all gone by #6? what do we do? we can't draft matt ryan, dorsey, ellis, jake long, and drafting a WR or CB would be such a reach. so what do we do then? if that scenario occurs, i think the jets could be in big trouble considering it would be impossible to trade down since no one will do it with those 3 players mentioned already gone. not to mention the team trading up would have to give away a few picks and then pay more money to the #6 overall pick. so given we cannot trade down, who do we draft at #6?? MIA-chris long STL-vernon gholston ATL-matt ryan OAK-darren mcfadden KC-jake long NYJ- who the hell is worth the #6 pick here?? that also fits our team?? people will finally see that winning that last game against KC could have hurt our chances of getting a playmaker.
If the draft falls that way, I'd say we'd have to take either the Cb or get our bookend tackle, Clady.
If we can't trade down and not going to go after another CB than I wonder if we would ever consider Keith Rivers and using him as a ILB and OLB in coverage. I think he is very talented and we could use his skills. Any other ideas???
Well, like you said, there are some scenarios where the Jets have to pick at #6 where nobody is worth a #6. With the players gone, whom you say, I don't thik anyone is trading up either. In this case we should pull a 2003 Minnesota and not pick anyone. Actually, I just researched this a bit; here is the ruling: "Draft 2003: Minnesota held the 7th pick, but the Vikings did not make their selection in the allotted time. By rule, they could make a selection at any time afterwards, however Jacksonville and Carolina were able to make their own picks before Minnesota could make its own." So we could bypass the #6 pick if we really didn't get anyone to trade up for it, and we didn't feel there was anyone on the board worth giving #6 money to. If we pass we can get back in, but at the mercy of whether others have already put in their selections. It would be an interesting strategy, and one that I would not be horribly opposed too; you have to look at it like losing pick value and saving cash at the sme time. In otherwords, you are buring your draft value chart points. If we really found ourselves in that situation then I would consider it a gutsy move by the Jets. Then slide back in when they had player for value. If we really look back in the last 10 years, we have been primarily somewhat burnt with low round picks. Not all did bad, but I don't think most lived up to where they were drafted.
That's a solid move. If the draft unfolded that way, and the Jets felt the need to pick up a player, then I'd have to assume they'd take the best CB in the draft. Even given the whole monies situation and the possible scenario that could play out with Revis, another CB playing opposite Revis would fill a need. Also, (at the risk of getting my ass kicked on this board) we'd also be taking away the best CB in this draft for the Patriots to take.
If the draft plays out like that, the best value is likely is likely in CB. I don't think Sedrick Ellis or Glenn Dorsey could play end in the 3-4 scheme (too short and squat), so they hold no value to us. The problem is that after the 5 guys you mentioned and these two, the next 10-15 players are about on the same level of talent. We're going to have to overpay in our slot. The next best value on the board is likely at CB, with either Leodis McKelvin, who is a LOT like Revis in his potential, or Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, who likely has the highest ceiling of any corner in the draft and is a real physical specimen. If we were in this situation, I personally like Cromartie better. Good bloodlines and great potential. With our head coach being a previous DB coach, he'll have a better chance of realizing his potential for us under Mangini than anyone else. You could also look at an OLB like Derrick Harvey or take a flyer on Phillip Merling at DE. I would not be opposed to either pick as I think they'll be solid pros. All the tackles projected to go in the 1st other than Long are more of pure LT's like Brick is rather than the powerhouse you need at RT. I'd rather go for Gosder Cherilus or Carl Nicks in the 2nd if we're going for a tackle.
That don't work. You will still pay #6 money even if you take your pick at #20. Oops..quoted the wrong post. That was meant for doing a Minnesota.
I added more to my post. The point I was trying to make was to not overpay anyone based on where we picked given the talent that could really be worth a #6 was gone. One of the CB's, though clearly they would help us, is not worth a #6 pick or #6 money. Quite frankly, I really hope the scenario doesn't unfold where all the players who could help us at #6 have been cherry picked. It would really make that stinko game we played against KC that stood for absolutely nothing and proved absolutely nothing cost us very very dearly.
These soothsayers can write all they want. I guess they have to earn their money somehow but there is no way the Jets are evaluating their needs the way that guy is. If it was then is he saying the Jets just wasted 154 million dollars because they still have the same needs as before they spent it? Other than CB (which I think they will get before the draft) everything he mentions we just went out and bought..except QB of course and WR isn't important to anybody without having a QB to throw to them. Oh, and a 6'7" WR scares me...I think the league could only ever have 1 Harold Carmichael.
Really, r u sure? That stinks...................oh well...............the KC win is gonna bite us in the behind; I can feel it.
Yeah, happened to Minnesota and if it were to happen now the agent and player would just hold out until you did. They would understand the game you were trying to play. And that KC win was terrible. I knew it at the time. We went from 3rd to 6th for what? Edwards was obviously playing that game to lose and we were too dumb to do the same.
I know how it is from our perspective, and the loss that day could enable us to get C. Long at #3... but these 53 players and CS won't play to lose like herm did. They have too much pride and are too competitive to lay down. Thats the Mangini mentality.. so if we are 2-12 in week 15, i expect us to win those 2 games because thats the way this team is run.
Finally a Sportswriter who gets it! We won the war and lost the battle when we beat KC the last game of the year.
If the draft falls that way, teams like Denver, Detroit, and Philadelphia WILL contact us about Dorsey/Ellis as each team needs a DT in the worst way.
Green Hornet, this has already been discussed by Peter King with some agents and to a man they each said that regardless of where the team came back in, they would hold out their player and go after the original draft pick positioning money. So there would not be any saving of cash with this tactic, and the chances are the target would be picked up right under our nose.
don't think this guy makes any sense. he's talking like we have'nt addressed any of our needs. at this point, besides the unknown at QB, we've got a few immediate needs, and we need to add some depth. i think all we really need is a WR,CB,DE. the rest is just adding some quality backups, or grooming for the future. i think we're pretty competitive on paper, right now. if you ask me, this is the best team we've had in years.
Bpa If the draft unfolds as you mentioned and if there are no trading partners to move down you take the best player available. By all estimates that is Glen Dorsey or Sedrick Ellis. New England didn't do too terribly drafting Ty Warren after getting Vince Wilfork. The Giants didn't do too terribly getting Justin Tuck and Kiwanuka while having Strahan and Uminyora. Just because we have a player at a position does not mean we can't take another player if that person is the most talented player available. As for Dorsey or Ellis not fitting into the 3-4 as either a tackle or end, somehow other 3-4 teams seem to fair OK drafting college tackles and converting them to ends. It's usually the other way around where problems occur (see D-rob). Dorsey would most likely be an exceptional 3-4 end and Ellis may very well be a better 3-4 tackle than 4-3 tackle. At the very least it gives us options for trades down the road.
This is a weird Pre-draft time. No one is really screaming for anyone in piticular and the looming pick doesnt have that feeling of doom if they get it wrong (In the fans eyes). I like the talent we have picked up and that makes any choice depending on how the first five picks go a good pick. I personally think they will deal the 6-spot and get more picks. But if Gholston is there I think they grab him!
