I liked the Keller pick and I love to read about draft strategies. But Tannebaum uses this language all the time, and there's always a guy he wants to trade up for. Can we discuss and breakdown this method of drafting? I'm guessing Keller was rated as one of the top 20-25 players on the Jets board. "It just happened it worked out with Green Bay. We tried to stay to the value of the board." http://www.nj.com/jets/index.ssf/2008/04/jets_deal_with_pack_to_draft_t.html
Yeah Keller was highly rated, and the more i sit back and wonder, the more I think that Keller is the guy the Jets really wanted, I don't think they really were all that interested in Gholston/Mcfadden/Long. Their guy was Keller, and they couldn't swing a decent deal to move down, so they had to move up from 36, but still got a guy with big time potential in Gholston at #6.
I get this weird feeling Keller was picked specifically for a gameplan against NE. I have no logic for this. No angle on some weakness they might see. It just feels that way.
No team was going to move up from the late 20s to 6 so the Jets could grab Keller, anything else would have been a reach.
Well actually I beg to differ on that one... the Jags flew up the board to get Harvey at 8, i would have taken 4 picks for Gholston... and then taken Keller at 26
I agree, it's important to stay to the value of the board, and not do anything silly, but I'm a firm believer that the value of the board changes dynamically during the draft, based on who's picking behind you. I just think trading up for a TE when there wasn't one selected might have been a little premature. I'm also a little bitter we waited until Day 2 to get a WR.
Why? So we could take 4 guys who will in all likelihood never start instead of Gholston who could be the star of our defense one day?
A hybrid pass catching TE would help us against NE's aging LB core. Also, this draft had unusualy high trading activity so the opportunity to move down from # 6 was there. I like how Tanny moved up and down the board with the two trades in an attempt to maximize value. My biggest problem with our draft is that I do not agree with the valuations that the Jets placed on the players that they selected or those that they passed up. I think that last year our scouting department found real gems in Revis, Harris, and possibly Stuckey. Despite that success, I think they missed the mark this year. Perhaps part of thei success last year was due to luck and they were due for a bad pick or two. I hope I am wrong about the missed opportunities in this year's draft but I have my doubts.
The Jets recognized the need for a pass rusher. Gholston adds more versatility and more toys for the defense.
I'm very happy with the draft. I think Gholston has a huge amount of potential, I just hope he lives up to the hype. I think the Keller pick is awesome. This guy is going to be a beast on the field, and I'd bet he steps in pretty early. Line him up as a TE, put him in the slot...he's going to be very versatile. The Ainge pick could go either way. By no means was he the best QB, but he was a good pick for where we were I believe. Who knows, someday this kid could be our franchise QB. Time will tell. The WR and CB picks could go either way too, but we really can't tell now. They can't all be winners, we can only hope so.
With those four picks (#26, #71, #89,#125) we could have selected Dustin Keller at 26 Remember we keep #36 so there we could have had Curtis Lofton, Limas Sweed, Malcolm Kelly, Tyrell Johnson, Quentin Groves (fills Gholston's pass rushing spot) #71- Reggie Smith, Dan Conner, Tom Zbikowski, Cliff Avril #89- Tyvon Branch, Marcus Harrison, Dre Moore, then at #102 we would trade back again with Green Bay and pick up their 4th rounder, (instead of #113 we obtain #128) at #113 for arguments sake say we don't go DB previously we still take Dwight Lowery #128- Tony Hillis, Jack Ikegwuonu, John David Booty, at #162 for arguments sake, we don't go QB earlier so we still take Ainge. #171- Marcus Henry (for arguments sake) #211- Nate Garner (for arguments sake again) So yeah while Gholston COULD become a star, these other guys COULD also become a star. Also the basic school of thought is if you are really scouting and take 10-12 guys you really like, you are much more likely to find a future star or two, than if you are only picking six guys, especially if the "best" guy has a question about his motor, and whether he takes plays off...
