Unlike many other positions, many great guards can be found in the first 4 round of the draft. We know that best with Levitre, Urbik and Rinehart. You dont need to spend a first round pick on one to ensure a quality starter. Further, I fully adopt Buddy Nix's philosophy that if you need a starter at OG, you draft a tackle and put him there. Linemen can always move outside in, not inside out. That way, you have the flexibility to move that guy back out if there are injuries. Also, some teams in the back end of the 1st round can afford to spend a pick on a guard because they dont have many holes to fill. The Jets are not one of those teams, IMO. My Point: if you need a guard, you can get starters after the 1st round. The 1st rounder should be used on another position where the talent level drops off. Also, take a guy that can also play tackle. It gives you versatility.
I think Decastro only makes sense if the Jets had traded down from the 16th pick. I think that's why there were reports that the Jets were trying to trade out of that spot. Maybe they were and just couldn't find a trade partner. It happens. What's curious is that the Jets, who had a top 5 defense in total yds, chose to spend most of their draft capital on the defensive side of the ball (except for Hill, who is a long term project, and an anonymous OG late in the 6th.) Compare that to what the Pats did with the reverse problem. a great offense and a horrible defense. I Think if the the Jets had been able to trade down and pick up another 3rd round pick. They could have gotten the top OG, and then with that 4th round pick have gone after an Upshaw early in the 2nd instead of Hill, Now with those 2 3rd round pick you can get Davis AND one of the several nice WR prospects that went in the 3rd and 4th round area. OR you could taken one of the 3rd round picks and a 5th and moved up an beaten the Giants to Rueben Randell. Decastro, Randell, Upshaw, and Davis would have been a much more balanced set of selections
Easier said than done. I really like our draft and have nothing wrong with it. Hill is a much better prospect than Randle and fits what we do a lot better. He is raw, but he will still contribute a lot as a rookie and his presence alone should help this offense. Yeah, getting DeCastro wouldve been great, but we got a top 7 talent in Coples at 16 and he will help our passrush a whole lot more than Upshaw. Yes, they couldve addressed an area of need on the OL, but with the number of "holes" we have, you cant fix them all in one draft. They took BPA and you have to be happy with that. Personally, I think they are relying on Sparano to help fix a lot of the OL problems that existed last year, and if the personnel we have currently can’t step up, then we draft OL early next year.
I like how you consider Hill a "long term project" and mention nothing about chandler jones. I forgot how the guy the pats traded up for in the first dominated the big east ...
A team that drafts BPA, round after round, year after year, will eventually have one HELL of a football team. A GM that can play in shades of gray is golden. Say BPA is a Center, and the next-BPA is a top rated Free Safety, and you are Tanny. Being able to move SLIGHTLY from BPA to fill a huge hole WITHOUT reaching is where it's at. But passing on the next Lawrence Taylor in favor of a FG Kicker because you already have an aging Bart Scott is what soooo many GM's do year after year. Never assume 'one player' will put your team over the hump....always grab the super talent right in front of you and let them play ball.
The Jets chose to take their strength and solidify it. The top 5 defense last year was nowhere near as good as the #1 defense in 2009. It was starting to get old and slow. The Jets top priority obviously was fixing that. I think it was a smart move on their part. The offense may come together or it may not but you have to have something that is rock-solid and the the defense is what the Jets have chosen to tie themselves to. This is similar to what Belichik did in his first 5 seasons with the Pats, taking 1st round defensive players over and over again until he got the mix right. Then for some reason he let it all go.
Well, because the guys he based his defense around all left and got paid, and the guys the Patriots drafted to replace them weren't nearly as good. Luckily for them, Brady became one of the best QBs in NFL history, and when you have that, you're going to win. I think the Jets' top priority was to get the best player on the board who filled a need at either DE, OLB, S, OL, WR or RB. There were no safeties, receivers or runningbacks worthy of that pick, so that left Coples and whoever the Jets thought was the top OLB left (Irvin?). There was also DeCastro and Cordy Glenn, but Glenn wasn't worth that pick, and with so many needs, if you take a guard in round 1, he better be a perennial Pro Bowler. I have no problem with the Jets draft. I love the top 3 players they got. It does appear they are drafting to counteract the Patriots, which isn't a bad thing. Coples is the type of player that can provide a pass rush from the front 3 or 4 without having to blitz. The way the Jets embarrassed New England in the playoffs in 2010 was because guys like Shaun Ellis won their one-on-one matchups and got into Brady's face. Rex wants to be able to be able to get guys directly in Brady's face, and Coples hopefully can do that. If he's successful enough where teams can't block him one-on-one, then they'll have to double team him and someone else will come free. If Wilkerson can become a disruptive force, then all of a sudden, the Jets can be a lot more flexible defensively. Do I wish the Jets drafted a lineman early? Sure. Would I have preferred one to Tim Tebow? Yes. But the Jets have been talking up Schlauderaff and Howard for a while, with them and Ducasse, it's time to put up or shut up. Moore, Slauson and Hunter are all replaceable. We can survive with 1 or 2 of them, but having 3 guys on the line that are average at best is a problem. Slauson is young and can improve after being hurt last year. Moore had surgery heading into last year, maybe he can bounce back and get back to how well he used to play. Hunter was a problem, but we also advanced to the AFCC with him at RT, so it's not impossible to win with him.
The other thing about the drafts of Wilkerson and Coples in back-to-back seasons is the economics of paying your defensive backfield a 5th of the cap. Good defensive ends are expensive as hell after their first contract. Having Wilkerson and Coples locked up cheap for a few years will be a major factor in the Jets success if they turn out to be good. Paying the CB's $20 million a year means you have to have cheap and good players elsewhere to succeed. If Wilk and Coples are great the Jets 2012 and 2013 just got a lot more affordable. If they're not it won't really matter.
If next years draft is RICH in OL, perhaps Tanny grabs 2 or 3 top lineman. Then....look out. Because we already have our D-line, Receivers, Running Backs, etc. Ya, I know....SS and LB, but Rome wasn't built in a day. Keep grabbing the cream of the crop so when it's our turn to win it all (without cheating) it ain't a 'fluke' and we may win several in a row...
He's definitely gonna have to invest in the O line big time next year. Not only will RT likely still be a problem, but both of their starting guards are scheduled to be free agents
Alright, for the record I am NOT a believer in Hunter but I'm gonna list what I believe are potential reasons for the Jets coaching staff having faith in Hunter. Don't think all of these are valid reasons but I'm trying to give the only justifications I can think of which support Hunter already being named the starter. 1) Last season Hunter was a mess but during the season prior, Hunter played well to finish the season & in the playoffs. Not dominant but good enough to be a solid starter. They might be hoping that last season was an anomaly and hoping the last AFCCG run is the real Hunter. 2) For Ducasse this is year #3 but this is also the first time he's had a full offseason program. When he was drafted, everybody knew he was raw or "diamond in the rough". With the NFL offseason drama, he basically went into year #2 with no development. Also, last season (at the beginning) he was still bouncing between different positions I believe. Vlad is monster strong but I think the general consensus is that one offseason is not enough to get him starter ready. 3) There's going to be a scheme change in the OL. Before the OL was a zone blocking scheme and from what I'm reading the new blocking scheme is less complex. The Jets could be hoping that this new scheme change will help Hunter (and Ducasse). However, it's still undetermined if all the OL will improve with the new scheme. I've read in some articles that Hunter wasn't so bad in run-blocking even though he was a turnstile @ pass-blocking. On TV its tough for me to see if this is true or if I'm just reading nonsense concerning his run-blocking. 4) Jets could be thinking the domino effect of losing Mangold was too much and effected the whole line. Those times when Mangold went down, the Jets lost the best or second best Center in football and were totally lost (they also didn't have a healthy backup ready to step in @ center). 5) Everyone complains about Hunter but D'Brick also had a really bad year (and he's making a hell of a lot more $$ and playing LT). With both tackles playing badly you couldn't consistently roll left or right. If D'Brick plays like his normal self, even a repeat of last season Hunter can be somewhat compensated by rolling left (I'm hoping). === I'm not a believer in Hunter but I think there were just too many holes heading into this offseason for everything to be addressed. Don't just look at the needs this year's Jets team, there are some big LB needs once the season ends. Coples/Hill cover some really big Jet needs when it comes to talent. Demario Davis was a pick a lot of us weren't expecting but next season the Jets will most likely be getting rid of multiple starting LB. Next season, Scott+Pace=15 million so they'll both be gone. It's good to have at least one of the replacements in camp now getting experience. Bringing in two LB through draft or FA (in the same year) to start on D can't be good for this team. The offense isn't good enough to carry D for long stretches. This is where the Tebow trade bothered me because I think 4th rounder could've added a decent OL prospect. However, the dice have been rolled so it's time to think positive.
Those are all good points and a draft like you're suggesting would definitely of had many of the draft "experts" giving Jets a higher grade. Some additional things to consider though: 1 - Jets D is ranked high but they need more players that can play run & the pass. Maybin is pulled unless it's an obvious passing down. Scott is pulled out on passing downs & just in general the LB core is slow. When Brady ran the no-huddle he had his way with the Jets D & there's no way the Jets O can defeat Brady in a shootout. Also, Jets will most likely get rid of Pace & Scott ending of this season so they were probably thinking of upgrading the talent on D in anticipation of those moves. Upshaw would've definitely been sweet addition though. If Coples works out, he'll be a DL that can contribute to run & pass which is a huge plus. That'll give the Jets 2 young stud DL on both sides of their 3-4 and hopefully they'll generate pass rush without blitzing. That's something Jets have been struggling with for a long time. Pass rush without blitzing is mandatory to have any chance of bumping the Brady/Pats from 1st place in the division. There were other pass rushing talents in the draft but Coples is regarded as having the highest upside & is likely a top-5 pick if he entered draft last season. Any head coach that feels they can get Coples to play up to his potential should grab him unless they see a franchise player on their board. 2 - Hill is raw but what the Jets needed most is to stretch the field so another WR prospect with a different "game" would not be as useful. Hill's speed will hopefully pull a safety or at least keep safeties honest. This will be a huge plus for Holmes because he will have room to operate. There's just too much $$$ in Holmes for him to be cut/traded so getting a WR to complement him really helps; especially since Plaxico was useless outside of the red zone. Inability to stretch the field last season let too many opposing D sneak extra defenders to disrupt short passes & run game. 3 - When Upshaw was in the 2nd round I was also thinking that 4th rounder lost for Tebow would be pretty damn useful for trading up. Was also regretting it when some decent OL prospects were on the board in 4th round. Jets seem insistent on keeping the wildcat/option package so I guess Tebow trade is good for providing option qb & solid backup for Sanchez. Maybe he will even replace Sanchez, who knows.
That's a very knowledgeable and thoughtful post. It's a good rationale for why the Jets did what they did. I have less of a problem with the Coples pick than with the Jets draft overall. I think they missed picking the low hanging fruit in a draft that lots of it of the OL variety. Last season should have taught the Jets that they need a viable backup for Nick Mangold even if they choose to give Hunter/Ducasse another shot at RT. They didn't sign that backup C in FA, and they didn't draft him. Hoping some UDFA or street FA is going to step up and be good enough is really akin to whistling past the graveyard.
They are looking more to development of the guys already on the roster - Schlauderaff, etc. - to provide OL depth, I'd imagine. I don't think they'll be going with a rookie as primary backup this year. (Not that they did last year - the backup C was lost in preseason.)
Given the Pats drafting history I think Jones was a disaster pick for them. Not that he'll be bad, I think he'll be a serviceable player but the Pats badly needed to go get somebody with real upside on that pick and Jones was one of the flattest players available in the 1st round.
First of all, this thread has nothing to do with Chandler Jones, nor has anyone connected with the Pats ever anointed him a starter and instant impact player. Most Pats fans feel that Hightower will have the more immediate impact. But being nothing more than a serial Pats hater, you wouldn't know that. The fact that Hill is a raw unfinished product that has fewer catches in his entire career than most good prospects have in a season, doesn't seem to faze you. He's been appointed starter before his first mini camp and while most very good WR prospects with much better stats than Hill take a year or 2 to reach their potential, Yet you take offense that I would have the temerity to say what EVERYONE in football has been saying about Hill. I'm embarrassed I even responded to such a ludicrous post
