By Mike Cavalone Edited by Peter Cordi
As fans all over the world look forward to the NFL draft, here is a look at some of the New York Jets’ top needs and who they should be looking at in rounds 1-3 in a scenario in which they elect not to draft Marcus Mariota with the sixth overall pick.
If the Jets pass on Mariota at number six, this can only mean they are sticking with Geno Smith for one more year to evaluate his performance in Chan Gaileys' spread offense. Assuming they do pass on Mariota, the Jets will still need to protect their quarterback. Therefore, they should go with La'el Collins, OT/G out of LSU. This guy is huge! He's a masher. He's been compared to Pittsburgh Steelers’ center, Maurkice Pouncey. It’s been said that he might not be athletic enough to stay at the left tackle position at the professional level and that he would be a solid guard in a power running scheme. In my opinion he'd be a great fit.
Onto the 37th pick- the second round. This is where the decisions get tricky. Some might disagree, but this is where they should draft a quarterback. The Jets should take Bryce Petty, put of Baylor if he's still on the board, and he likely will be. This was the MVP of the Cotton Bowl in a losing effort! Petty says he wants to prove to scouts that his spectacular college production wasn't just a product of the one-read system he ran at Baylor. He believes he can go through progressions, read defenses and find the the open man- he did lead the nation's top scoring offense, after all. If the Jets take any risks, it should be here.
Now onto the 70th pick- round three. It would be shocking if this next prospect is still available in the third round but it's where some project him to go. He can be the steal of the draft. Who is he? Florida running back, Matt Jones. This guy is an animal, at 6'2" 235 lbs. He averaged 4.9 yards per carry in college. His biggest game was against Georgia where he rushed for 192 yards and two touchdowns. Scouts say that his speed is limited because he ran a 4.58-second 40-yard dash. At 235 lbs, that is reasonable. He's more of a downhill, moving the chains type of running back. When he gets into the open field, watch out. That’s a big boy running with his head down. He'll be a bruiser in the NFL.
With all that said, some clarification-free agency has not even started yet. Wide receivers and cornerbacks were omitted from this mock draft for this reason. With buckets of cash to spend on the top players, there may be no more need for another wide receiver or cornerback by the time the draft comes around. The Jets haven't made a decision as to whether or not they will keep Percy Harvin, and don’t have the availability to sign free agents like Darrelle Revis or Antonio Cromartie yet. If they don't keep Harvin, they will need to target a WR at some point, and the same goes for the cornerback position. Due to the surplus of free agent talent at these positions, they should be targeted in free agency, rather than the draft. These are leadership positions and there are no better leaders than veterans. Fans will have to wait and see what happens with Harvin. The decision on Harvin will impact the Jets’ draft the most since there is not a corner worth taking at number six, but there are definitely wide receivers worth considering. There is also a possibility that the Jets target a pass rusher in any of these rounds. There are still many decisions to be made before the draft and those decisions will affect draft grades between now and the April 30th deadline for what many spectators believe their favorite team should do.
And now with that said, it seems there has been so much speculation about how the Jets players will perform in 2015 and who the leaders will be. This year the focus needs to be on Matt Maccagnan, Todd Bowles and Chan Gailey. Where are they going to lead the Jets? Are they going to make the decisions the Jets need in order to be contenders? Are they going to surround the talent the Jets have with the talent the Jets need? If they do its all thanks to Charley Casserly and Ron Wolf, who helped hire the new staff. Maybe the NFL will be praising the new front staff for years to come!
As fans all over the world look forward to the NFL draft, here is a look at some of the New York Jets’ top needs and who they should be looking at in rounds 1-3 in a scenario in which they elect not to draft Marcus Mariota with the sixth overall pick.
If the Jets pass on Mariota at number six, this can only mean they are sticking with Geno Smith for one more year to evaluate his performance in Chan Gaileys' spread offense. Assuming they do pass on Mariota, the Jets will still need to protect their quarterback. Therefore, they should go with La'el Collins, OT/G out of LSU. This guy is huge! He's a masher. He's been compared to Pittsburgh Steelers’ center, Maurkice Pouncey. It’s been said that he might not be athletic enough to stay at the left tackle position at the professional level and that he would be a solid guard in a power running scheme. In my opinion he'd be a great fit.
Onto the 37th pick- the second round. This is where the decisions get tricky. Some might disagree, but this is where they should draft a quarterback. The Jets should take Bryce Petty, put of Baylor if he's still on the board, and he likely will be. This was the MVP of the Cotton Bowl in a losing effort! Petty says he wants to prove to scouts that his spectacular college production wasn't just a product of the one-read system he ran at Baylor. He believes he can go through progressions, read defenses and find the the open man- he did lead the nation's top scoring offense, after all. If the Jets take any risks, it should be here.
Now onto the 70th pick- round three. It would be shocking if this next prospect is still available in the third round but it's where some project him to go. He can be the steal of the draft. Who is he? Florida running back, Matt Jones. This guy is an animal, at 6'2" 235 lbs. He averaged 4.9 yards per carry in college. His biggest game was against Georgia where he rushed for 192 yards and two touchdowns. Scouts say that his speed is limited because he ran a 4.58-second 40-yard dash. At 235 lbs, that is reasonable. He's more of a downhill, moving the chains type of running back. When he gets into the open field, watch out. That’s a big boy running with his head down. He'll be a bruiser in the NFL.
With all that said, some clarification-free agency has not even started yet. Wide receivers and cornerbacks were omitted from this mock draft for this reason. With buckets of cash to spend on the top players, there may be no more need for another wide receiver or cornerback by the time the draft comes around. The Jets haven't made a decision as to whether or not they will keep Percy Harvin, and don’t have the availability to sign free agents like Darrelle Revis or Antonio Cromartie yet. If they don't keep Harvin, they will need to target a WR at some point, and the same goes for the cornerback position. Due to the surplus of free agent talent at these positions, they should be targeted in free agency, rather than the draft. These are leadership positions and there are no better leaders than veterans. Fans will have to wait and see what happens with Harvin. The decision on Harvin will impact the Jets’ draft the most since there is not a corner worth taking at number six, but there are definitely wide receivers worth considering. There is also a possibility that the Jets target a pass rusher in any of these rounds. There are still many decisions to be made before the draft and those decisions will affect draft grades between now and the April 30th deadline for what many spectators believe their favorite team should do.
And now with that said, it seems there has been so much speculation about how the Jets players will perform in 2015 and who the leaders will be. This year the focus needs to be on Matt Maccagnan, Todd Bowles and Chan Gailey. Where are they going to lead the Jets? Are they going to make the decisions the Jets need in order to be contenders? Are they going to surround the talent the Jets have with the talent the Jets need? If they do its all thanks to Charley Casserly and Ron Wolf, who helped hire the new staff. Maybe the NFL will be praising the new front staff for years to come!