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Donnie Fletcher is a very good undrafted free agent, and considering the Jets didn’t pick any corners in the draft, the signing of Fletcher and Ryan Steed, were two good moves by the Jets.
Surely, the Jets pitched Fletcher and Ryan Steed, another top-shelf undrafted corner, that the Jets were a good place to sign because they didn’t draft a corner.
But knowing they way the Jets’ think, that point could become moot if they re-sign Drew Coleman, who was released by Jacksonville after one season.
The Jaguars found out, what Jets fans know, Coleman is a good blitzer and run support corner, but has shaky instincts in coverage. He tries very hard, but he’s wildly inconsistent in coverage. It’s not a lack of effort, but perhaps more about having slow eyes.
But the Jets overrated Coleman when he was with them, so I wouldn’t put it past them to bring him back. Mike Tannenbaum was actually praising him the other day – unsolicited, before he was released by the Jaguars.
Tannenbaum is very close with Coleman’s agent, Alan Herman. That is a huge factor, also. The football business is so much about relationships. Just ask Jimmy Sexton, but that is another story for another day.
Let’s get back to Fletcher.
If we were talking about this player a year ago, we are probably talking about a middle round pick.
But he had a bad senior season, perhaps getting dragged down by a struggling Boston College team.
But he’s a nice-sized cornerback (6-0 ¼, 201) who gets his hands on a lot of footballs. He has very good instincts and ball skills.
On the down side, his speed is pedestrian (4.53), and his hips are a little stiff, which hurts his ability to change direction.
As you can tell, I’m big on hips. I’ve always believed this is a huge factor with players – especially those playing in space. In football, if you have trouble changing directions in the open field, that is a big problem.
Since Fletcher has average cornerback speed and is almost big enough to play safety now, a position change could be in the offing.
I personally thought Fletcher would go have a better chance to succeed at corner with a Cover Two zone team. As you know, Rex likes to play a lot of man-to-man.
But as far as undrafted free agents go, this guy was one of the best players available – probably a Top 10 UDFA.
And as a four-year starter in the ACC, expect to see a player who already pretty polished when you see him in Cortland (if he makes it there, you never know with Tannenbaum) . . .
Tony Sparano had a conference call with Jets’ beat writers today. To be quite honest, most of his answers were from the “what did you expect him to say” department – praising Sanchez and Tebow, and so forth.
I’m not criticizing him. In this market, you say anything somewhat quotable, and they turn a molehill into a mountain.
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