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New Jersey – One thing you saw consistently with the Jets’ draft, was a philosophical strain that was quite apparent through the Selection Meetings.
I know this sounds cliché, but the Jets stuck to their value board, from pillar to post.
This Jets’ draft was about all about value over need, which is always the best way to go.
“Let the board come to you,” as you will often hear from top personnel guys.
It’s hard to point to one of the Jets’ pick and call it a reach.
All the players went right around where they were expected to go, or a little higher.
There were no wasted draft picks, like the Jets had in the sixth round back-to-back years.
In 2013, the Jets picked a Michigan defensive lineman with the intent of making him an offensive guard. Do that with undrafted free agents, not draft picks. The experiment didn’t work out very well.
Last year, the Jets picked a quarterback, not because it was a pragmatic pick, but because Rex Ryan’s son played with him at Clemson. The kid was so bad in training camp, he wasn’t even put on the practice squad.
I know you might say, “Hey, who cares about the sixth round?”
Tom Brady was a sixth round pick. Am I allowed to reference him today? LOL.
You know why you don’t throw away sixth round picks? Because your value board will have players that your particular team had much higher than that round based on system-fits, program-fits. Every team has their own board. No two boards are alike.
And look at the Jet seventh round pick, nose tackle Deon Simon.
He easily could have gone in the fifth round.
He’s a massive nose tackle who moves well for his size, and is a weight room superstar who bench-pressed 225, 35 times at the combine, the most of any defensive lineman. There is no question Simon needs a lot of work on his technique, but with his work ethic, and hunger to be great, he will give it everything he’s got.
Simon is a perfect example of why you don’t mess around with late round picks, like when the Jets picked Scotty McKnight to appease Mark Sanchez.
This isn’t a game.
Jets fifth round pick Jarvis Harrison is a second round talent. For some reason his motor ran hot and cold in college. If Jets line coach Steve Marshall can keep Harrison’s motor revving high, this pick could turn out to be a major steal for the Jets. This is a 6-4, 330-pounder, who is a terrific athlete for his size, and has the potential to be a dominating run blocker on the next level.
Once again, the Jets let the board come to them. Was guard a major need, not necessarily, but Harrison represented terrific fifth round value.
And of course the best case-in-point to playing the value game was the Jets’ first round pick Leonard Williams, considered by many scouts to be the best player in the draft, and they grabbed him at six.
I know it sounds boring, but sticking to the board is the best way to go.
May 7, 2015
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