I wasn't gonna drink tonight, but after watching the NFL draft tonight, I have reached for the Metropolitan Lager. The only way I could be any more disgusted with the Jets draft tonight if is they had picked a quarterback in the first round.
The first five picks didn't shock me with who was picked, but I didn't expect the Dolphins to trade up to the #3 spot and draft Dion Jordan, the best pass rusher in the draft. I can picture him killing the Jets quarterbacks for ten years. Hopefully, he'll lay some hard hits on Brady too.
Then things start to get interesting. For weeks leading in, I heard all the experts, Mel Kiper, Todd McShay, Charley Casserly, etc. say that Barkevious Mingo was going to get selected by the Jets. They all said he would be a perfect outside linebacker for Rex Ryan's system. But Cleveland grabs him at 6. I was disappointed, but there were still plenty of guys to pick from. Then at 7, Arizona takes Jonathan Cooper, one of the two guards I really liked. It was a blow, but at least Chance Warmack was still out there. At 8, they took a huge blow. Buffalo, definitely trying to screw the Jets, trades the pick to the Rams, who then draft speedy WR Tavon Austin, to keep him from going to the Jets. In the days leading up to the draft, Rex Ryan all but said he wanted Austin on this team. Well, it cost them. Because he will be burning up the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis now.
At that point, I was hoping for Warmack at 9 or even trading down. But instead, the Jets draft Dee Milliner, the oft-injured cornerback from Alabama, who apparently is the fill-in for Darrelle Revis. This guy has already had five surgeries! Five! And he's expected to open training camp on the physically unable to perform list. Oh and he's not even six feet tall. Even if he's good, the injury history is downright scary. And the Jets have a pair of starting cornerbacks in Antonio Cromartie and Kyle Wilson. By drafting this guy, they are acknowledging that Kyle Wilson, a former No. 1 pick, is a disappointment.
And then, Chance Warmack gets drafted by Tennessee. So both offensive guards are gone and I am just feeling completely deflated. then the DJ's go. DJ Fluker to San Diego and DJ Hayden to Oakland. Those didn't bother me at all. So now, at 13, I'm hoping John Idzik will trade down a couple of slots. But as the draft clock ticked down to under two minutes, I realized that wasn't likely to happen. So both outside linebacker Jarvis Jones and tight end Tyler Eifert were available. I wanted one of these two and I would have been content with either of them. But I had a sick feeling with every quarterback still available that the Jets might go for the headline and draft Geno Smith. I wanted zero part of him. Commissioner Roger Goodell steps up to the podium. "With the 13th pick in the 2013 NFL draft, the New York Jets select..." And then, as I watched his lips stretch out across his face, I knew I was gonna be heartbroken.
"Sheldon Richardson, defensive tackle, Missouri." So let's recap this. This is the third straight year the Jets have taken a defensive lineman in the first round. And if you throw in Kenrick Ellis, he was a second rounder two years ago. But once again, they ignore the need for a young dynamic edge pass rusher! Why does this team never address that glaring need? Why?
So looking ahead, only one QB and no running backs have been taken. I'm fairly confident the Jets will address the offensive side of the football tomorrow. But I hope and pray they don't even think about picking a quarterback until at least the third round. This team needs a tight end, a wide receiver, at least one guard, and an offensive tackle too. And with the six picks they have left, I will be disgusted if those needs are not addressed. This offense was as bad as any Jet offense I have ever seen. We cannot go into next season with the same cast of characters, but with a different offensive coordinator. It doesn't work, as we discovered last year with Tony Sparano.
I'm not ready to call this a bust, but if I'm grading Day 1, I would give the Jets a C- and I'm being kind with that grade.
Oh and New England acquired four picks from Minnesota in exchange for their first round pick, giving them two second rounders and two third rounders tomorrow...it never ends.
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