Back in February the Jets appeared to be in a good position with the number four pick in this years draft. The Texans would take Bush, the Saints would take Young or Leinart, the Titans would take whoever the Saints didn’t pick, and the Jets would have their choice between Cutler and Ferguson. Oh if only life in the NFL were that easy.
Now the Jets number four pick seems less than desirable for their needs. When the Saints signed Drew Brees the Jet front office must have simultaneously said, “OH (Fill in the expletive).” Currently the Jets find themselves in quite a pickle with their position in this year’s draft.
The baby face duo of Tannenbaum and Mangini are going to be out to prove to the NFL world that even though they are young, they still have the football knowledge to make quality personnel decisions. This should scare the bejesus out of Jet fans, for this franchise has never been known for making the savviest decisions on draft day with EXPERIENCED general managers.
Obviously now that the Saints have Brees they don’t really need another quarterback. Then again Brees is coming off shoulder surgery so it certainly wouldn’t hurt to take either Vince Young or Matt Leinart as an insurance policy. The Saints might also be thinking with a banged up quarterback maybe it would be best to take Ferguson to provide better protection. Either way they are going to play this out like they are going to take a QB to get the best compensation for their number two pick.
The Jets are just in an awful position. If Mangini learned anything from the Patriots front office it should have been that a team shouldn’t draft a QB in the first round. They can always be found somewhere else in the draft at better value (like uh what’s his name, uh Tom Brady).
Mangini also should have learned a skill the Patriots seem to have mastered over the years. That skill is trading down higher picks to obtain more picks in the draft. That way the team can acquire more players and more importantly the type of players they are looking for.
I have no idea if Leinart or Young will be as successful in the NFL as they were in college. There is no way for any of us to know this. What we do know for certain is that neither of these players have the can’t miss talent that Peyton Manning has. To me if the Jets are not 100% sold on a guy then they shouldn’t take him. I don’t care how much pressure the front office is getting from the fans. If they have to talk themselves into taking one of these guys then he obviously is not what they are looking for.
Here is what I think the Jets should do:
1.) Trade up and take Ferguson at #2: The Saints are going to milk their situation for all its worth. “Ferguson or Leinart, what shall we do?” The Jets will probably have to trade their 4th, 29th, and 35th picks to acquire the Saints pick, but the Jets offensive line is in desperate need of some help. Ferguson would be able to step in right away and would probably be the anchor of that line for many years to come.
Even if the Jets are torn between Ferguson and Leinart they still give themselves a choice. By the time their pick comes around neither will probably be there.
2.) Trade away the pick: I don’t know who is looking to climb the latter that high. Maybe the Vikings would so they could get Cutler or Young. Either way I think it would be more beneficial to trade down and acquire more picks in the draft. Yes, Mario Williams would be a great help on defense, but right now the Jets biggest questions are on the offense.
3.) Stay at four and take Cutler: I am 100% against the Jets taking a quarterback in the first round. I think they need to see how Pennington recovers because he is plenty capable of winning football games. Everyone seems to forget that the Jets are a totally different team when he is in the game. When healthy Pennington has the leadership and the drive to win as many games as anyone in the league.
Everyone is high on Cutler and people have been comparing him to Brett Favre. If it came down to Leinart or Cutler, I’d take Cutler. Look what Cutler did with the supporting cast around him at Vanderbilt. Imagine what he would have done at USC with Reggie Bush and Co.
4.) Take Mario Williams: This guy would fit perfectly into Mangini’s 3-4 scheme. He would replace John Abraham as the past rushing end that the Jets covet and need in the 3-4. Really this is a smart pick for the Jets, I just wouldn’t do it. Again, I believe their biggest questions marks are on offense and those need to be answered first.
The Jets have a lot of decisions to make with a team that is clearly in the rebuilding process. For their franchise and their fans they can only hope that either everything works out in their favor or they make the best decisions to fix their team. Either way the draft should prove to be a pivotal step for Tannenbaum and Mangini to prove that they are going to turn this franchise around.