" the jets’ new man seems to have a plan " ~ ~ ~

[kelly]

 — Beyond their personalities and pedigrees, there seems to be another significant difference between Mike Maccagnan and his predecessor as the Jets’ general manager, John Idzik.Maccagnan has a strategy to restore the Jets to prominence and has a keen sense of how to execute it.Aggressive in free agency, when he upgraded the secondary by luring Darrelle Revis and Antonio Cromartie back to One Jets Drive, Maccagnan approached the draft with equal decisiveness.He said the Jets would take the best player available, and they did, snatching defensive end Leonard Williams of Southern California, even if it meant buttressing what was already the strongest part of the team.

 

Maccagnan said he wanted to trade back to add more picks, and he did, swapping third-rounders with Houston to gain two extra selections on Saturday.He said he would mine the draft for value, and he did, choosing the hybrid defensive end Lorenzo Mauldin of Louisville, a potentially chaos-causing edge rusher, in the third round and, on Saturday, trading up a spot to select quarterback Bryce Petty of Baylor in the fourth.“You find a point in the draft where you feel like the risk is worth it,” Maccagnan said.

 

Idzik was averse to risk in his two drafts, making only one trade — for the veteran running back Chris Ivory — and keeping all 12 of his picks last season. The Jets have not received much production from their recent drafted players — one Pro Bowl selection, Sheldon Richardson, since 2007 — and Idzik’s missteps in that area precipitated his departure in December and prompted Woody Johnson, the team’s owner, to hire Maccagnan, a longtime scout, as his replacement.

 

After taking over in January, Maccagnan met with the new coach, Todd Bowles, and his staff to gauge what kind of players they needed to run their systems. That guided him as he overhauled the scouting department. He and the scouts discussed the player-evaluation process, with Maccagnan wanting to know what Bowles and his staff looked for and what they prioritized. They watched hours of film together to make sure they viewed prospects the same way.

 

From his time working in Houston, where he conducted studies on projecting the success of 3-4 outside linebackers, Maccagnan recognized the importance of adding not just talented players, but also players who fit the scheme. Bowles said Mauldin was a prime example.“The tenacity this guy plays with and the toughness he brings,” Bowles said, “he was perfect for us right at the time we took him.”

 

The Jets are still determining whether quarterback Geno Smith, Idzik’s most prominent pick, remains a part of their future, and whether this draft is eventually considered a success could hinge on Petty. The Jets liked him so much — and were so fearful that another team might leap them — that they moved up one spot with Jacksonville to secure him.Across his last two seasons, Petty threw for 61 touchdowns and 8,055 yards, but at this stage he resembles Smith when Smith came out of West Virginia — a prospect who needs time to learn progressions and reads after playing in a spread system. At Baylor, Petty never once called a play inthe huddle.

“It’s all about the person,” Petty said. He added: “Being in another offense is part of the game. I want to master that system, just like I mastered what we did in college.”The Jets have been impatient with Smith, but there is no urgency, perceived or otherwise, for Petty to make an immediate transition to an N.F.L. offense. He can afford to study the playbook and listen to Chan Gailey, the offensive coordinator, and watch Smith and Ryan Fitzpatrick, who will compete in training camp for the starting job.

 

Smith opens as the favorite, and if he does start Sept. 13 against Cleveland, he will be throwing to the best collection of receivers a Jets quarterback has had in some time, a group that gained a dose of serious speed with the arrival of Devin Smith. Drafted 37th over all, he averaged 37.9 yards on his 30 touchdown catches for Ohio State — “the productivity was kind of rare,” Maccagnan said — and his ability to stretch the field has earned comparisons to the Vikings’ Mike Wallace.Complemented by the new acquisition Brandon Marshall and the incumbents Eric Decker and Jeremy Kerley, Devin Smith should improve a passing offense that has finished 30th or lower the last three seasons.

 

The last time the Jets selected a fleet receiver in the second round, in 2012, that player, Stephen Hill, proved little more than a one-dimensional downfield threat who did not even catch the passes thrown his way. By the time he was released last summer, Hill was little more than a decoy.To succeed in the N.F.L., Devin Smith must run every route. He cannot always rely on his speed. From scouting him in workouts and at the Senior Bowl, Maccagnan came away impressed by his hands and his physical skills, and he said he was satisfied with the routes Smith ran at Ohio State.

 

After the draft ended, Maccagnan said he was glad it was over but pleased with his haul: six players, and two more — running back Zac Stacy (St. Louis) and receiver DeVier Posey (Houston) — acquired in trades.Whenever people praise Maccagnan for how he has transformed the Jets so far, he thanks them. He also reminds them that the Jets are undefeated, but also winless.“It doesn’t mean a lot right now,” he said recently, but it is a promising start.

 

> http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/03/sports/football/the-jets-new-man-seems-to-have-a-plan.html?ref=football&_r=0

[kelly]

Jets part ways with director of pro personnel, five scouts

 

The Jets got good marks for coming away from the draft with players like defensive lineman Leonard Williams and wide receiver Devin Smith, but they still decided to make changes to their scouting department when the three days of picks came to an end.

 

The Jets announced that they have fired director of pro personnel Brendan Prophett and college scouts Rick Courtright, David Hinson, Cole Hufnagel, Chris Prescott and Seth Turner.“I appreciate their contributions to the organization and wish them the best in the future,” General Manager Mike Maccagnan said in a statement.All six of the men were holdovers from previous regimes and Maccagnan, hired this offseason, will be restocking the organization with his choices for the jobs.

 

The Jets previously parted ways with former General Manager Terry Bradway and Jeff Bauer, two senior members of the scouting department, but teams often hold onto scouts they plan to let go through the draft to keep their own plans from leaking to other teams.The Jets have hired Brian Heimerdinger and Rex Hogan for prominent roles under Maccagnan and there will likely be other additions in the near future as they restaff their front office ahead of the 2015 season.

 

> http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2015/05/04/jets-part-ways-with-director-of-pro-personnel-five-scouts/

 

[kelly]

maccagnan..

 

video :

>  http://www.newyorkjets.com/videos/videos/Maccagnan-Recaps-Drafts-Final-Day/8ba7d0b9-bb52-489f-84fb-ebb1ef0e0154

[kelly]

A better-late-than-never edition of the New York Jets' notes :

 

1. Magic Mike : Take a bow, Mike Maccagnan.Maccagnan did a fantastic job in his first draft as the Jets' general manager, and it wasn't because of the players he picked. Let's be honest: No one knows for sure how any of the 256 drafted players will perform in the NFL. Day-after evaluations of the GM should be based on how he managed the draft: Was he aggressive? Did he pick value over need? Was there a plan? In Maccagnan's case, the answers are yes, yes and yes.This is what I liked about the Jets' draft: Instead of trying to get cute and trade down, Maccagnan accepted his lucky break and picked highly-regarded defensive end Leonard Williams even though it wasn't a need. He knew the choice would have long-term implications for Muhammad Wilkerson, but he didn't blink.Unlike his predecessor, John Idzik, Maccagnan didn't sit on his hands. He actually got on the phone, talked to other teams and made moves -- what a concept. He made three trades, moving down (for picks and wide receiver DeVier Posey), moving up (for quarterback Bryce Petty) and dealing a pick for a player (running back Zac Stacy). That's called being proactive, not reactive.Maccagnan didn't operate in a vacuum; he knew what was happening in other draft rooms. That came up in the fourth round, when his intel was revealing that other teams -- namely the Cleveland Browns -- were trying to move up for the fourth pick in the round (held by the Jacksonville Jaguars) to take a quarterback, presumably Petty. Not wanting to take any chances, he surrendered a seventh-round pick to jump one spot, grabbing a possible quarterback of the future.

 

Here's another way to view the draft : When Maccagnan was hired in January, he inherited six draft picks. (The Jets were shy one pick because of the Percy Harvin trade.) He parlayed those picks into six drafted players, plus wide receiver Brandon Marshall, Posey and Stacy.

 

A veteran performance by a rookie GM.

 

2. Four is not tops :  If Petty becomes a good quarterback in the league, it will defy a 10-year trend.Historically, the fourth round is a wasteland for quarterbacks. You have to go back to 2005 to find a fourth-round quarterback who amounted to anything -- Kyle Orton. From 2006 to 2014, it was bleak. Not one of the 11 quarterbacks chosen in that span has started more than nine games.Get a load of this list: Logan Thomas, Tom Savage, Matt Barkley, Ryan Nassib, Tyler Wilson, Landry Jones, Kirk Cousins, Mike Kafka, Stephen McGee, Isaiah Stanback and Brad Smith, who became best known as a non-quarterback/gadget player for the Jets.There's a remarkable dropoff between the second/third rounds and the fourth round. Since 2011, quarterbacks drafted in the second and third rounds have a better record, a higher Total QBR and more than double the playoff wins than their first-round counterparts, according to ESPN Stats & Information.

 

3. The Bryce is right ( or is it ? ) : Opinions on Petty are all over the map. NFL Network draft analyst Mike Mayock said Petty "might be the most natural thrower of the football in this draft," but he added that he's not ready to play immediately. One AFC personnel executive told me, "It will be a process for him. He's had limited drop-back quarterback play in traditional offensive sets. The windows will be smaller and the reads a lot tighter" in the NFL.Petty's stats and metrics in Baylor's spread offense were crazy good, but there was one number that wasn't so good. Pro Football Focus, the stats-based website, did a breakdown of the top 20 quarterbacks in the draft. In the throwing "under pressure" category, Petty posted a 60.3 accuracy percentage, which ranked only 15th.

 

4. It's Mo's town, but for how long ? Because of the Williams pick, Wilkerson's long-term future will be the subject of speculation throughout the season. Let's face the salary-cap reality: The "Sons of Anarchy" defensive line probably won't be together beyond 2015.Nose tackle Damon Harrison is No. 1 on the likely-to-leave list because he's an unresticted free agent in 2016. Barring a long-term deal, the Jets can keep Wilkerson (signed through 2015) by exercising the franchise tag next year. It would be costly -- the tag amount this year for defensive ends is $14.8 million -- but not prohibitive. The combined cap numbers in 2016 for Wilkerson,Richardson & Williams would be about $22 million.For a league-wide perspective, let's look at the St. Louis Rams, who are loaded on the defensive line with Robert Quinn, Chris Long and Aaron Donald. Their entire line has a league-high cap charge of $47.6 million in 2015. So, yes, it's possible, especially if you're not paying a franchise quarterback.

 

5. Be flexible, coach : Todd Bowles said he has no plans to junk his 3-4 defense to accommodate Williams. In my opinion, if you have four really good defensive linemen, it's up to the coach to change the plan. Good coaches tailor the scheme around the personnel.

 

6. Deep thoughts on Mr. Smith : The Jets are convinced that Ohio State wide receiver Devin Smith, picked in the second round, can be more than a vertical target. Another team gathering pre-draft intel on Smith called the Ohio State football office to find out why Smith wasn't more of a factor on underneath and intermediate passes.The word that came back was that he "doesn't have the zone instincts to be a good route runner," a source said. That might explain why 54 percent of Smith's targets last season came on throws of 20-plus yards. The source added, "He's a one-trick pony ... but he's pretty good at that one trick."Smith tricked his way to a 28-yard average last season. The good thing about the Jets' situation is that Marshall and Eric Decker can handle the underneath stuff. Smith will have a year to polish the rest of his game while contributing what he does best ... go deep.

 

7. Zac attack : The Jets will pick up the final two years of Stacy's contract, only $585,000 and $675,000. It makes him their only running back signed beyond 2015. This was a low-cost addition, but I'm not sure what he adds to the backfield other than depth. He rushed for 975 yards as a rookie in 2013, but he's not a breakaway threat. In 326 career carries, he has yet to break a run longer than 40 yards.

 

8. Don't keep mom waiting : We had some interesting conference calls with the Jets' draft picks. There was linebacker Lorenzo Mauldin, who was overcome with emotion upon realizing a lifelong dream amid a life of extreme hardship. (He has spent time in 16 foster homes.) Then there was guard Jarvis Harrison, who seemed rather disinterested as he was questioned by reporters. After several clipped answers, he was asked about his mother's reaction to him being drafted."She's calling me right now," he said. "That's why I'm trying to hurry up."

 

9. He needs to get out more : The TV in the Jets' media room was showing the Kentucky Derby when Maccagnan and Bowles were leaving their post-draft news conference on Saturday. They stopped to watch the home stretch. Maccagnan didn't know it was the derby and that it was the first leg of the Triple Crown. Now that's a man consumed by his job.

 

>   http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york-jets/post/_/id/51141/sunday-notes-rookie-gm-mike-maccagnan-handles-draft-like-a-grizzled-vet

[kelly]

Bryce Petty was the fifth quarterback selected in the NFL draft. He rates a little higher than that based on his Wonderlic score.

 

The Wonderlic test, a 50-question exam administered at the scouting combine in February, is used by teams as a guideline to measure a player's intelligence. It's not always an accurate reflection of smarts, but it is a useful tool, especially when evaluating quarterbacks.In case you're wondering, the average score for a quarterback reportedly is 24, which happened to be Geno Smith's score in 2013.

 

Petty's mental capacities will be put to the test as he attempts to learn a new offensive system, one that differs greatly from the pure spread offense he operated at Baylor. Of course, a book-smart quarterback doesn't always translate success on the field. Otherwise, former Jet Greg McElroy (score: 43) would be in the middle of a Pro Bowl career.

 

A look at the seven quarterbacks drafted this year :

 

Sean Mannion (third round, St. Louis Rams) -- 40

Marcus Mariota (first round, Tennessee Titans) -- 33

Bryce Petty (fourth round, New York Jets) -- 31

Jameis Winston (first round, Tampa Bay Buccaneers) -- 27

Brett Hundley (fifth round, Green Bay Packers) -- 26

Garrett Grayson (third round, New Orleans Saints) -- 20

Trevor Siemian (seventh round, Denver Broncos) -- N/A

 

Quarterbacks that didn't get drafted: Cody Fajardo (31), Shane Carden (25), Connor Halliday (22), Anthony Boone (20).

 

> http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york-jets/post/_/id/51157/jets-draft-pick-bryce-petty-a-smart-cookie-and-hell-have-to-be

[kelly]

Mike Maccagnan's shakeup of the Jets' scouting department reportedly continues to move forward.

 

Word got out Monday that Maccagnan, the Jets' general manager, had fired director of pro personnel Brendan Prophett, plus five scouts. Such moves are common just after the NFL Draft for first-year GMs. Bears GM Ryan Pace made a similar move on Tuesday by not renewing the contract of Marty Barrett, the team's director of college scouting, according to the Chicago Tribune.And while it's certainly not a done deal, but Barrett already appears to be headed to the Jets, according to Alex Marvez of Fox Sports :

There's an obvious connection here: Barrett had spent 18 years with the Bears, the last three as their director of college scouting. And one of Maccagnan's first hires back in January was Rex Hogan, whose official title with the Jets is senior director of college scouting. Hogan had been a Bears scout for nearly a dozen years.If Barrett were to be hired, it's not clear exactly what sort of role he would have with the Jets.

 

A native of Amherst, N.Y., Barrett had been a Bears scout since 1997. Before that, he spent three years as a scout for the Saints. In both roles, his responsibilities included the west coast. Prior to that, Barrett was at Rutgers as the assistant to the athletics director/football operations, plus as spell as a graduate assistant/defensive backs for the Scarlet Knights.

 

Barrett began his career as an assistant coach at a number of small colleges, including his alma mater, the University at Buffalo, where he set 14 school records as a quarterback and was later inducted into the university's Hall of Fame.

 

> http://www.nj.com/jets/index.ssf/2015/05/good_chance_jets_could_hire_ex-chicago_bears_scout.html

[kelly]

Mike Maccagnan has received nearly universal praise for the moves he has made in his first four months as Jets general manager. From bringing Darrelle Revis back to the way he handled the draft last week, Maccagnan has been hailed as a franchise fixer by Jets fans.But now he faces a tougher test than free agency or the draft presented. How does he handle the Muhammad Wilkerson situation  ? When the Jets drafted Leonard Williams in the first round Thursday, it immediately cast some doubt on Wilkerson’s long-term future with the team.

 

The Jets now have a crowded defensive line with Wilkerson, Williams, Sheldon Richardson and Damon Harrison. Wilkerson is entering the final year of his contract and is seeking a long-term deal. The defensive end currently is skipping the team’s voluntary workouts as a protest. The thought before Thursday was the Jets would sign Wilkerson before training camp. Now? There may be less urgency to do so. Should Maccagnan trade him? Should he franchise tag him in 2016 ? “Right now, Muhammad is on our team and we’re not actively trying to shop Muhammad,” Maccagnan said Thursday night, “so at this point he’s part of us and obviously at some point in time we are going to talk to him and his agent and kind of proceed forward.”

 

The Jets reached out to Wilkerson after the draft to let him know they still wanted him. Like most negotiations, this is now going to be about dollars. How much is Wilkerson looking for and how high are the Jets willing to go? CBS Sports reported Wilkerson is looking for $40 million guaranteed. By comparison, Texans star J.J. Watt, who plays the same position, received $51 million in guaranteed money in a deal he signed last year.Maccagnan was with the Texans at the time, but he was not involved in contract negotiations. One thing from his time in Houston that may be in the back of Maccagnan’s mind, though, is Jadeveon Clowney. Everyone has hailed Williams as a can’t-miss pick that was the best player in this draft. People said the same thing about Clowney last year and he had a disappointing rookie season for the Texans. They are prospects for a reason, no one really knows how they will play.

 

Wilkerson is a proven commodity. He earned second-team All-Pro honors two years ago and has been one of the team’s best players over his four years here.Two league sources said if they were the Jets, they would still sign Wilkerson this spring as long as his contract demands are not crazy. One pointed out the Jets are not paying a franchise quarterback and Darrelle Revis is the only player making big money on the team for the next few years.There is a thought the Jets can’t afford to tie up too much money on the defensive line. But one league source said Maccagnan should not be worrying about that right now. Richardson is under contract for three more years. Williams won’t see a payday for four or five years. If they have to let Harrison leave as a free agent next year, nose tackles can be found.

 

Jets coach Todd Bowles is creative enough to find a way to get everyone playing time.“You can never have enough D-linemen,” Bowles said. “I’ve had a bunch of D-linemen in Dallas when I was there too, so having a lot of good football players doesn’t matter. I think everyone on the D-line has to learn how to play across the board in our scheme anyway, so having him added to the mix just makes us better.”If the Jets and Wilkerson can’t reach a deal, the team could let him play out this season and then make a decision next year whether to re-sign him, franchise tag him or let him walk as a free agent. The idea of trading him after applying the franchise tag that has been floated would be extremely complicated and seems unrealistic.

 

“Magic Mike” Maccagnan has made all the right moves so far, but how to handle Wilkerson is his toughest challenge yet.

 

> http://nypost.com/2015/05/04/maccagnans-biggest-challenge-comes-in-muhammad-wilkerson/

[GREENBEAN]

Good reads.  Thanks

[kelly]

Good reads.  Thanks

 

you're welcome !

 

 

cheers ~ ~

 

 

 

 

~ ~ ~  saw  this..

 

They drafted them, now they have to sign them, which is no big deal.Because of the rookie cap and slotting system, the chore of signing draft picks isn't as complicated as it used to be. Things should go smoothly for the New York Jets, who selected six players. Their rookie pool is expected to be $6.6 million, according to Overthecap.com.

 

Fans tend to get too caught up in the overall salary-cap status of the team, but this should provide a pretty good idea of where things stand.The six-man draft class will eat up $4 million in actual cap space. You subtract $2.6 million (the $435,000 minimum salary multiplied by six picks) from the $6.6 million pool, because these rookies will be replacing other minimum-salary players in the top 51.The Jets have $10.2 million in cap space. Do the math, and they will have about $6.2 million in space after the draft class is signed. That should allow them enough flexibility to sign free agents and/or perhaps extend some of their own players, Muhammad Wilkerson being the most high-profile candidate.

 

The projected 2015 cap charges for the draft picks :

 

First round: Leonard Williams -- $3.4 million

Second round: Devin Smith -- $1.1 million

Third round: Lorenzo Mauldin -- $628,000

Fourth round: Bryce Petty -- $571,000

Fifth round: Jarvis Harrison -- $493,000

Seventh round: Deon Simon -- #453,000

 

> http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york-jets/post/_/id/51165/new-york-jets-rookie-pool-projection-6-6-million-for-six-picks

[kelly]

saw this..

 

~ ~ Top five undrafted free-agent signings after 2015 NFL Draft

 

These are rankings of the five best undrafted free-agent signings that should pay dividends for both the player and their new squad. The five might not be the best players signed since the end of the draft, but they have the opportunity to forcibly break into their respective teams' locker rooms.

 

~ ~   3. New York Jets  : TE Wes Saxton (South Alabama)

 

This athletic tight end should have been South Alabama's first-ever draftee, given his athleticism and junior year production (50 catches, 635 yards). His lack of touchdowns (zero in 2013 and 2014) and regular production in 2014 (20 catches, 155 yards) due to injuries cost him some love from scouts and general managers, however. No team needed Saxton's potential more than the Jets; if Jace Amaro can live up to his second-round draft status in his second year and Saxton makes strides, the Jets' quarterback (whoever he might be) will be the beneficiary.

 

rest of above article :

> http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000491134/article/top-five-undrafted-freeagent-signings-after-2015-nfl-draft

[kelly]

Best and most worrisome picks of the 2015 NFL Draft

 

The NFL draft's return to Chicago got a thumbs-up -- and, after all that hype, Tennessee finally traded down.

 

 

 

OK, so maybe the Titans waited a day to do it. On Day 1, of course, the team stuck with Marcus Mariota despite the fact they likely could have received multiple first-round picks, players and probably a sweet chuck wagon, to boot, in exchange for the second overall pick. Will the Titans be glad they went with the quarterback come Week 1, when they open the season at Jameis Winston's Tampa Bay Buccaneers ? That remains to be seen. But then, the same could be said of all the picks made over the past three days. Let's get real: Assessing the quality of a team's draft class takes time. The accepted span used to be three years, although with the player movement and short coaching tenures that have come with the salary-cap era, perhaps a decent report can be produced after two seasons. Making judgments an hour after the draft is a bit trickier, but we'll do our best.

 

What follows is an off-the-cuff eval of what we saw league-wide, spotlighting the seemingly smart moves and questionable decisions of the 2015 NFL Draft. While, again, we should provide these teams and players with some time, we can say today that a handful of organizations did a better job filling needs than others. And some picks -- like the one that turned a 311-pound kid from Hobart into the first Division III player to be drafted in 19 years -- made the whole experience fun.

 

So without further ado, let's look at the best and most worrisome picks. Feel free to share your take ... @HarrisonNFL is the place.

 

Best pick (first round)

 

 

Leonard Williams, DE, drafted sixth overall by the New York Jets. I freaking loved this pick. Was the defensive line already a strength for the Jets? Uh, yep. Does it matter? No. New York wasn't going to get a quarterback unless it moved up, and frankly, Gang Green needs to give Geno Smith a longer look, anyway. So the Jets took arguably the very best player on the board. This isn't unprecedented; Minnesota had two 1,000-yard receivers in Cris Carter and Jake Reed in 1998, but that didn't stop the Vikings from scooping up Randy Moss with the 21st overall pick. Going BPA will never go out of style.

 

 

~ ~ Other picks I liked

 

~ Third round: Lorenzo Mauldin, OLB, drafted 82nd overall by the New York Jets. Will he ever be a Pro Bowler? Maybe not. But every team needs high-character guys who won't quit. Given how strong New York is in the front seven, Mauldin doesn't have to be the man. On a different note, Mauldin grew up in 16 foster homes. So there will be approximately zero NFL people not rooting for him.

 

 

~ ~ Drafts I liked

 

~ New York Jets: They didn't reach on a quarterback, waiting until the fourth round to add Bryce Petty. Defensive end Leonard Williams, meanwhile, was an incredible value buy at sixth overall. Wideout Devin Smith can develop behind Eric Decker and Brandon Marshall. Linebacker Lorenzo Mauldin fortifies an intimidating front seven. The only thing shorter than these sentences are the yards per carry opposing running backs will get. I wouldn't anticipate much from Petty this year. If Geno Smith falters, Ryan Fitzpatrick, and not the rookie, will be driving the bus. Heck, the Jets will only need to score 17 points per game to win this year anyway.

 

rest of the above article :

> http://www.nfl.com/draft/story/0ap3000000490538/article/best-and-most-worrisome-picks-of-the-2015-nfl-draft

[kelly]

Jets sign fifth-round pick Jarvis Harrison

 

The New York Jets have signed the first of their six draft selections.The team announced Wednesday they have signed fifth-round pick Jarvis Harrison to his rookie contract.Per NFL rules, it’s a four-year contract for the former Texas A&M offensive lineman. All draft picks are signed to four-year deals with first-rounds picks having an option year in the contracts for a fifth season.

 

Harrison was the 152nd overall pick of last week’s draft. He started at least five games every season for his four seasons at Texas A&M, making 38 games in all for the Aggies at three different positions on the line but mostly at left guard.

 

The Jets rookie mini-camp takes place this weekend.

 

> http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2015/05/06/jets-sign-fifth-round-pick-jarvis-harrison/

 

[kelly]

New Jets WR DeVier Posey more than just a Houston throw-in

 

General managers get attached to certain players, especially players they drafted. Such is the case with Mike Maccagnan and wide receiver DeVier Posey, the newest veteran in the New York Jets' receiving corps.

 

Posey produced very little during his three years with the Houston Texans -- he was a healthy scratch in 15 games last season -- but it was no secret that he was a Maccagnan favorite.Maccagnan was the Texans' director of college scouting in 2012, when they picked Posey in the third round despite a senior year in which he caught only 12 passes at Ohio State. He served a pair of five-game NCAA suspensions for selling memorabilia and accepting money he didn't earn at a summer job, but his skill set intrigued Maccagnan.

 

And it still does. The Jets acquired Posey last Friday night when the two teams swapped third-round picks."It will be an interesting thing when you get him in this environment, a different grouping of players, to see how he performs and responds," Maccagnan said. "He did well when I was down there. I always thought from an ability and potential standpoint, it was a very low cost, potentially good return for the change of scenery and the investment in him."

 

The cost wasn't that low, however. You could argue that Maccagnan paid too much. Consider : In exchange for the 70th overall pick, the Jets received the 82nd pick (third round), 152nd pick (fifth round), 229th pick (seventh round) and Posey. Using the draft-pick value chart as a guide, which most teams do, Posey is the equivalent of a late fifth-round pick. That balances the trade in terms of the point values.

 

That may not seem like much, but, remember, the Jets traded a fifth-round pick for Brandon Marshall -- a seven-time,1,000-yard receiver.And the Chicago Bears threw in a seventh-rounder,to boot.Posey has only 22 career receptions and no touchdowns. He displayed promise at the end of his rookie year, 2012, but he suffered a torn Achilles tendon in a playoff game. He made it back to catch 15 passes in 2013, but he was stuck on Bill O'Brien's bench last season. In other words, Posey hasn't produced more than 15 catches in a year since his junior season in college, 2010.

 

At best, Posey will be a No. 5 receiver, although it should be noted that he has experience in the slot. Maybe he can push Jeremy Kerley for playing time. In three seasons, Posey has run 96 pass routes from the slot and 178 from the outside, according to ESPN Stats & Information.For Maccagnan, whose stated hope was to accumulate additional picks throughout the draft, Posey was more than just a throw-in to the trade. Considering the price, he'd better do something.

 

> http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york-jets/post/_/id/51200/new-jets-wr-devier-posey-more-than-just-a-houston-throw-in

[#27TheDominator]

2. Four is not tops :  If Petty becomes a good quarterback in the league, it will defy a 10-year trend.Historically, the fourth round is a wasteland for quarterbacks. You have to go back to 2005 to find a fourth-round quarterback who amounted to anything -- Kyle Orton. From 2006 to 2014, it was bleak. Not one of the 11 quarterbacks chosen in that span has started more than nine games.Get a load of this list: Logan Thomas, Tom Savage, Matt Barkley, Ryan Nassib, Tyler Wilson, Landry Jones, Kirk Cousins, Mike Kafka, Stephen McGee, Isaiah Stanback and Brad Smith, who became best known as a non-quarterback/gadget player for the Jets.There's a remarkable dropoff between the second/third rounds and the fourth round. Since 2011, quarterbacks drafted in the second and third rounds have a better record, a higher Total QBR and more than double the playoff wins than their first-round counterparts, according to ESPN Stats & Information.

 

 

>   http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york-jets/post/_/id/51141/sunday-notes-rookie-gm-mike-maccagnan-handles-draft-like-a-grizzled-vet

 

I really don't get all this 4th round wasteland hype.  Thomas, Savage and Nassib are firmly in the still developing phase. Brad Smith was drafted as a WR.  Cousins certainly showed some promise at some point.  Barkley and Jones are not  fully proven duds yet either.  Sure there haven't been many QBs taken there that have succeeded, but I don't see the issue with 4th vs. 3rd, 5th or 6th. Obviously, 3rd is inflated by Wilson and 6th by Brady.

[kelly]

When Bucky Brooks graded all 32 teams for their 2015 NFL Draft hauls, he identified seven whose exceptional rookie classes were worthy of an "A" mark. Here's what he had to say about the teams that stood out from the rest :

 

~ ~ NEW YORK JETS: General manager Mike Maccagnan must be praised for his astute management of the draft board last weekend. The first-time decision maker showed exceptional discipline and poise while acquiring blue-chip talent throughout the draft. Landing Leonard Williams was certainly an unexpected event, but taking the best player available could help the Jets field a dominant defense for the next five years. With Lorenzo Mauldin also coming on board as a third-round pick, Gang Green fortified its top unit with smart drafting. Second-round selection Devin Smith gives the Jets' aerial attack a vertical stretch receiver. His speed and explosiveness will open up the field for Brandon Marshall and Eric Decker, while giving Geno Smith a big-play option on every play. Bryce Petty will not compete for the starting QB job in 2015, but matching the Baylor standout with a creative play designer (Chan Gailey) could pay off for New York down the road. GRADE : A

 

rest of above article :

>   http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000491802/article/2015-nfl-draft-grades-bears-texans-falcons-earn-high-marks