Hard to Find Flaws in Jets Climbing up to Third Pick

[JetNation]

As is the case with any move made by any NFL GM nowadays, Mike Maccagnan’s seemingly brilliant move to secure the third overall pick in April’s draft has had its share of critics from fans who, apparently, haven’t had enough of the days of Mark Sanchez, Geno Smith, Ryan Fitzpatrick, and perhaps even Brooks Bollinger.

Then of course there are those members of the national media whose job it is to appear informed while repeating the same old boring criticisms of the Jets that they’ve worked so hard to recall and regurgitate.  Take for example, this gem from Bill Simmons, who, like most of his colleagues, has no idea how much the Jets have spent on the quarterback position (it’s $5.5 million) but shares with his followers that the number is $25 million.

So the Jets spent 25 million in 2018 cap space and gave up picks 37, 49 and a 2019 second to jump 3 spots and end up with Bridgewater, McCown and the 3rd best rookie QB in a polarizing hit-or-miss QB draft? I just want to make sure I have this straight.

— Bill Simmons (@BillSimmons) March 17, 2018

It almost seems like Simmons is angry about something here, but I suppose when you’ve been fired so many times that you make Ryan Fitzpatrick’s career look stable, you’ll find fault in just about anything, whether it’s based on fact or fantasy.

Despite some of the desperate attempts to make the move look like a bad one for the Jets, the facts surrounding it continue to dwarf the notion that this deal was the wrong one to make.  When you take in to consideration the need to move up, the timing of the deal, and yes, even the compensation provided, the trade makes sense from every possible angle.

The top complaint among those Jets fans who found fault in Maccagnan’s decision was the number of draft picks the team lost in the swap.  In giving up picks 6, 37, 49 and next year’s second rounder, it’s a net loss of three picks.  “How are they supposed to build through the draft if we’re giving away all of our picks”? is the question many are asking.  Well, here’s the good news, folks.

Each year, every NFL team is awarded one pick for each of the seven rounds of the NFL draft.  Since one of the picks the Jets surrendered (no. 49) was originally property of the Seattle Seahawks, the Jets, over the next two seasons, are on the books for 12 draft picks in total.  That’s exactly two fewer picks than they would have had if no trades had occurred.  To imply that going from 14 picks to 12 picks is somehow “giving away all of our picks” is preposterous.  Even including the Seattle pick, the Jets retain 12 of 15 picks.

Another point of contention appeared to be the timing of the deal.  “Why didn’t Maccagnan wait until draft day”? was being repeated by a few fans with little idea as to what’s going on.  The reason why Mike Maccagnan made this deal now has two parts.  First, he recognizes his team’s need for a franchise quarterback.  Secondly, he wants to keep his job.

Maccagnan is well aware of the fact that the division rival Buffalo Bills (and possibly the Miami Dolphins) were looking to leapfrog the Jets by getting in to the top five.  This move is a pre-emptive strike that prevents the Jets from missing out on one of the draft’s top three quarterbacks and compounding that mistake by having to face one of those quarterbacks twice a year.  Had Maccagnan waited until draft day, he may have been forced to give up next year’s first rounder and/or found himself out of work.. If Baker Mayfield or Josh Rosen landed with the Bills before the Jets were on the clock and impressed in 2018, Maccagnan would be out of the job with nobody to blame but himself.

Make no mistake, however.  Should Maccagnan bomb with whichever quarterback he opts for in April, he’ll still be looking for work, but at least he will have gone down swinging, rather than by sitting around and hoping for the best while his rivals would have likely been making bold decisions to keep the Jets in the cellar of the AFC East.

Click here to read the full story...

[Beerfish]

Well here is the Flaw.  There are two franchise QBs far ahead of the other prospects in he draft and we traded up to 3 at a high cost.

However that is just my opinion.  The jets obviously have at least one of Allen or Mayfield rated as high as the other two guys so in that sense the article heading is correct.

[kelly]

just an fyi.. we're Not done yet. we have to move up to #1 in order to make sure we get sam   

 

 

 

cheers ~ ~ 

[ZachEY]

It's really not hard to find flaws.  Trying to be optimistic, but not sure trading to get option 3 and/or hoping that option 1 or 2 slips is a flawless victory.

[New York Mick]

It depends on who they take

[JiFtheOracle]

That's because they havent drafted yet.

[dbatesman]

Leni Riefenstahl would be embarrassed by that column.

[Pennington]

Simmons is a loser Patriots fan that is always bitter when it comes to the Jets.  

[Joe W. Namath]

There is no flaw.  It was the only move to make and they made it.  It is the best thing we could have done.

[SAR I]

40 minutes ago, New York Mick said:

It depends on who they take

Bingo.  This.

You can't call this trade a win or a loss until we see how the draft shakes out.  If only 1 QB goes before we pick, it's a win, we get Darnold or Rosen.  If 2 QB's go before we pick, it's a win because we can take Barkely or trade out to someone else covets Barkley or stay put and take our chances with one of the 1A quarterbacks in Mayfield or Allen.

SAR I

[BurnleyJet]

Only Jet fan would complain about putting ourselfs in a postion to draft a Franchise QB. BTW there are 3 In this draft.

[ARodJetsFan]

1 hour ago, TeddEY said:

It's really not hard to find flaws.  Trying to be optimistic, but not sure trading to get option 3 and/or hoping that option 1 or 2 slips is a flawless victory.

The only we this decision turns out to be somewhat questionable, is if Darnold & Rosen go 1 & 2. If the first 2 picks go down any other way, the Jets come away looking pretty damn smart in my opinion.

And then even if this happens, the Jets still have Mayfield & Allen to choose from.

The way I see it, the Jets moved up to get one of the top 3 QB prospects in the draft and ultimately, that is going to happen.

[kelly]

52 minutes ago, New York Mick said:

It depends on who they take

agreed ! 

 

 

 

p.s. we gotta get sam   

[CTM]

3 minutes ago, ARodJetsFan said:

The only we this decision turns out to be somewhat questionable, is if Darnold & Rosen go 1 & 2. If the first 2 picks go down any other way, the Jets come away looking pretty damn smart in my opinion.

"if", sounds like you found the flaw 

[kelly]

4 minutes ago, BurnleyJet said:

Only Jet fan wood complain about putting ourselfs in a postion to draft a Franchise QB. BTW there are 3 In this draft.

agreed !.. btw,.. there are 2 in this draft    

[Warfish]

1 hour ago, TeddEY said:

It's really not hard to find flaws.

+1

Whole write-up is a bag of 's.

If we wind up with a Franchise QB from this draft, it's luck, not skill.

[ChuckkieB]

No flaws here whatsoever.  Jets fans (like myself) have been screaming from the rooftops for years for the Jets to do whatever is necessary to draft a blue chip QB, and after years of poor decision making and even poorer judgement, our flawed GM has finally put the team in a position to get at the very worst, the 3rd best QB prospect in this draft, and by most expert accounts, there is little separation between the top 4. 

No matter what happens and who we draft, this provides a ray of hope for this franchise that has been absent for a long time.  Enjoy this, Jets fans, and when our QB is finally picked, root like hell for him no matter who he is!!

[Beerfish]

7 minutes ago, BurnleyJet said:

Only Jet fan wood complain about putting ourselfs in a postion to draft a Franchise QB. BTW there are 3 In this draft.

That is up for substantial debate

[Jetsfan80]

Far too many people assuming this is a 2-QB draft.  Just a few weeks ago, Darnold was a turnover machine from a program that doesn't produce good QB's, and Rosen was an a$$hole with aspergers and is too smart for his own good.

Now, all of a sudden, those two are gods, and Baker Mayfield is a midget with no arm?  Come on. 

This isn't a 2-QB draft.  This might just be a 0-QB draft.  But staying put at 6 pretty much guarantees the Jets wouldn't even take a QB.  At least at 3, this team needs to take a stab at a franchise guy.  Putting Macc into that "QB or bust" box is exactly what we've been calling for for 4 years. 

Rosen, Darnold, Mayfield.  Take one of them and let's go. 

(Please don't take Allen)

[ARodJetsFan]

1 minute ago, Jetsfan80 said:

Far too many people assuming this is a 2-QB draft.  Just a few weeks ago, Darnold was a turnover machine from a program that doesn't produce good QB's, and Rosen was an a$$hole with aspergers and is too smart for his own good.

Now, all of a sudden, those two are gods, and Baker Mayfield is a midget with no arm?  Come on. 

This isn't a 2-QB draft.  This might just be a 0-QB draft.  But staying put at 6 pretty much guarantees the Jets wouldn't even take a QB.  At least at 3, this team needs to take a stab at a franchise guy.  Putting Macc into that "QB or bust" box is exactly what we've been calling for for 4 years. 

Rosen, Darnold, Mayfield.  Take one of them and let's go. 

(Please don't take Allen)

Well said - and I agree with you 100%.

[JoJoTownsell1]

Saw the the colts we're asking the Cardinals for multiple picks this year and next including next years #1. 

The bad news is the the trade just increased the value of the Giants pick at 2, but the good news is that it means the bills will have to pay a King's Ransom to move up to 2. 

[Scott Dierking]

58 minutes ago, dbatesman said:

Leni Riefenstahl would be embarrassed by that column.

I have to admit, that was just plain funny. 

[Scott Dierking]

In order to judge if there is a flaw, we don't have all of the information required:

How does Macc have his draft board stacked, and how does he feel in comparative terms, the qb prospects? Is he comfortable with his #3 qb prospect?

It is very premature to find fault in someone's plan, when you don't have the details of the plan.

Ultimately, the success will be determined on who is picked, and how their career pans out. As it should be. 

 

[ZachEY]

47 minutes ago, ARodJetsFan said:

The only we this decision turns out to be somewhat questionable, is if Darnold & Rosen go 1 & 2. If the first 2 picks go down any other way, the Jets come away looking pretty damn smart in my opinion.

And then even if this happens, the Jets still have Mayfield & Allen to choose from.

The way I see it, the Jets moved up to get one of the top 3 QB prospects in the draft and ultimately, that is going to happen.

The issue is that the "only way this decision turns out to be somewhat questionable" is the most likely scenario.  Hoping that the Giants take a RB/WR or a Guard at 2 is great, but do we really see it happening?  Frankly, I think what this does is it gives the Giants the option of drafting Rosen, or getting 3 1st rounders for him from the Bills or Cardinals.  Perhaps a bit less from Broncos or Jets.

You're correct, the Jets do get one of the top 3 prospects, and that is good.  The problem is that there are 2 prospects that project much higher than the 3rd and 4th, and we're not there.

[Scott Dierking]

2 minutes ago, TeddEY said:

The issue is that the "only way this decision turns out to be somewhat questionable" is the most likely scenario.  Hoping that the Giants take a RB/WR or a Guard at 2 is great, but do we really see it happening?  Frankly, I think what this does is it gives the Giants the option of drafting Rosen, or getting 3 1st rounders for him from the Bills or Cardinals.  Perhaps a bit less from Broncos or Jets.

You're correct, the Jets do get one of the top 3 prospects, and that is good.  The problem is that there are 2 prospects that project much higher than the 3rd and 4th, and we're not there.

How do you know that Mac views this as a 2 qb class? By your own analysis?

[ZachEY]

1 minute ago, Scott Dierking said:

How do you know that Mac views this as a 2 qb class? By your own analysis?

I have no idea what the guy who drafted Christian Hackenberg thinks of this class.  I know what the metrics that have proven reliable in the past suggest.  Maybe Mac thinks Brandon Silvers is the #1 prospect, still doesn't mean that there is 'no flaws' in the trade.

[UntouchableCrew]

I mean whether the trade is a success of a failure won't be known for sure for a couple of years most likely, and we won't even have any idea until the draft.

But the chance to draft a franchise altering QB is the single most important opportunity a team in the NFL can have. It's absolutely worth the risk.

[prime21]

The past is the past.  Bad moves, bad signings, stupid wins. etc etc.  We did what we had to do to be in a position to pick a potential franchise QB. This is what we have been clamoring for.  Get a franchise QB.

[sciond]

The trade doesn't scare me. The jets ability to draft the right QB and develop him does..... The fear is the second coming of Hack

[Joe W. Namath]

1 minute ago, UntouchableCrew said:

I mean whether the trade is a success of a failure won't be known for sure for a couple of years most likely, and we won't even have any idea until the draft.

But the chance to draft a franchise altering QB is the single most important opportunity a team in the NFL can have. It's absolutely worth the risk.

This is wrong.  Its the right move even if we take a bum.  We need to get one of these guys and we have guaranteed ourselves that.

If the guy we pick sucks, we need to do this again in 3 years and keep doing it until we get our guy.

[IndianaJet]

56 minutes ago, Jetsfan80 said:

Far too many people assuming this is a 2-QB draft.  Just a few weeks ago, Darnold was a turnover machine from a program that doesn't produce good QB's, and Rosen was an a$$hole with aspergers and is too smart for his own good.

Now, all of a sudden, those two are gods, and Baker Mayfield is a midget with no arm?  Come on. 

This isn't a 2-QB draft.  This might just be a 0-QB draft.  But staying put at 6 pretty much guarantees the Jets wouldn't even take a QB.  At least at 3, this team needs to take a stab at a franchise guy.  Putting Macc into that "QB or bust" box is exactly what we've been calling for for 4 years. 

Rosen, Darnold, Mayfield.  Take one of them and let's go. 

(Please don't take Allen)

This guy gets it.....

[UntouchableCrew]

2 minutes ago, Joe W. Namath said:

This is wrong.  Its the right move even if we take a bum.  We need to get one of these guys and we have guaranteed ourselves that.

If the guy we pick sucks, we need to do this again in 3 years and keep doing it until we get our guy.

No, if we draft a guy who is a bust the trade was a failure. That's indisputable. I still think it was worth the risk, as I highlighted in my post. But saying the trade was a success regardless of outcome is obviously silly.

[dcJet]

2 hours ago, Beerfish said:

Well here is the Flaw.  There are two franchise QBs far ahead of the other prospects in he draft and we traded up to 3 at a high cost.

However that is just my opinion.  The jets obviously have at least one of Allen or Mayfield rated as high as the other two guys so in that sense the article heading is correct.

That doesn't have to be true.  The Jets can have the 3rd guy rated somewhat below the other 2 but still high enough to be considered a legit starter.

[ZachEY]

3 minutes ago, UntouchableCrew said:

I mean whether the trade is a success of a failure won't be known for sure for a couple of years most likely, and we won't even have any idea until the draft.

But the chance to draft a franchise altering QB is the single most important opportunity a team in the NFL can have. It's absolutely worth the risk.

The point is, if the trade works out for us it will be because:

1) The Giants and/or Browns don't take a QB

2) The Giants and Browns do take a QB but their one or both of their scouting fails and they take the wrong one

3) The Giants and/or Browns don't trade out to one of the many teams rumored to be interested

4) Three QBs in this draft turn out to be good

As @Warfish states, it's luck.  There's no situation in which the Jets identify their top QB and ensure that they get him, yet, at least.

It all very well may work out, I'm not saying it won't, in fact.  But, I do strongly disagree with this overarching point of this Baghdad Bob/Sarah Sanders fluff piece.

[UntouchableCrew]

1 hour ago, Jetsfan80 said:

Far too many people assuming this is a 2-QB draft.  Just a few weeks ago, Darnold was a turnover machine from a program that doesn't produce good QB's, and Rosen was an a$$hole with aspergers and is too smart for his own good.

Now, all of a sudden, those two are gods, and Baker Mayfield is a midget with no arm?  Come on. 

This isn't a 2-QB draft.  This might just be a 0-QB draft.  But staying put at 6 pretty much guarantees the Jets wouldn't even take a QB.  At least at 3, this team needs to take a stab at a franchise guy.  Putting Macc into that "QB or bust" box is exactly what we've been calling for for 4 years. 

Rosen, Darnold, Mayfield.  Take one of them and let's go. 

(Please don't take Allen)

Exactly. We can only hope and pray we get the right guy, but the situation is what we wanted -- get our guy and go all in on him.