After QB, Jets Have to Give Defense an Edge

[JetNation]

After trading up on St. Patrick’s day to put his team in position to draft a franchise quarterback in less than a week, year two of the New York Jets re-build appears to be coming along nicely for GM Mike Maccagnan.

Through free agency, Maccagnan has solidified his secondary by signing cornerback Trumaine Johnson and bringing back last year’s number one cornerback Morris Claiborne.  The receiving corps has been upgraded by adding Terrelle Pryor, and the addition of Avery Williamson means the Jets get younger and better at inside linebacker.  Spencer Long also offers an upgrade over Wesley Johnson at center where the Jets were a disaster last season.

Even with all of the upgrades made through free agency, the decade-long need for an edge rusher still remains, and whether it’s round 3 or round 7, the Jets have to find a player who is capable of, at the very least, providing consistent pressure off the edge.  So who could the Jets target to take on that role?  Here are a few possibilities.

Kemoko Turay, Rutgers: Turay was our projected Jets pick in our mock draft 2.0 and was also mentioned by Kristian Dyer of Metro as a defensive sleeper in this draft on last week’s episode of JetNation radio.  Turay’s numbers at Rutgers won’t jump off the page (14.5 sacks in 34 games), his film and measurable show an explosive player who has currently been mocked anywhere from early round 2, to late round 3.

Uchenna Nwosus, USC: Following a relatively quiet first few seasons at USC, Nwosu blew up in his senior year, picking up 9.5 sacks and 11.5 tackles for loss.  Having picked up the game during high school, Nwosu is still learning on the job and could become a mid-round option for the Jets.  NFL.com currently has him rated as a round 3 or 4 choice.

Hercules Mata’afa, Washington State: Mata’afa may be the most difficult projections in this class following a collegiate career in which the projected edge rusher was asked to line up as a 250 lb defensive tackle.  Mata’afa played at a high level, racking up 21 career sacks (10.5 in 2017) and is currently projected to be on the board in round 5.  Mata’afa’s relentless motor jumps out on film.

Kylie Fitts, Utah: An ultra-productive edge defender, Fitts will fall in this draft due to durability issues.  He missed large chunks of two different seasons in college but still managed to pick up an impressive 11 sacks and 14 tackles for loss in just 22 games.

Leon Jacobs, Wisconsin: Explosive traits make Jacobs a worth late-round project off the edge and his 4.48 40 at the combine opened plenty of eyes.

Joe Ostman, Central Michigan: Ostman’s level of competition will be brought in to question as a Central Michigan product, but his productivity is far too good to ignore.  While he picked up just five sacks over his first three seasons, Ostman piled on an impressive 21 sacks over the course of his final two years.  Much like Dylan Donahue, Ostman is a small school/high motor player who put up big numbers.  Ostman could be a day three selection.

With an upgraded secondary, an effective pass rusher becomes the second biggest need on Mike Maccagnan’s shopping list and there are a few options available at multiple spots throughout the draft.

 

 

 

 

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[Joe W. Namath]

Edge rushers arent found in the 3rd and 4th round.  Take a rb, receiver or a tight end.  All resources need to be spent on scoring tds.  

[Jetsfan80]

F*ck the defense.  Tell Bowles to figure it out with what he has.

O-Line, O-Line, O-Line, O-Line, O-Line.  Take 6 of em if you have to.  

[dbatesman]

It’s like people have never even heard of Lorenzo Mauldin

[T0mShane]

59 minutes ago, JetNation said:

After trading up on St. Patrick’s day to put his team in position to draft a franchise quarterback in less than a week, year two of the New York Jets re-build appears to be coming along nicely for GM Mike Maccagnan.

When you try to throw three sliders in a row in your lede and get away with it.

[Larz]

Pretty underwhelming group 

I think this team needs big uglies 

Oline or dline 

The Jets only have 6 dlineman under contract, it's a pretty good bet the pick here is dline 

[Philc1]

5 minutes ago, dbatesman said:

It’s like people have never even heard of Lorenzo Mauldin

Neither has the nfl

[Philc1]

1 minute ago, Larz said:

Pretty underwhelming group 

I think this team needs big uglies 

Oline or dline 

The Jets only have 6 dlineman under contract, it's a pretty good bet the pick here is dline 

Orlando Brown has to be the pick in round 3 if he’s there I doubt Beachum survives another full season

[T0mShane]

2 minutes ago, Larz said:

Pretty underwhelming group 

I think this team needs big uglies 

Oline or dline 

The Jets only have 6 dlineman under contract, it's a pretty good bet the pick here is dline 

Pretty sad how this organization has resisted pouring resources into the DL smh

[Larz]

1 minute ago, T0mShane said:

Pretty sad how this organization has resisted pouring resources into the DL smh

Did you miss the point intentionally or are you just off your game today? 

[dbatesman]

7 minutes ago, T0mShane said:

When you try to throw three sliders in a row in your lede and get away with it.

Here’s a question: how many years is the rebuild going to last? We’re in year two, but year two of how many? 

[dbatesman]

Just now, dbatesman said:

Here’s a question: how many years is the rebuild going to last? We’re in year two, but year two of how many? 

Put another way: at what point can Maccagnan be held responsible for actual wins and losses? 

[Philc1]

2 minutes ago, dbatesman said:

Put another way: at what point can Maccagnan be held responsible for actual wins and losses? 

After Woody mercifully sells the team

[JetFanatic]

It's gotta be on a C/G.  If Long goes down we're screwed.  We need someone reliable behind Long and his name is not Swanson.  Price, Ragnow and Daniels are the big 3 as far as this draft goes and it's unlikely that one falls to us in the 3rd but if one does then we have to draft him.

[T0mShane]

3 minutes ago, dbatesman said:

Here’s a question: how many years is the rebuild going to last? We’re in year two, but year two of how many? 

It depends which rebuild you’re referring to. This is v.2.5 I think. I’m not sure. I lost count.

[T0mShane]

4 minutes ago, dbatesman said:

Put another way: at what point can Maccagnan be held responsible for actual wins and losses? 

If you asked Chris Johnson to name the four teams in the AFCE, how many would he know?

[joewilly12]

DL with the exception of Williams JAGS..LB's all JAGS.........carry on. 

[joewilly12]

5 minutes ago, T0mShane said:

It depends which rebuild you’re referring to. This is v.2.5 I think. I’m not sure. I lost count.

The NY Jets have been rebuilding since 1969. 

[NoBowles]

16 minutes ago, dbatesman said:

Here’s a question: how many years is the rebuild going to last? We’re in year two, but year two of how many? 

 

16 minutes ago, dbatesman said:

Put another way: at what point can Maccagnan be held responsible for actual wins and losses? 

 

11 minutes ago, T0mShane said:

It depends which rebuild you’re referring to. This is v.2.5 I think. I’m not sure. I lost count.

 

10 minutes ago, T0mShane said:

If you asked Chris Johnson to name the four teams in the AFCE, how many would he know?

Has anyone in the history of message boards ever got so much out of so little material? It’s like 57,632 combined posts on 2 jokes

[Persiussa]

I’m all in on o-line. I’d consider taking 2 or 3 of them in this draft. 

[derp]

Only way I want EDGE considered this draft is if it’s an elite athlete. Josh Sweat if he’s there in the third for example. 

Given that hasn’t been Maccagnan’s MO with edge guys at all...would much rather go in a different direction. Offensive line or tight end would be ideal focal points for the round 3-5 range. I wouldn’t be surprised if another 5-tech ends up in the mix.

[varjet]

I think Mac has to pick the player in rounds 3-7 that he thinks will be the best player FOR THIS TEAM.  

I don't think that is a RB, because he just signed 4 of them.

It may not be a TE, since he drafted Legget last year and has a few others.

The Jets have many corners.  

The Jets have almost 20 WRS under contract, and just drafted 2 last year.  They tend to take awhile to develop.  I would not draft one of those.  

There are several Centers that would be upgrades, and teams tend to only draft those when they need them.  So it is realistic that a good C or G drops down to 3.

EDGE players are predicted to be available.  I have a tough time believing that, but we do pick at the top of the third round.  

Realistically, the Jets could use a OL, DL or EDGE that can make the team and be productive, maybe even start.  I would rather see one of those than a RB or CB that does not dress.   So I would go with a BPA in a Position of Need approach, which basically is at least half the position groups.  

[FidelioJet]

round 3-7 O-line!

[T0mShane]

On the topic of edge rushers, the Jets should offer a pick to Elway for Shane Ray. They haven’t picked up his option yet because he’s had injuries, but he’s got talent. 

[T0mShane]

19 minutes ago, NoBowles said:

 

 

 

Has anyone in the history of message boards ever got so much out of so little material? It’s like 57,632 combined posts on 2 jokes

#triggered

[NoBowles]

7 minutes ago, T0mShane said:

#triggered

Lol, you two crack me up

[dbatesman]

1 hour ago, Joe W. Namath said:

Edge rushers arent found in the 3rd and 4th round.  Take a rb, receiver or a tight end.  All resources need to be spent on scoring tds.  

Usually I’d agree with this, but if Sweat starts to drop, I’d be willing to trade back into the 2nd to get him. 

[Untouchable]

I’d still prefer OL at the end of the day.

Odds are a helluva lot higher that you can land a quality starter along the offensive line in the 3rd round than some 10 sack a year passrusher.

And protecting our young QB needs to take precedent over everything else. Period.

[ASH1962]

Yes give the idiot some more players to play out of position, leave after contract up, and excel somewhere else. I'm in.

 

[UnitedWhofans]

This particular draft is not a good one for pass rushers outside of Chubb. Arden Key was once projected in the first round but he has fallen down

[T0mShane]

1 hour ago, T0mShane said:

On the topic of edge rushers, the Jets should offer a pick to Elway for Shane Ray. They haven’t picked up his option yet because he’s had injuries, but he’s got talent. 

I just watched this highlight video and am now convinced we need to acquire Shane Ray.

 

[Jetster]

1 hour ago, JetFanatic said:

It's gotta be on a C/G.  If Long goes down we're screwed.  We need someone reliable behind Long and his name is not Swanson.  Price, Ragnow and Daniels are the big 3 as far as this draft goes and it's unlikely that one falls to us in the 3rd but if one does then we have to draft him.

I think it's highly likely one of those guys will drop to the top of the 3rd. Let's hope so. Daniels would be great value.

[Jetscreen]

The defense doesn't have an edge and it certainly isn't going to create one in this draft.

[T0mShane]

17 minutes ago, Jetscreen said:

The defense doesn't have an edge and it certainly isn't going to create one in this draft. Mac is just like democrats in this world. Democrats rob Peter just so they can pay Paul. Mac went all in at QB  just so he could neglect the OL and DL. How in the world are the Jets going to have a decent running game? How are they going to defend the run with this shell of a DL and undersized, little guy linebackers? The answer is they're not.

There’s some high level macro tucked into this post for you quants

[JohnnyLV]

3 hours ago, JetNation said:

After trading up on St. Patrick’s day to put his team in position to draft a franchise quarterback in less than a week, year two of the New York Jets re-build appears to be coming along nicely for GM Mike Maccagnan.

Through free agency, Maccagnan has solidified his secondary by signing cornerback Trumaine Johnson and bringing back last year’s number one cornerback Morris Claiborne.  The receiving corps has been upgraded by adding Terrelle Pryor, and the addition of Avery Williamson means the Jets get younger and better at inside linebacker.  Spencer Long also offers an upgrade over Wesley Johnson at center where the Jets were a disaster last season.

Even with all of the upgrades made through free agency, the decade-long need for an edge rusher still remains, and whether it’s round 3 or round 7, the Jets have to find a player who is capable of, at the very least, providing consistent pressure off the edge.  So who could the Jets target to take on that role?  Here are a few possibilities.

Kemoko Turay, Rutgers: Turay was our projected Jets pick in our mock draft 2.0 and was also mentioned by Kristian Dyer of Metro as a defensive sleeper in this draft on last week’s episode of JetNation radio.  Turay’s numbers at Rutgers won’t jump off the page (14.5 sacks in 34 games), his film and measurable show an explosive player who has currently been mocked anywhere from early round 2, to late round 3.

Uchenna Nwosus, USC: Following a relatively quiet first few seasons at USC, Nwosu blew up in his senior year, picking up 9.5 sacks and 11.5 tackles for loss.  Having picked up the game during high school, Nwosu is still learning on the job and could become a mid-round option for the Jets.  NFL.com currently has him rated as a round 3 or 4 choice.

Hercules Mata’afa, Washington State: Mata’afa may be the most difficult projections in this class following a collegiate career in which the projected edge rusher was asked to line up as a 250 lb defensive tackle.  Mata’afa played at a high level, racking up 21 career sacks (10.5 in 2017) and is currently projected to be on the board in round 5.  Mata’afa’s relentless motor jumps out on film.

Kylie Fitts, Utah: An ultra-productive edge defender, Fitts will fall in this draft due to durability issues.  He missed large chunks of two different seasons in college but still managed to pick up an impressive 11 sacks and 14 tackles for loss in just 22 games.

Leon Jacobs, Wisconsin: Explosive traits make Jacobs a worth late-round project off the edge and his 4.48 40 at the combine opened plenty of eyes.

Joe Ostman, Central Michigan: Ostman’s level of competition will be brought in to question as a Central Michigan product, but his productivity is far too good to ignore.  While he picked up just five sacks over his first three seasons, Ostman piled on an impressive 21 sacks over the course of his final two years.  Much like Dylan Donahue, Ostman is a small school/high motor player who put up big numbers.  Ostman could be a day three selection.

With an upgraded secondary, an effective pass rusher becomes the second biggest need on Mike Maccagnan’s shopping list and there are a few options available at multiple spots throughout the draft.

 

 

 

 

Click here to read the full story...

No, just no. We need as many players as we can get on offense. All of our resources should be dedicated to developing and PROTECTING our new young QB. Once we have achieved at least roster parity consider drafting defense again. Disagree 100% with the premised of this article. After QB OL is our biggest need followed by TE, RB and WR. Then defense.