2014 The Draft that set up back 3 years!

[32EBoozer]

www.espn.com/jets

Jets still haunted by 2014 NFL draft failure -- a .083 batting average

 

Safety Calvin Pryor, the Jets' first-round pick in 2014, lasted just three seasons in New York. The 2014 draft is one most Jets fans would like to forget. Brad Penner/USA TODAY Sports

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A look at what's happening around the New York Jets:

1. Swing and a miss: It's the (gag) gift that keeps on giving (agita).

We're talking about the 2014 NFL draft, arguably the worst in Jets history. When offensive lineman Dakota Dozier signed recently with the Minnesota Vikings, it left the Jets with only one player from the '14 draft -- wide receiver Quincy Enunwa.

One out of 12 picks.

Five years after the Idzik 12 -- the general manager at the time was John Idzik -- the Jets still are feeling the impact of that lost draft. If they had hit on, say, six out of 12, they would have a nice group of core players and they wouldn't be reliant on free agency to plug holes. But instead of pulling off a watershed draft, Idzik & Co. watered down the roster. The Jets' record since then is 28-52.

 

The Idzik 12

Under former GM John Idzik, the Jets drafted 12 players in 2014. Only two are currently on NFL rosters:

RD.	PLAYER, POS.	NFL GAMES
1	Calvin Pryor, S	38
2	Jace Amaro, TE	17
3	Dex McDougle, CB	31
4	Jalen Saunders, WR	15
4	Shaq Evans, WR	0
4	Dakota Dozier, OL	37
5	Jeremiah George, LB	37
6	Brandon Dixon, CB	19
6	Quincy Enunwa, WR	40
6	IK Enemkpali, LB	17
6	Tajh Boyd, QB	0
7	Trevor Reilly, LB	37

The draft started on a bad note, as then-coach Rex Ryan unsuccessfully lobbied Idzik to trade up for wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. Maybe it was bad karma, because it got progressively worse over the three-day draft.

The 2014 draft, which was loaded with talent, has produced 27 Pro Bowl players, according to Pro Football Reference. Of the 256 players selected, 115 have started at least one season. Only two Jets picks are on that list -- Enunwa and safety Calvin Pryor, who washed out after being chosen No. 18 overall.

Here are a few more factoids about that ill-fated '14 draft:

• Only two of the 12 (Enunwa and Dozier) are currently on NFL rosters, but that isn't the most staggering part. This is: Eight of the 12 picks were out of the league last season.

• Eleven of the 12 have been cut at least once. Many have forgotten, but Enunwa was actually waived by the Jets as a rookie and added to the practice squad, where he began his journey to the starting lineup. All told, the 12 picks have been cut 44 times by 20 different teams. The leaders: Cornerback Dexter McDougle, linebacker Jeremiah George and cornerback Brandon Dixon each have been cut six times. The only unscathed player is Dozier, who left via free agency.

• Only one of the 12 was cut after punching a teammate in the face -- linebacker IK Enemkpali (see: Geno Smith).

The Jets managed to mine some talent from '14 the second time around, signing linebackers Avery Williams (2018) and C.J. Mosley (2019) as free agents. It just cost them a lot more money than it would have the first time.

2. Mini-mock draft 1.0: The Jets have the No. 3 overall pick for the second year in a row. The previous time they had top-five picks in consecutive years was 1980-1981, when they selected wide receiver Lam Jones and running back Freeman McNeil, respectively.

The Jets drafted quarterback Sam Darnold at No. 3 in 2018. This year? Well, let's go to the crystal ball for the top three picks.

Arizona Cardinals: Kyler Murray, QB. The Cards already have a quarterback (Josh Rosen) and Murray already had a professional career (baseball), but why let that stuff get in the way of a draft-day marriage? I happen to believe Murray will be Baker Mayfield, except faster.

2019 NFL DRAFT

When: April 25-27
Where: Nashville, Tennessee
How to watch: ABC/ESPN/ESPN App

• Complete draft order: Picks 1-254 »
• Picking draft needs for all 32 teams »
• Complete draft order: Picks 1-254 »
• In-depth stories on the top prospects »
• Kiper's 'Grade: A' three-round mock »
• McShay's 'Grade: A' three-round mock »
• Two-round mock drafts: Kiper vs. McShay »
• More NFL draft coverage »

San Francisco 49ers: Nick Bosa, DE. The recent trade for outside linebacker Dee Forddoesn't mean the Niners are out of the edge-rusher market. It would be a surprise if they take defensive tackle Quinnen Williams, although some believe he's the cleanest player in the draft.

Jets: Williams, DT. Personally, I would take linebacker Josh Allen because he fills a bigger need, but general manager Mike Maccagnan believes in best-player-available. Williams is an elite prospect whose only negative, if you could call it that, is that he was a one-year star in college. Maccagnan can't afford to screw this up, so he'll go with the safest pick even though it makes more sense to pick an edge rusher. He won't have to make the decision if he trades the pick, which is a possibility.

3. Quinnen, freaky beast: Leonard Williams has worked out this offseason at the Mamba Sports Academy in the Los Angeles area. So has Quinnen Williams (no relation). They've talked a little bit, and Leonard likes what he sees and hears.

"He's a freak," Leonard said. "I've seen him. He's fast, and he's big and strong. The tape doesn't lie. He's a beast."

Williams said Quinnen has a "childlike" personality, but he meant that as a compliment. He described the Alabama product as humble and wide-eyed despite his tremendous success in college.

"He was kind of fanning over me a little bit," Leonard said. "He was like, 'Oh, what's up, man?' He was trying to take a picture with me. I thought it was so funny because I remember being in that position."

4. Sleeper at QB: I've heard intriguing reports on the Jets' new quarterback, Brandon Silvers, who played most recently with the Memphis Express of the now-suspended Alliance of American Football. He's a natural passer with excellent lower-body mechanics. He throws a nice "go" route. As one AAF coach said, "This guy moves the ball and scores points."

Silvers, who began the AAF season behind former Jets bust Christian Hackenberg, was slowed by a pulled oblique muscle. Once he got healthy, he put up some respectable numbers -- 777 yards, four touchdowns and one interception in three starts. Let's go back to college: In his final year at Troy University (2017), he beat LSU in Death Valley -- and that's not easy to do.

Silvers, who also drew interest from the Vikings and Jacksonville Jaguars, joins Trevor Siemian and Davis Webb as Darnold's backups. They're not going to keep four quarterbacks (been there, done that), so the competition should be keen.

 

The Jets never really knew what to do with Tim Tebow. And when they had ideas, they never used them. Steven Bisig/USA TODAY Sports

5. Tebow remembers Gase: The Jets hired coach Adam Gase in large part because of his expertise with quarterbacks. His first high-profile student was Tim Tebow, a Denver Broncos rookie in 2010. Gase also was Tebow's position coach in 2011, when Tebow Mania was born and the Broncos made the playoffs. Funny, but Gase never mentions Tebow when he lists the quarterbacks he has mentored.

Anyway, I caught up with Tebow the other day in Syracuse, New York, for a story about his baseball career, and he had some good things to say about the Jets' new coach.

"He's a really nice guy," Tebow said. "He's very passionate. He loves football. He's all-the-time football, just football, football, football. He cares about his players. I really enjoyed that about him. He's open to doing it different ways. He learned a lot then. I can only imagine now how much more he's picked up. He just soaked in all sorts of different concepts, from Mike Martz to all these different systems. He's such a football guy."

6. The year he'd like to forget: This was my first interview with Tebow since his one and only season with the Jets (2012), which turned into a disaster for all parties. The team traded for Tebow with the idea of making him a multi-purpose weapon, mainly a Wildcat quarterback, but they never executed the plan. The entire Tebow experiment was an embarrassment for the franchise and it effectively ended his NFL career. When asked about that year, Tebow made it clear he didn't want to go there again.

"It was a very interesting year, a lot of highs and lows," he said. "Obviously, I don't think it went the way anybody had hoped. I think I learned a lot from it, on a personal level, handling things.

"It was very interesting," he added, revealing a smile that said what his words didn't.

[T0mShane]

4 minutes ago, 32EBoozer said:

The draft started on a bad note, as then-coach Rex Ryan unsuccessfully lobbied Idzik to trade up for wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. 

Literally no one believes this happened, but I’m sure this is the story Rex likes to tell people 

[Barry McCockinner]

At least we have macagnan now

[RobR]

It was just as bad in 2015 and 2016. That's why we have $100+ mil too spend in free agency every other year.

[genot]

4 minutes ago, RobR said:

It was just as bad in 2015 and 2016. That's why we have $100+ mil too spend in free agency every other year.

Your funny.

[RobR]

1 minute ago, genot said:

Your funny.

You're

[genot]

Just now, RobR said:

You're

You're living in fantasy land. 12 picks, one average WR. That was the best pick he ever made.

[IndianaJet]

If we didn't have a such a bad draft in 2014, we would have never had a chance to draft Sam last year.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

[genot]

10 minutes ago, RobR said:

You're

Do you remember Idzik's free agent signings. Goodson. Dimitri Patterson. Eric Decker,Percy Harvin, Giacomini. His free agent signings are just as bad as his draft picks.

[RobR]

13 minutes ago, genot said:

You're living in fantasy land. 12 picks, one average WR. That was the best pick he ever made.

Have you looked at our 2015 draft. Mac pulled that off when he held the 6th overall pick who ironically is the only player Ieft on our team. The rest of that class is already out of the league. 

Then 2016 started off with the one-two punch of Lee and Hack.

Edit too add: I think the 2014 class might be the worst ever in our history.

[Pac]

Idzik is without a shadow of doubt the worst thing to happen to the Jets since Kotite was named the head coach.

Completely wasted 11 picks in a loaded draft.  Unbelievable.

[T0mShane]

Just for kicks, let's go back and look at the three players picked after the Jets picked in 2014 to see what Idzik whiffed on, SHALL WE?

Rd 1:

18. Calvin Pryor--Bust, obv

19. JuWuan James--Bust

20. Brandin Cooks--Good player with a miserable catch percentage currently on his third team

21. Ha Ha Clinton Dix--Green Bay gladly let him walk. You'll recall Rex saying of the choice between HaHa and Pryor that he "picked the guy who will knock your head off."

 

Rd 2. 

49. Jace Amaro--Bust, obv

50. Jeremiah Attaochu--Journeyman backup who may till be on the Jets(?)

51. Ego Ferguson--Didn't last two seasons in the league

52. Troy Niklas-- Has been in the league for four years and has 19 receptions

 

Rd 3. 

80. Dexter McDougle--Miss, obv

81. Gabe Jackson--Very solid OL. 

82. Will Sutton--Out of the league

83. Louis Nix--Out of the league

 

Rd. 4

104. Jalen Saunders--Miss, obv. Dominating in Canada, however

105. Bryan Stork--Out of the league

106. Bruce Ellington--A decent #4 receiver/punt returner who's bounced around

107. Justin Ellis--Rotational interior DL on the Raiders

Rd. 4

115. Shaq Evans--Miss, obv

116. Keith McGill--Special teams player

117. Ka'Deem Carey--Out of the league

118. Martavis Bryant--The guy Jets fans screamed about for two years but they don't anymore because he's suspended for life

 

Other luminaries taken directly after the Jets picks:

138. Lorenzo Taliafero

139. Prince Shembo

140. Cameron Fleming

155. Arthur Lynch

156. Lamin Barrow

157. Shaquille Richardson

196. Walt Powell

197. Demetri Goodson

198. Garrett Scott

211. Jay Prosch

212. Marquis Flowers

214. Garrett Gilbert

215. Dan McCullers

216. Andre Hal

234. Terrence Fede

235. Shelby Harris

236. Jeff Janis

[Spoot-Face]

Boy, when you read that it really puts things into perspective. Kinda makes you grateful for that immense haul we got just a year later.

[T0mShane]

4 minutes ago, Pac said:

Idzik is without a shadow of doubt the worst thing to happen to the Jets since Kotite was named the head coach.

Completely wasted 11 picks in a loaded draft.  Unbelievable.

Ya totes loaded

[BROOKLYN JET]

Horrible organization.

[Spoot-Face]

Wouldn't it be cool if Cimini wrote a story like this critiquing the draft picks of, like, a GM who's still actually making picks for this team?

[genot]

Just now, RobR said:

Have you looked at our 2015 draft. Mac pulled that off when he held the 6th overall pick who ironically is the only player Ieft on our team. The rest of that class is already out of the league. 

Then 2016 started off with the one-two punch of Lee and Hack.

 

Devin Smith and Mauldin we're reasonable selections at the time. they weren't reach's. It's not the GM's fault they couldn't stay healthy. Lee isn't a bust, and had a 1st rd grade from every scout. Hack was a terrible pick. In every way. Terrible. Jordon Jenkins is better than anybody Idzik ever drafted. Including Enunwa. This isn't a defense of Mac. It's more about the comparison of him to Idzik. If the only thing Mac did was trade that 7th rounder for Henry Anderson. That would trump anything Idzik ever did for the Jet's

[T0mShane]

It's actually breathtaking how shtty that draft was overall. The Raiders (Mack, Carr, Gabe Jackson), Rams (Donald, Lamarcus Joyner) and Cowboys (Zack Martin, Demarcus Lawrence, Anthony Hitchens) were the only teams that didn't trip over their own dicks

https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/2014/draft.htm

[Beerfish]

Idzik, shed bad players and contracts, picked up compensatory picks and ACTUALLY drafted olineman.  His draft was indeed terrible.  He got turfed as he should have been because of the bad drafts.  He actually had a plan though unlike our current gm,

The awful thing is mccagnans are not much better.

[genot]

1 minute ago, Beerfish said:

Idzik, shed bad players and contracts, picked up compensatory picks and ACTUALLY drafted olineman.  His draft was indeed terrible.  He got turfed as he should have been because of the bad drafts.  He actually had a plan though unlike our current gm,

The awful thing is mccagnans are not much better.

What trades or free agent signings did Idzik make, that improved the Jets as a team. Please tell me.

[RobR]

30 minutes ago, T0mShane said:

20. Brandin Cooks--Good player with a miserable catch percentage currently on his third team

Good overall post but Cooks already has over 5000 yards receiving since he's been drafted and is still 25yo. That one pick alone would have atoned a bit for that sh*tty Idzik draft.

[Patriot Killa]

35 minutes ago, Pac said:

Idzik is without a shadow of doubt the worst thing to happen to the Jets since Kotite was named the head coach.

Completely wasted 11 picks in a loaded draft.  Unbelievable.

So does that mean you think Mike Maccagnan is the best thing since Todd Bowles?

[BurnleyJet]

The Idzik Shill T0m Shane hard at work I see ? 

[Jet_Engine1]

1 hour ago, genot said:

Your funny.

His funny? No, MY funny!

[dbatesman]

Thank goodness we don’t have drafts like that anymore

[Jet Life]

The Idzik 12! Man he sucked. Sadly for us, Macc can’t draft either 

[Creepy Lurker]

51 minutes ago, genot said:

Do you remember Idzik's free agent signings. Goodson. Dimitri Patterson. Eric Decker,Percy Harvin, Giacomini. His free agent signings are just as bad as his draft picks.

Harvin was a trade. 

[Creepy Lurker]

45 minutes ago, Pac said:

Idzik is without a shadow of doubt the worst thing to happen to the Jets since Kotite was named the head coach.

Completely wasted 11 picks in a loaded draft.  Unbelievable.

Did you forget someone?

[genot]

Just now, Creepy Lurker said:

Harvin was a trade. 

I stand corrected. A trade that didn't help the Jet's.

[Creepy Lurker]

Just now, genot said:

I stand corrected. A trade that didn't help the Jet's.

Panic move. 

[genot]

1 minute ago, Creepy Lurker said:

Panic move. 

Do you remember Patterson. Signed as a free agent, then disappeared during training camp. Nobody could explain what happened to him. It was like he was abducted by aliens.

[Jet Life]

3 minutes ago, Creepy Lurker said:

Harvin was a trade. 

Forgot about that trade. Weren’t we already like 1-6 when it happened? So stupid 

[Creepy Lurker]

5 minutes ago, genot said:

Do you remember Patterson. Signed as a free agent, then disappeared during training camp. Nobody could explain what happened to him. It was like he was abducted by aliens.

It was very bizarre. 

[genot]

2 minutes ago, Creepy Lurker said:

It was very bizarre. 

And Goodson. Plays two games for us, then gets busted on drug and gun charges. Got busted with a lot of drugs.

[RobR]

14 minutes ago, genot said:

Do you remember Patterson. Signed as a free agent, then disappeared during training camp. Nobody could explain what happened to him. It was like he was abducted by aliens.

I feel the same way about Lee except he was drafted and has been on our roster for three years.