Grading the Jets Draft; Gang Green Appears to Take Long-Term Approach to Draft With Short-Term Window to win

[JetNation]

It’s always silly to grade an NFL draft as soon as it ends solely from a talent perspective because as you know, three years is the standard time frame most allow before rendering a final verdict on the Jets draft or any other for that matter.  However, grading a draft with a heavy emphasis on the team’s approach seems more appropriate.

With that in mind, the Jets class can be best summed up with one word: Confusing.

For a team that just acquired quarterback Aaron Rodgers, the expectation was that the Jets would go all out to add players who were sure to start or at least see a significant amount of playing time.  In the end, they opted for a group of players that appeared to focus primarily on years that would go beyond the time Rodgers would be spending a 1 Jets Drive.

Did the Jets add some talented players with their selections?  Absolutely.  First round pick Will McDonald has the ability to be a force off the edge.  However, in the Jets scheme with heavy rotation, he’ll likely see fewer reps than he would on most clubs that tend to give their best players the vast majority of reps.  For McDonald, that’s unlikely.  Even still, for what he brings, one can understand the pick.

In round two it was center Joe Tippman out of Wisconsin who may start, but who may also spend the season behind veteran Connor McGovern, who was re-signed just days before the draft.  Even if the Jets give Tippman every chance in the world to win the starting job as a younger and more agile player, it’s far from out of the question to suggest McGovern could outplay the rookie and man the pivot.

There are a few centers in this class who have looked pretty impressive thus far. Top of my list at this point is Wisconsin's Joe Tippman. Consistently used to pull and blow up opposing defenders. pic.twitter.com/EU4V3GPBl4

— Glenn Naughton (@AceFan23) September 29, 2022

It was more of the same with their next choice as Pitt offensive tackle Carter Warren was taken with the 120th overall choice.  An adept pass blocker with great measurables, Carter would be a fantastic selection in most drafts.  But for the Jets, this isn’t most drafts.  They need players who are going to play from day 1.  As is the case with Tippman potentially sitting behind McGovern, Warren will likely sit behind Duane Brown unless he proves to be a quick study and outplays the 40-year-old Brown.

After Warren came what we believe is the Jets best pick of this class in Pitt running back Israel Abanikanda.  The explosive Abanikanda should see plenty of playing time with a chance to have a huge impact with his ability to score from anywhere on the field.

Want an explosive back who can do it all? Run, catch out of the backfield and block? You'll love @Pitt_FB running back Israel Abanikanda. pic.twitter.com/eqQrSQoG94

— Glenn Naughton (@AceFan23) September 22, 2022

Western Michigan linebacker Zaire Barnes was a fourth-round selection who will likely look to earn a role on special teams while the team acclimates him to the pro game with the hopes of him eventually becoming a starter.  But for this season?  It’s likely special teams and backup reps.

Sixth round choice Jarrick Bernard-Converse could surprise and earn some playing time in the secondary if the Jets give him a look at safety.  Prior to transferring to LSU where he played cornerback, Bernard-Converse played safety for Oklahoma State.

With their final pick the Jets snagged an athletic freak who, in time could be a very good player.  But again, for the short term will offer very little in Zach Kuntz.  The tight end out of old Dominion may be used as a 6′ 7” red zone target or big slot, but he’s still a raw player with a lot of work to do before he’ll be a starting NFL tight end.

In all, the Jets grabbed some very athletic and talented players, but there’s a better that you’d like chance of most of them spending a huge part of this season on the bench.  Not exactly what fans had in mind when the Jets opened up what will likely be a two-year window to win a Super Bowl with Aaron Rodgers under center.

Long-term planning for a short-term window?  That gets this class a C.

The post Grading the Jets Draft; Gang Green Appears to Take Long-Term Approach to Draft With Short-Term Window to win appeared first on JetNation.com (NY Jets Blog & Forum).

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[JetHammer]

Not sure they pick many guaranteed starters up round 4 onwards! Who did they pass on that could start?

Tippman has every chance to start c, line looks flexible. Still need a starting rt.

Like McDonald pick

[BornJetsFan1983]

Tall a out a bias view. I mean just take a nef slant on all picks. I mean you don't have to be all sunshine and rainbows about the picks but a pass rusher to ass to the rotation is good. He is going to play every game or at least have that opportunity. And our boy is going to be on the line, center probably. Also going to contribute from game 1. That's a win no matter your view on the other picks. Our biggest need was line depth and getting better pass rush. The eagles did exactly the same thing and they have the best draft known to any nfl commentator. It's just laughable.

 

The truth is we are going to have to win some games and do it more than one year before we stop getting this type of coverage. Whoever wrote this didn't think much of last year's draft either 

[Green Ghost]

I could’ve written this article myself.. in fact I’ve said everything in it the past three days. Great minds…. ?

[JETS SB]

Pretty much a terrible summary of the Jets draft. With the exception of the first round pick, who was a reach and likely a rotational player, every one of the Jets draft choices other than Kuntz, can and likely will see the field this season. Most of the players drafted are older, more experienced players, for a reason. Trading down twice in the later rounds was great, in that it allowed us to draft Izzy from Pitt and Bernard-Converse from LSU, both have clear paths to starting, considering the personnel we have and Breece’s rehab.  

Summing up the draft by saying we didn’t draft guys to fit into the Aaron Rodgers window is just misleading and frankly wrong. This is the 2nd write up in the last few days by Jet Nation that has been terrible.

Do better.  
 

I would say the Jets draft was a B. With day 3 being an A. Considering what we went into the day with and what we came out with. 
 

Would have liked to have seen a trade down in day 2. That would be my biggest issue. Having only one pick in the 2nd and 3rd rounds, was disappointing.  
 

Grades by day

Day 1 - B (Big upside pick)

Day 2 - C (Good pick, but would have traded down and picked JMS and maybe picked up a 3rd or 4th. Tippmann will easily beat out CMG, who will move to guard when AVT is needed in other positions or injury to any of the starters)

Day 3 - A (Excellent trade downs, solid talent in areas of need, big upside plus some experienced older, play now talent - IZZY and Bernard-Converse could play right away. 

Overall - B 

[JETS SB]

Glenn Naughton obviously is clueless as far as evaluating, as well. Izzy is purely a burst speed guy. Very few catches out of the backfield and not a good blocker. Very much a one dimensional speed, change of pace guy. I love him. I saw him in high school.  Great pick for where we drafted him. He is a kid that will see the field. But his description is absolutely misleading. 

Plus his analysis in the video, of the Jets draft, is pure “dumb ass”. “Dopey little podcasters”, as self described, is the only accurate part of that brutally long and boring summary. Wouldn’t be surprised if Naughton is the one who wrote this terrible summary. 

[doitny]

not sure what they wanted us to get. we lost out on the Tackle and WR was never going to get drafted . Davis and even Mims will surprise alot of us this year. there going from the worst QB in NFL history who has played more than 20 starts to one of the best of all time. thats going to make a huge difference for them. 

this draft was a depth draft for us. McDonald will be in the rotation. he will get about 10-15 snaps a game.

Mcg should start. i think they will want a vet to call out the line blocking. but as we have seen last year injuries will happen and i expect Tippman and Warren to play some.

the RB should see some time. 

Barnes and Converse are ST or PS. Kuntz is a PS guy. but that is to be expected. not many teams pencil in 4-7 rd picks to start day 1.

[Cyberjet]

You don’t change your draft strategy because of Aaron Rodgers. The draft is thecfoundation of your team and you never sacrifice that for short term success. Free agency if needed is where you interject immediate talent

[Jdub03]

My question is, honesty what did anyone expect? 

1. The 2022 D was top 5, and returning pretty much all players with the exception of a rotational DT. What player that could have been picked was a sure fire starter in that unit? 

2. What were the weaknesses of the 2022 O, and who could be a realistic day 1 starter?

  a) QB, which they addressed with Aaron. This was the biggest impact to our offensive performance. Zach, made it harder to evaluate the rest of the O, but ill try.

  b)OLINE, was decimated with injuries, and yet I think people aren't looking at the splits of how the unit looked with Zach vs. Any other Qb. If mememory serves me they performed as a top 12 unit when Zach didn't start, and that's with all injuries they saw. They signed add'l depth in FA, and drafted a high end Center, whom could start. They have plenty of flexibility with the interior of that line and AVT can play outside at a high-level if needed. What tackle was likely to start for us where we selected? Our options were only going to be a  developmental/swing year 1.

  c) WR, would it be nice to have another guy that can beat man to pair with GW, sure, but who was that guy? JSN was a slot only, (whom I like) but from what I've read about Hackett is he likes guys that can play inside/out, and bigger slots, since we'll be a run heavy team. 

  d) RB, we needed depth and we got it, and he has some explosiveness to him. With Breece coming back from injury, IA will have an opportunity for reps.

  e) TE, by all accounts this was a deep talented class, however, historically TE positions usually take a year or more to develop. We have two avg starters, and Ruckert whom we selected last year and I'm high on. We drafted a highly athletic move TE in Kuntz, whom doesn't need to start Day 1, but has the physical gifts to develop in a year or 2.

[chirorob]

After the 1st round, how often are you drafting guys expect them to start day 1?

"In the 4th rounder the Jets took a project, bath blah blah".  You're right, they should have drafted instant starters in the 4th and 5th round.

Anyone who doesn't think the Jets needed a center, and early, is delusional.

[neckdemon]

9 minutes ago, chirorob said:

After the 1st round, how often are you drafting guys expect them to start day 1?

"In the 4th rounder the Jets took a project, bath blah blah".  You're right, they should have drafted instant starters in the 4th and 5th round.

Anyone who doesn't think the Jets needed a center, and early, is delusional.

thats what i was thinking. this analysis is garbage

[Larz]

These headlines 

[New York Mick]

Outside of the top picks in the draft none of them are expected to be immediate starters. 

[faba]

You try to balance out your top pick expected to make immediate impact and others hope to develop into starters or depth pieces. Nothing wrong with that philosophy

[Larz]

“JD has a type “. That’s the headline 

[AFJF]

6 hours ago, JETS SB said:

Glenn Naughton obviously is clueless as far as evaluating, as well. Izzy is purely a burst speed guy. Very few catches out of the backfield and not a good blocker. Very much a one dimensional speed, change of pace guy. I love him. I saw him in high school.  Great pick for where we drafted him. He is a kid that will see the field. But his description is absolutely misleading. 

Plus his analysis in the video, of the Jets draft, is pure “dumb ass”. “Dopey little podcasters”, as self described, is the only accurate part of that brutally long and boring summary. Wouldn’t be surprised if Naughton is the one who wrote this terrible summary. 

Cheers to that, my guy.

Can't stand that snarky little prick.

[SickJetFan]

Seems to me what JD did most was create competition in certain position groups in effort to elevate groups

McDonald pick to lite fire under JJ and Huff ass to try and make 3 players better then simply drafting 1

Tippman >> Mcgovern, Colon

Warren >> Becton, Max

Izzy >> MC, Bam

Barnes >> Nas, Sherwood

and the other picks were chances to get athletes

plus all those UDFA's at WR, S, LB especially

 

[freestater]

Our first and second rounders will contribute immediately. I think that's the most you can ask of any draft. 

[JiFtheOracle]

How is this "long term planning" for a "short term window".  lmfao.  What was the expectation?  A starter in every round?  Silly.  They had 2 picks in the top 50.  You have to hit on those 2, the rest, are crap shoots.  To act like you know who is going to be good or not today who was drafted in the 4th round and beyond is laughable.  You have no idea and neither do these teams.  You're drafting and hoping at that point, not drafting knowing w/ confidence you just found an immediate starter.  

Fans felt it was a must to address OT and C - well, you got it and neither will be forced to start but both are arguably upgrades.  There is an old saying, you can never have enough pass rushers - well, the Jets got one of the freaks of the draft.  If he closing out games w/ sacks, you're not going to care that he only played 40% of the plays.  Being upset that most of these guys will be back ups or on the bench, shows an extreme misunderstanding of the draft. 

 

[FidelioJet]

The headline is accurate...

Which is also exactly the way Joe has been running the entire off-season, including FA....

It is very strange....

[AFJF]

6 minutes ago, JiF said:

How is this "long term planning" for a "short term window".  lmfao.  What was the expectation?  A starter in every round?  Silly.  They had 2 picks in the top 50.  You have to hit on those 2, the rest, are crap shoots.  To act like you know who is going to be good or not today who was drafted in the 4th round and beyond is laughable.  You have no idea and neither do these teams.  You're drafting and hoping at that point, not drafting knowing w/ confidence you just found an immediate starter.  

Fans felt it was a must to address OT and C - well, you got it and neither will be forced to start but both are arguably upgrades.  There is an old saying, you can never have enough pass rushers - well, the Jets got one of the freaks of the draft.  If he closing out games w/ sacks, you're not going to care that he only played 40% of the plays.  Being upset that most of these guys will be back ups or on the bench, shows an extreme misunderstanding of the draft. 

 

Bruh...All-Pro in every round obv!

[CSNY]

JD certainly didn’t draft like a GM who feels his job might be in jeopardy. Might not be the home run draft of the previous year but I think MacDonald will prove to be another Bryce Huff which is a good thing 

Potentially the Jets will have a pass rush we fans haven’t seen since the “Sack Exchange “ years and I for one am super excited about the upcoming season 

[AFJF]

12 minutes ago, freestater said:

Our first and second rounders will contribute immediately. I think that's the most you can ask of any draft. 

First rounder has the potential to have huge impact with limited reps.  That's fine.

Second rounder might start, but it's not a lock.

Not beyond the realm of possibility that a lot of these guys don't see much of the field in 2023.

For those who thought trading for Rodgers meant the Jets were going to try to win in a hurry, it's somewhat surprising.

For those who thought adding Rodgers would be treated as if it never happened, it's a home run draft.

[JiFtheOracle]

2 minutes ago, AFJF said:

Bruh...All-Pro in every round obv!

Is this your work?  Its your worst.  I thought you understood how the draft works, maybe not? 

[ECURB]

WTF do people want? The JETS are a good enough team that a round 5 player isn’t a DAY 1 starter and we complain? ???‍♂️

If every player rounds 1-7 was a day 1 starter there are bigger problems. I will be thrilled if none of them immediately earn top spot.

[Ghost420]

What a dog sh*t article. Repetitive bullsh*t.

[Ecuadorian Jet]

[slats]

McDonald will be a major piece of the DL rotation day one, how major will be up to him. A lot of people expected Lawson to be a cap casualty this year, but he’s still on the team because they are all in on the Rodgers window. He and Huff are in the last (or only) year of their deals. I expect JFM and Clemons to get more time inside this year now. 
 
Tippmann will almost certainly start; he’ll be given every opportunity to do so. AVT, Tomlinson, or even Rodgers can call the OL signals, that’s not the issue. Who the best center is will be. 
 
Fourth round OL very often see the field as rookies; see Mitchell, Max. The Jets dumped a RB they had just resigned before the draft, their young star is rehabbing his knee, and this kid runs a sub 4.3 40. He’ll see the field. Oh, and he has return ability. Nice addition in the wake of losing Berrios. 
 
Sixth and seventh round picks are competing for roster spots across the league and the Jets are no exception, but grabbing the LB and DB -two predraft needs- makes sense for depth, at least, this season. The TE is certainly developmental with high upside, not sure what else you’re looking for from pick 220. 
 
Folks were disappointed in this draft at the moment of their first round pick because they didn’t draft a tackle there, but I wasn’t. Fant is still available in FA, as are other OL. People forget that one of the reasons Rodgers joined this team is the defense. The defense improved in the first round, the OL improved in the second and fourth, and another weapon was brought in in the fifth. Sucks not having three first rounders, but you can’t have that every year. 

[Augustiniak]

7 minutes ago, ECURB said:

WTF do people want? The JETS are a good enough team that a round 5 player isn’t a DAY 1 starter and we complain? ???‍♂️

If every player rounds 1-7 was a day 1 starter there are bigger problems. I will be thrilled if none of them immediately earn top spot.

The reason the jets trade for rodgers, and why rodgers agreed to come here, was b/c the team had enough talent to contend.  

Douglas is learning how to draft.  You create pipelines for certain positions, like OT and edge.  Other positions, like rb, need constant reinforcements.  

Truth, i think the main issue anyone has with this draft is that they didn’t take a tackle that would start day 1.  For most fans and media types that was the one and only objective of the draft, after they got rodgers. Taking a center in round 2 who will start is considered far less important.  

[Augustiniak]

3 minutes ago, slats said:

Folks were disappointed in this draft at the moment of their first round pick because they didn’t draft a tackle there, but I wasn’t. Fant is still available in FA, as are other OL. People forget that one of the reasons Rodgers joined this team is the defense. The defense improved in the first round, the OL improved in the second and fourth, and another weapon was brought in in the fifth. Sucks not having three first rounders, but you can’t have that every year. 

Just wrote this.  For everyone it was all about a first round tackle, period.  Any other pick was going to be viewed as a fail.  Forget that the bears took wright, a slow footed RT, at #10.  The guy looks like Brandon shell.  That’s what a bad pick looks like

[C Mart]

I wonder why the draft picks have to sign 4 yr contracts?  Seems strange since this is saying there is a short term window.

 

[68JET11]

31 minutes ago, JiF said:

Being upset that most of these guys will be back ups or on the bench, shows an extreme misunderstanding of the draft. 

Good take...  I like it and feel the exact same way. Just because we got Rodgers doesn't mean that you don't keep feeding your team with players that WILL play. JD is filling this team by allowing us to let go of pricey FA's and finally getting us into the COMP pick game.

[T0mShane]

The biggest injury on the Jets last year wasn’t Breece Hall, it was Alijah Vera Tucker. The running game disappeared, and middle pressure spiked tenfold because it left Connor McPressure exposed.  In response, Douglas went out and signed two versatile, veteran interior lineman and spent 43 on a monster genius center (and McGovern as an emergency backstop). Middle pressure ****s up every QB, but especially the older guys who don’t want to move—look at Brady last year when he lost his OC1, OC2, and LG. In the Jets-Pack game last year where we blew them out, Quinnen Williams had seven pressures, two sacks, and another hit on Rodgers. I’m going to suggest that he sees having a plus-plus interior OL as being more important than upgrading the slot receiver position. 

[JiFtheOracle]

30 minutes ago, FidelioJet said:

The headline is accurate...

Which is also exactly the way Joe has been running the entire off-season, including FA....

It is very strange....

Of course you'd agree w/ this utter stupidity. 

Lets have fun w/ this.  Name me the team that stacked up on rookies, to make their small window title run.

 

 

 

 

[C Mart]

And another clown