First, I obviously hated the idea of taking Safeties with the first two picks and nothing has changed in that regard. Its not even anything against Marcus Maye, the kid is a good football player and I'm well aware of the fact that I could be singing a different tune if this turns into Earl Thomas and Kam Chancellor, which is obviously what Mac & Bowles had in mind. If that wasn't what they envisioned with these two picks, there's no way in hell they would have done this, no matter how stupid you think they are or aren't.
So if that happens, then I'll be eating some serious crow and I'll have plenty of company at that dinner table, and make no mistake about it, I'm not one of those guys who would rather be right if its bad for the team that I root for. I would be thrilled if the backend of this defense turns into the LOB 2.0, but IMO thats what has to happen for this to make sense, otherwise it was a dumb, ill conceived idea and a poor allocation resources (i.e. draft picks), especially with guys like Sid Jones, Dalvin Cook and two stud TE's (Everett & Shaheen) still on the board, all of whom went off the board quickly after we selected Maye within the next six picks. But again, if this turns into Thomas & Chancellor then I'll gladly take my crow well done, and I'll keep an open mind.
As for the rest of the draft, let me start by getting my last big complaint out of the way, and thats the value Mac received on his trade downs. I have zero problem with trading down in theory, I like more picks as much as the next guy, but if I can't AT LEAST receive chart value for trading down, my response to opposing GM's is GFY and Goodbye. If you want to trade up, you obviously have a specific player targeted that you really covet, and fear losing. If you can't AT LEAST give me chart value for that player, then GFY and Goodbye.
As for the actual picks, and now I'm grading them in a vacuum WITHOUT considering all of the above, just solely based on talent and upside, and here's where I probably have a more favorable view of this draft than you might suspect, considering how most of my time the past few days was spent venting over all of the above.
RD 1. Jamal Adams, S, LSU
Clearly a consensus TOP 3 player in this draft, most ranked him #2 and some had him at #3, and a few had him behind Fournette at #4, very few, so the bottom line is, much like Leonard Williams a kid fell into our laps who nobody anticipated sliding to #6, only Adams filled a much bigger need than Williams, so the actual pick was a no brainier. Whether you love the idea of a Safety that high or hate it, doesn't matter if Safety is not a sexy pick, he clearly carried the highest grade when the Jets went on the clock and they'd have been negligent to pass on him. A+
RD 2. Marcus Maye, S, Florida
As promised I will discount the idea of back-to-back Safeties here, but I can't discount the players who were still on the board because much of the draft is not only about who you picked, but also who you didn't pick when you selected said player. For example, what made Ken O'Brien such an awful pick back in the day was not so much that Ken O'Brien sucked, HE DIDN'T, before he became shell-shocked he was actually quite good, but passing on Dan Marino was always what made KOB a dumb pick. Ditto passing on Ed Reed for Brady or Becht or some other useless clown. That said, I like Marcus Maye as a player and think he has a chance to form the previously mentioned LOB 2.0 in the backend with Adams, but HE BETTER because we left some damn good prospects on the board when we picked him, arguably the best CB in the draft (Jones) when healthy and two young TE's that I loved. I would have taken any one of those three ahead of Maye if given the choice, and Dalvin Cook too, so I'm gonna pay special close attention to their careers and his, but as a player I like Maye so I''ll be fair and give this pick a C+
RD 3) ArDarius Stewart, WR, Alabama
At this point in the draft there wasn't much to choose from, so I have no real complaints other than I would NOT have traded down and would have taken Tim Williams who IMO was one of the best pure edge rushers in this class, a first round talent, early 2 at worst, but slid to the 3rd because of failed drug tests and a gun charge. Yes it would have been a colossal risk, but IMO this kid has legit 15 Sacks potential and I would have taken that gamble in RD 3. But that aside, having traded down and missed Williams by ONE PICK, I like the Bama' WR, reminds me of Anquan Boldin, so I like the player we selected. I don't love him, but I like him and think he has a chance to become a solid contributor. B
RD 4) Chad Hansen, WR, California
I'm going to say something politically incorrect here, so skip this one SJW's and Snowflakes because you might not like what it suggests, but IMO this kid fell to the 4th RD largely because he's white and NFL talent evaluators are as human as the rest of us, they know quality white WR's are an anomaly, which is not to suggest that there aren't any, just that its pretty rare, so they are naturally predisposed towards being a little more dismissive of kids like Hansen than they should be. I mean you watch his tape and look at the numbers he put up, and IMO if he was black he would have been a consensus 2nd RD Pick, probably gets drafted ahead of Stewart who we took in the 3rd. This pick has genuine steal potential. B+
RD 5) Jordan Leggett, TE, Clemson
With Clemson being such a prominent program these past two years, back to back trips to the National Title Game and winning the second, naturally that means they were on TV quite often on the east coast and I got to watch a lot of their games, thus a lot of Leggett. There were times, particularly in the biggest games, where I thought I was watching a 1st RD Pick. If you let me pick some of his best games and that was the only tape you could look at, you would have tagged him a 1st RD Pick too. His size, athleticism and penchant for making big plays in the passing game made him look like the prototypical receiving TE that NFL teams covet. 6' 6" and a playmaker, plain and simple. But then there were games where he did absolutely nothing. Disappeared. You would not even have known he was in the game if you didn't go out of your way to look for him, which was inexplicable, that guy had the talent to dominate week after week, but the same can be said of OJ Howard, he too should have been way more dominant week after week, but at least he had the excuse of a novice QB who wasn't much of a thrower, not Deshaun Watson. So Leggett is a bit of an enigma, the size and skill are apparent, there were games where all of that was on display, the kid has big-time potential as a playmaker, but the inconsistency and "lazy" label is why a 2nd RD talent slid all the way to the 5th. That said, it was well worth the gamble in RD 5, if you can unlock his potential you will have a serious weapon at TE. B
RD 5) Dylan Donahue, ER, West Georgia
Anyone who knows me, knows I have a special affinity for small school studs. Its always been one of my favorite parts of the draft, trying to discover the small school guys who have a real chance to make some noise in the NFL, and those guys are not as rare as you might think, the league is littered with them and always has been, its just a matter of finding them. That said, when I watched this kids highlight reel I was blown away by his quickness, strength and variety of pass rushing moves off the edge and even inside on stunts. I swear I felt like I was watching Kevin Greene, who ironically will be his position coach with the Jets. I don't know if he was just a man against boys at that lower level, if what he did there can translate to the NFL, I'm no dummy, I know the leap up in competition is gigantic, but this kid has legit NFL 3-4 OLB size and those pass rush skills I saw were special, and relentless. This is the kind of gamble I LOVE taking in the later rounds. B+
RD 6) Elijah McGuire, RB, Louisiana-Lafayette
Didn't know anything at all about this kid until we drafted him, but watched his tape and was impressed by his quickness, acceleration and cuts. I also know that he played with a foot injury this year and because of that his 2016 season was not nearly as impressive as 2015. That could be a good thing. That could be the reason why his draft status took a hit and he was there for us in the 6th RD, or maybe not, I can't say for sure either way, I just know we needed another RB for depth and I like what I saw on his tape. B-
RD 6) Jeremy Clark, CB, Michigan
Coming off a torn ACL so 2017 will probably be a redshirt year, perhaps a year on IR or the PUP, but 6' 3"/220 CB's don't grow on trees and this kid has some skills as a physical bump & run corner we can possibly develop. As a developmental prospect, I like the idea of drafting such a big, physical corner who slid in the draft due to a serious injury. I was ready to take Sidney Jones in the 2nd RD for the same reason, though obviously Jones is on another level. But again, in theory its a good idea and worth a try. B
RD 6) Derrick Jones, CB, Ole Miss
Another worthy gamble on a CB with terrific size. Jones is a converted WR who has flashed some real skills in man coverage. Undoubtedly he's a project, but you can't teach 6' 2"/190 and he had a terrific pro day. Again, IMO this type of project is the right way to use a late round pick, even if it fails. B
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Overall Grade: B-
The sad part is, this had the potential to draw an A, but the 2nd RD and settling for less than market value on their first two trade downs (haven't checked the last two) knocks this down to a B- for me. You have to maximize the value when you trade draft picks, or at least receive fair market value. Doing neither of the two is unacceptable in my view, and it sends a message to the rest of the league that you are an easy mark. And there's no reason to beat a dead horse about my feelings regarding RD 2, so all things considered, while I like most of the picks, the idea behind them and the value, those two negatives drop the overall grade to a B- for me.
So if that happens, then I'll be eating some serious crow and I'll have plenty of company at that dinner table, and make no mistake about it, I'm not one of those guys who would rather be right if its bad for the team that I root for. I would be thrilled if the backend of this defense turns into the LOB 2.0, but IMO thats what has to happen for this to make sense, otherwise it was a dumb, ill conceived idea and a poor allocation resources (i.e. draft picks), especially with guys like Sid Jones, Dalvin Cook and two stud TE's (Everett & Shaheen) still on the board, all of whom went off the board quickly after we selected Maye within the next six picks. But again, if this turns into Thomas & Chancellor then I'll gladly take my crow well done, and I'll keep an open mind.
As for the rest of the draft, let me start by getting my last big complaint out of the way, and thats the value Mac received on his trade downs. I have zero problem with trading down in theory, I like more picks as much as the next guy, but if I can't AT LEAST receive chart value for trading down, my response to opposing GM's is GFY and Goodbye. If you want to trade up, you obviously have a specific player targeted that you really covet, and fear losing. If you can't AT LEAST give me chart value for that player, then GFY and Goodbye.
As for the actual picks, and now I'm grading them in a vacuum WITHOUT considering all of the above, just solely based on talent and upside, and here's where I probably have a more favorable view of this draft than you might suspect, considering how most of my time the past few days was spent venting over all of the above.
RD 1. Jamal Adams, S, LSU
Clearly a consensus TOP 3 player in this draft, most ranked him #2 and some had him at #3, and a few had him behind Fournette at #4, very few, so the bottom line is, much like Leonard Williams a kid fell into our laps who nobody anticipated sliding to #6, only Adams filled a much bigger need than Williams, so the actual pick was a no brainier. Whether you love the idea of a Safety that high or hate it, doesn't matter if Safety is not a sexy pick, he clearly carried the highest grade when the Jets went on the clock and they'd have been negligent to pass on him. A+
RD 2. Marcus Maye, S, Florida
As promised I will discount the idea of back-to-back Safeties here, but I can't discount the players who were still on the board because much of the draft is not only about who you picked, but also who you didn't pick when you selected said player. For example, what made Ken O'Brien such an awful pick back in the day was not so much that Ken O'Brien sucked, HE DIDN'T, before he became shell-shocked he was actually quite good, but passing on Dan Marino was always what made KOB a dumb pick. Ditto passing on Ed Reed for Brady or Becht or some other useless clown. That said, I like Marcus Maye as a player and think he has a chance to form the previously mentioned LOB 2.0 in the backend with Adams, but HE BETTER because we left some damn good prospects on the board when we picked him, arguably the best CB in the draft (Jones) when healthy and two young TE's that I loved. I would have taken any one of those three ahead of Maye if given the choice, and Dalvin Cook too, so I'm gonna pay special close attention to their careers and his, but as a player I like Maye so I''ll be fair and give this pick a C+
RD 3) ArDarius Stewart, WR, Alabama
At this point in the draft there wasn't much to choose from, so I have no real complaints other than I would NOT have traded down and would have taken Tim Williams who IMO was one of the best pure edge rushers in this class, a first round talent, early 2 at worst, but slid to the 3rd because of failed drug tests and a gun charge. Yes it would have been a colossal risk, but IMO this kid has legit 15 Sacks potential and I would have taken that gamble in RD 3. But that aside, having traded down and missed Williams by ONE PICK, I like the Bama' WR, reminds me of Anquan Boldin, so I like the player we selected. I don't love him, but I like him and think he has a chance to become a solid contributor. B
RD 4) Chad Hansen, WR, California
I'm going to say something politically incorrect here, so skip this one SJW's and Snowflakes because you might not like what it suggests, but IMO this kid fell to the 4th RD largely because he's white and NFL talent evaluators are as human as the rest of us, they know quality white WR's are an anomaly, which is not to suggest that there aren't any, just that its pretty rare, so they are naturally predisposed towards being a little more dismissive of kids like Hansen than they should be. I mean you watch his tape and look at the numbers he put up, and IMO if he was black he would have been a consensus 2nd RD Pick, probably gets drafted ahead of Stewart who we took in the 3rd. This pick has genuine steal potential. B+
RD 5) Jordan Leggett, TE, Clemson
With Clemson being such a prominent program these past two years, back to back trips to the National Title Game and winning the second, naturally that means they were on TV quite often on the east coast and I got to watch a lot of their games, thus a lot of Leggett. There were times, particularly in the biggest games, where I thought I was watching a 1st RD Pick. If you let me pick some of his best games and that was the only tape you could look at, you would have tagged him a 1st RD Pick too. His size, athleticism and penchant for making big plays in the passing game made him look like the prototypical receiving TE that NFL teams covet. 6' 6" and a playmaker, plain and simple. But then there were games where he did absolutely nothing. Disappeared. You would not even have known he was in the game if you didn't go out of your way to look for him, which was inexplicable, that guy had the talent to dominate week after week, but the same can be said of OJ Howard, he too should have been way more dominant week after week, but at least he had the excuse of a novice QB who wasn't much of a thrower, not Deshaun Watson. So Leggett is a bit of an enigma, the size and skill are apparent, there were games where all of that was on display, the kid has big-time potential as a playmaker, but the inconsistency and "lazy" label is why a 2nd RD talent slid all the way to the 5th. That said, it was well worth the gamble in RD 5, if you can unlock his potential you will have a serious weapon at TE. B
RD 5) Dylan Donahue, ER, West Georgia
Anyone who knows me, knows I have a special affinity for small school studs. Its always been one of my favorite parts of the draft, trying to discover the small school guys who have a real chance to make some noise in the NFL, and those guys are not as rare as you might think, the league is littered with them and always has been, its just a matter of finding them. That said, when I watched this kids highlight reel I was blown away by his quickness, strength and variety of pass rushing moves off the edge and even inside on stunts. I swear I felt like I was watching Kevin Greene, who ironically will be his position coach with the Jets. I don't know if he was just a man against boys at that lower level, if what he did there can translate to the NFL, I'm no dummy, I know the leap up in competition is gigantic, but this kid has legit NFL 3-4 OLB size and those pass rush skills I saw were special, and relentless. This is the kind of gamble I LOVE taking in the later rounds. B+
RD 6) Elijah McGuire, RB, Louisiana-Lafayette
Didn't know anything at all about this kid until we drafted him, but watched his tape and was impressed by his quickness, acceleration and cuts. I also know that he played with a foot injury this year and because of that his 2016 season was not nearly as impressive as 2015. That could be a good thing. That could be the reason why his draft status took a hit and he was there for us in the 6th RD, or maybe not, I can't say for sure either way, I just know we needed another RB for depth and I like what I saw on his tape. B-
RD 6) Jeremy Clark, CB, Michigan
Coming off a torn ACL so 2017 will probably be a redshirt year, perhaps a year on IR or the PUP, but 6' 3"/220 CB's don't grow on trees and this kid has some skills as a physical bump & run corner we can possibly develop. As a developmental prospect, I like the idea of drafting such a big, physical corner who slid in the draft due to a serious injury. I was ready to take Sidney Jones in the 2nd RD for the same reason, though obviously Jones is on another level. But again, in theory its a good idea and worth a try. B
RD 6) Derrick Jones, CB, Ole Miss
Another worthy gamble on a CB with terrific size. Jones is a converted WR who has flashed some real skills in man coverage. Undoubtedly he's a project, but you can't teach 6' 2"/190 and he had a terrific pro day. Again, IMO this type of project is the right way to use a late round pick, even if it fails. B
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Overall Grade: B-
The sad part is, this had the potential to draw an A, but the 2nd RD and settling for less than market value on their first two trade downs (haven't checked the last two) knocks this down to a B- for me. You have to maximize the value when you trade draft picks, or at least receive fair market value. Doing neither of the two is unacceptable in my view, and it sends a message to the rest of the league that you are an easy mark. And there's no reason to beat a dead horse about my feelings regarding RD 2, so all things considered, while I like most of the picks, the idea behind them and the value, those two negatives drop the overall grade to a B- for me.
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