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People wonder why Jets second-round pick Denzel Mims slipped . . .
. . . to the end of the second round where the Jets stole him (after trading down).
Here is why:
A big issue for Mims last season was that Baylor quarterback Charlie Brewer, who doesn’t have a very good arm, mostly threw short, so the Bears’ offense really didn’t take advantage of Mims great speed, enough. Also, Mims ran a limited route tree, so he has a lot of work to do with Jets WR coach Shaun Jefferson on expanding that. He also needs to improve his ability to get off press coverage at the line.
But this was a great value for the Jets at the end of second round, a receiver with superb triangle numbers – height, weight and speed. He’s 6-3, 207 with 4.38 speed.
It surprised some that Jets GM Joe Douglas passed up on cornerbacks Jaylon Johnson and Trevon Diggs, and traded back in the second round.
The Jets traded their original second-round pick, 48th overall, to the Seattle Seahawks for a second-round pick (59 overall) and pick 101 (which they traded to New England for two fourth-round picks).
But then with the 59th pick, the Jets landed Mims, who was considered a first-round talent by some.
And while CB is a big need for the Jets, so is receiver.
So to trade back in the second round, get an extra pick, and then land a player with a late-first grade, is an example of excellent draft gamesmanship by Douglas . . .
Safety Ashtyn Davis is a very good value pick. He could easily gone in the second round. This is one of those picks where you stick to your value board, and pick the highest-rated player left on your board, regardless of position. He probably would have gone higher if teams were allowed to bring players in for meetings. He didn’t run due to a groin issue, so that was another reason he slipped. However as a former track guy, it’s been speculated that he would run under 4.4.
Some people are going to connect this pick to Jamal Adams. Not sure that is the case. Davis is more of a coverage safety. Also, he doesn’t have Adams’ instincts. Now, of course, if the Jets move on from Adams, in the future, because they decide you can’t break-the-bank on a safety who plays a lot in the box, Davis could come in handy. But right now, this pick isn’t a threat to Adams at all.
Davis could be an asset for the Jets in sub-packages this season. With his speed, there aren’t many NFL receivers or tight ends he can’t run with . . .
Florida DE Jabari Zuniga probably isn’t going to solve the edge-rush issues. He’s plays hard and has a great motor, but the player had 18.5 sacks in 42 games. If you have those kind of sack totals in college, do you really expect them to get better numbers against NFL offensive linemen?
Look, he’s a good player, and maybe the Jets feel they can take his game to the next level, but it almost never works with edge-rushers, where they dominate in the NFL, after not doing so in college.
He had an high-ankle sprain most of this past season, so perhaps the Jets think he’s better than he showed this year, since he wasn’t 100 percent.
If I’m wrong here, I will be the first to admit it, and I’m not rooting against the player, but I have a hard time remembering an edge-rusher who didn’t dominate in college (against many weak tackles), coming into the NFL, and becoming a game-wrecking edge rusher.
April 24, 2020
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