It doesn’t make sense, but it makes sense

Don’t want to be a hypocrite.

We have written on many occasions that the best strategy is to stick to the value board, and not reach for need.

So while CB was the biggest need for the Jets at 34, it’s a mistake to reach for one. Reaches at any position are bad, but especially at that position, and so many teams do it, because there is a shortage at the position. So teams are always reaching for corners, and they come in, being picked higher than they deserve, and because of where they were picked, the expectations are unrealistic. Remember when the Giants reached for Eli Apple picking him 1oth in 2016, and he lasted a little over two years, or last year the Lions reached for Jeff Okudah at three (you don’t pick cornerbacks that high not named Deion Sanders), the Las Vegas Raiders reached Damon Arnette at 19, and the Atlanta Falcons reached for A.J Terrell at 17. So many reaches at that position.

Once the Jaguars picked CB Tyson Campbell at 33, there probably wasn’t a CB worthy of being picked at 34, so the Jets went with the value, and picked WR Elijah Moore, who easily could have gone in the first round. NFL.com’s Lance Zeirlein lists a comparison player for each prospect, and for Moore, he listed Antonio Brown. He averaged 13 catches per game in each of his last three games at Ole Miss, which is pretty amazing.

Jamison Crowder is an excellent player, but he misses too many games with soft tissue injuries – hamstrings and groin issues. That is’t his fault, but just the reality, so it’s hard to justify his salary, so perhaps the Jets release him, and use that extra cap space to try and sign Richard Sherman, who is close with Robert Saleh.

Now that the Jets didn’t pick a cornerback with any of there first three picks, there is a good chance the positions isn’t going to be a strength this year. Where are you going to get a special one now? The fourth round? Even if they get Sherman, he’s 33 and not the same player he used to be. But Rome wasn’t built in a day, and Joe Douglas inherited a dumpster fire, and he can’t fix everything overnight.

Last year, they brought in “The Indianapolis Three,” three corners from the Colts, and none of them worked out. That wasn’t a great look. Teams generally don’t let good corners walk, and Chris Ballard is no dummy.

Bryce Hall is promising and will likely start at one position, and maybe Bless Austin. A sleeper is Kyron Brown, who missed last year with a knee injury, but looked good in camp in 2019. Maybe they go after Steven Nelson or Sherman.

Once again, you hear this theory that in Saleh’s system you don’t need to pick cornerbacks that high, with Pete Carroll in Seattle being a perfect example, But you know what, the Seahawks’ pass defense was pretty awful most of last year, so I’m not sure how much I buy that. You still need good talent at that position, unless you have an elite pass rush.

But sticking to the board, regardless of position, is always a good strategy.

You win in the NFL with difference-makers. In Zach Wilson, Alijah Vera-Tucker and Elijah Moore, it looks like the Jets landed three difference-makers.

But cornerback could be a problem this year for Gang Green. However, it’s hard to fill every need early in a rebuild.

April 30, 2021

Premium will return by 9:30 pm on Saturday – special Saturday edition of Website Whispers to cover Day Three.