Jets Draft Whispers

New Jersey – Time for a heaping helping of Jets draft notes, with the selection meetings just one week away. Let’s jump into it.

Mike Mayock had a media conference call today, and said something about the Tennessee Titans, I thought also made a lot of sense if you put it in a Jets perspective. Remember the Titans have the second overall pick, and many think they will pick a QB.

“I think if I’m in their building, I’m hoping that I’m a Zach Mettenberger fan, because I’d much rather continue to develop around him as opposed to drafting a rookie quarterback,” Mayock said.

Look at this through a Jets prism. After going through the growing pains with Mark Sanchez, and now Geno Smith, should they be starting at square one again with a raw rookie?

It still remains to be seen if Smith is the Jets’ long-term answer, but two years of on-the-job training, gives him a leg up on Marcus Mariota or Jameis Winston right now. And it’s hard to say right now that either one of those players is an improvement over Smith.

Chan Gailey will be good for Smith – he operates a very quarterback-friendly system.

So if you are the Jets, you should be hoping that Smith, or Ryan Fitzpatrick is the answer this year. They are much further along on the growth curve than any rookie.

After four years out of the playoffs, the Jets desperately want to make the playoffs this year. Handing the keys to yet another green signal-caller in 2015 isn’t the way to go . . .

If the Jets don’t land an edge pass-rusher in the first round, one name that has been floated in the second round is UCLA defensive end Owa Odighizuwa.

Mayock doesn’t think he’s a good candidate to make the transition from college end to NFL outside linebacker.

“I think he’s a base (4-3) end,” Mayock said. “I don’t think he can stand up.”

While on the topic of pass rushers, I’d love to be a fly on the wall of the Jets’ medical meetings about Shane Ray. He has a turf toe issue. Some teams think he needs surgery, and other teams don’t. But unfortunately for the kid, he’s probably going to slip because of this. Will Dr. Ken Montgomery (pictured above) medically clear Ray?

So if the Jets pass on Ray, could Kentucky’s Alvin “Bud” Dupree be a possibility? I think six is too high for him. He’s what scouts call a “see-and-go” player. In other words, his instincts aren’t great. I know he has a nice size (6-4, 269) and speed (4.63) ratio. But I’m sorry, I’d have a hard time picking a player with shaky instincts sixth overall. And if he’s going to play 3-4 outside linebacker, he will need to play in coverage at times, and his coverage instincts are shaky.

Now if Todd Bowles and Kacy Rodgers think they can keep it simple for him, and basically let him to pin his ears back and get the quarterback, maybe you make this pick. He’s a tremendous athlete (42-inch vertical to go along with that nice size-speed ratio). But to me, this instinct thing should make the hesitate.

April 23, 2015

Premium will return by 9:30 pm on Friday.