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Premium – The New York Jets had an interesting Day Two. The Jets are truly sticking to their value board. No pandering.
That is very impressive.
There was so much chatter about the receiver need before the draft, but John Idzik really isn’t going to to impacted by that.
And whether people want to hear it or not, sticking to the board is the best approach.
“We were true to form – we stuck to our board,” said Idzik after the third round.
Marty Mornhinweg loves throwing to tight ends, and the Jets should have a heck of a two tight end set with Jeff Cumberland and Jace Amaro.
Amaro caught 106 passes this last year with two freshmen quarterback sharing the job. That is a pretty darn impressive accomplishment. I don’t care how gimmicky the offense is at Texas Tech, that is a heck of a season.
Mornhinweg is an impressive offensive innovator. He will move this guy around a lot, much like Texas Tech did.
I know Amaro is not where he needs to be as a blocker, but the arrow is pointing up in this area for two reasons. First of all, when he was asked to block in college, he really got after it. Now he needs a lot of work on his technique that will come working with Jets tight end coach Steve Hagan. But “want to” is so important when it comes to blocking and he has that. The second thing that will help him is an NFL strength program. While he’s not weak, he needs to add some muscle power. So with better technique and more strength, he should be fine in this area.
I talked to a lot of different players at the combine, and one of the most impressive was Dexter McDougle.
He “gets it.”
He’s a hard worker with great character.
I know some people might consider McDougle a reach in the third round, but he was a player on the rise when he got hurt in September. And he got hurt coming up to make a tackle. He’s very tough and willing to throw his body around.
“He will support the run with vigor,” said Idzik.
I hate to say this because he’s a terrific guy, but I think McDougle was picked to replace Kyle Wilson. McDougle could grab the nickel job with a good spring and summer.
The Jets are sending a clear message in this draft so far. They want more physical secondary play.
This was a big reason the Jets moved on from Antonio Cromartie, a gifted athlete, who just wasn’t physical enough in bump-and-run and run support.
Dee Milliner, on the other side, did a very poor job tackling last year. But in his case, I think he’s willing to hit, but needs technique work.
Wilson isn’t really a thumper.
So with Calvin Pryor and McDougle, the Jets added a couple of defensive backs who are going to fly around and hit people with no hesitation.
But the Jets better keeps their fingers crossed from a medical standpoint with McDougle. We are talking about a player who broke his collarbone in a motor scooter accident early in his college career, and then hurt his shoulder blade as a senior.
That is a lot of broken bones in the upper body.
So the Jets leaned on Dr. Ken Montgomery a great deal before making this pick.
If he stays healthy, I like this pick a lot – he’s smart, tough, has terrific speed and good instincts.
People can rip the Jets receivers all they want, and they will likely add one or two as the Jets moves forward, but the cupboard isn’t bare.
Eric Decker, Jeremy Kerley, David Nelson, Stephen Hill, Greg Salas, Jacoby Ford (world class speed) and there are others. Elitists can dismiss this wide receiver room. I will not.
Better quarterback play will help this room.
And let’s not forget one other thing – the Jets plan on throwing to Chris Johnson a ton out of the backfield, so you have to factor him into the receiving weapon package.
May 9, 2014
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