Tight end was not a huge need for the Jets entering this draft, with Mason Taylor, Jeremy Ruckert, and the underrated Jelani Woods already on board.
Also, running back Andrew Beck is a combination tight end and fullback.
But the best strategy in the NFL draft, a time-tested strategy, is to stack the board in your war room based on value, regardless of position, and stick to the board.
Teams spend millions of dollars on scouting over the course of the year with large personnel staffs and myriad travel expenses to help set up their board.
So when the Jets were on the clock at 16, and Kenyon Sadiq, a very highly rated player on their board, was still available, they picked the Oregon tight end.
This is the epitome of a value pick who was too good to pass up, regardless of team needs.
“Sadiq was a player that, obviously, we studied, spent a lot of time on, and valued as an offensive weapon, and when he was there, it was really a no-brainer for us, just to add another weapon to the offense,” Jets GM Darren Mougey said. “And Frank’s (Reich) got a great vision for the player and how we can use him in multiple ways and get in 12-personnel, and do different things and just use him as another weapon and make it tough on the defense.”
This is the best way to approach the draft: stack the value board and stick to it.
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