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1^st Round

In General Manager, Mike Maccagnan’s first two drafts, the philosophy seemed to be to take the best player on their board in the 1^st Round no matter what. After last night’s draft, it seems like they are sticking to that philosophy. Last night, the New York Jets selected LSU’s Jamal Adams with the 6^th pick in the draft. They took Adams over Ohio State’s Malik Hooker, who I mentioned in an earlier article, should have been the pick. Even though I said Hooker would be the best fit for the Jets, I acknowledged that Adams is better prospect. Now that Jets have taken Adams, how will this affect their defense?

It’s no secret that the Jets needed help in their secondary. The ranked 17^th last year in passing yards allowed per game, 25^th in passing touchdowns allowed per game and tied for 29^th in interceptions. Like I mentioned in the article, Adams is not going to be a huge help in the interceptions department. He only had one last year and five in the last three years. However, where he will help is clogging the holes the Jets’ secondary has. In their base set, he will most likely play strong safety, the position he was best at when playing for LSU. When playing in the box he’ll be outstanding against the run, but, more importantly, he’ll be able to cover tight-ends. When playing in a division with Rob Gronkowski, Charles Clay and Julius Thomas, having a player that can cover tight-ends, like Adams, is a must have. 

When teams do decide to add more speed to the field, causing the Jets to go to a nickel or dime formation, Adams can play almost every position on the field that’s not defensive line. He can cover deep middle or deep half in zone as a safety. He can cover underneath zone as a safety in the box. He can play at linebacker depth and help out against the run. He can even cover slot receivers man to man effectively. He may not be the turnover machine I was hoping the Jets would get in this draft, but there is no denying that Adams is going to have a positive, immediate impact on the Jets’ defense right from the start of day one.

Round 2 Predictions

Two people I trust the most when it comes to Mock Drafts have released their updated mock for day two.  Charlie Campbell, and Walter Cherepinsky of Walterfootball.com have projected two different players to the Jets in the second round. The first is Florida State’s running back, Dalvin Cook. The other is Kansas State’s outside linebacker, Jordan Willis. 

The Dalvin Cook pick would be a luxury pick. The Jets’ ranked 12^th in rushing offense last year and both Matt Forte and Bilal Powell are good three down running backs. However, if Cook is still there at pick 39, and the Jets are sticking to their philosophy of best player available, then it would be hard not to draft Cook.

Cook fell in this draft due to character issues. On the field, he was one of the best running backs in this class.

Cook has a rare combination of vision, patience, and explosiveness when carrying the ball. He’ll wait for the blocks to develop before using his elite explosiveness to burst through the hole. He also has the ability to cutback, which he can do to a LeSean McCoy level of efficiency and explosiveness. He’s a threat to take it to the house every time.

He came in 2^nd in ProFootballFocus’ elusive rating and 9^th in their percentage not tackled after first contact statistic. This showed on film when he would use his lightening quick feet to juke out defenders and his high motor and toughness to run through them if he had to. As a receiver, his hands were solid on catchable passes.

Where he does have some problems on the field is in his ball security and pass blocking. According to ProFootballFocus he had 14 fumbles on 763 touches. On film he was an average pass blocker at best. He didn’t show good technique and he got taken advantage of a few times. 

Kansas State’s Jordan Willis would be more of a need pick. The Jets ranked 29^th in sacks last year and they’ve been lacking a premier outside linebacker for a while. Jordan Willis can be that guy. 

Willis is an amazing athlete. He came in 1^st among defensive lineman in the 3-Cone drill and 2^nd in the 40 yard dash. That agility and speed is going to translate well to being a 3-4 outside linebacker.  

I had a lot of fun watching his film when he rushed the passer. He was explosive off the line and he had active hands. He could beat an offensive tackle with a plethora of moves. He showed a dangerous rip move, a swim move, an inside step or he just straight beat a tackle with his speed off the edge. He can also bull rush. 

However, when watching him against the run, it becomes a little less fun to watch. He got abused by stronger offensive lineman. He was able to use his quickness to around some of their blocks, but if they engaged, he wasn’t able to shed the block. Not only that, but was a little too aggressive at times. He would fire up the field, like he does when rushing the passer, and running backs would just run through this huge hole he just created by going too far upfield. 

In the end they are both excellent prospects who can step in and help the Jets immediately. I believe a pass rusher like Willis would help more, and I think that he should be the choice the Jets’ with their 39^th pick. However, I think it will be Cook if it’s between the two of them.

Thank you for reading the article. If you would like to get more information on Charlie and Walt’s mock draft please see the links below. If you would like more information on ProFootballFocus’ Draft Pass, where they have all of their advance stats on this year’s group, the link is also below. Make sure to follow me at @MStopsky on twitter.

Walter – https://walterfootball.com/draft2017redraft_2.php

Charlie – https://walterfootball.com/draft2017charlieredraft_2.php

ProFootballFocus – httpss://www.profootballfocus.com/draftpass17/