Reactions to the New York Jets 2013 NFL Draft Day 2 Selections

November 18, 2012; Oakland, CA, USA; New Orleans Saints running back Chris Ivory (29) runs with the ball before the start of the game against the Oakland Raiders at O.co Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports

Good morning gang. It certainly was an interesting night last night, was it not? Radio City Music Hall is not typically known for having fireworks, but they happened last night.

I wanted to take some time to reflect on the moves that were made before bringing my reactions to you this morning. For those of you that have been reading this blog for a long time, you KNOW that I have a lot to say, based on those particular moves that were made last night, at least one particular move.

I am going to address the moves in reverse order, so the most time can be devoted to the move that I will have the most to say about.

The Chris Ivory trade is a brilliant move, kudos to John Idzik. We, along with a large portion of the fan base, have been calling for the acquisition of Ivory for a long time, and now it is reality. For a reminder, take a look at Chris Ivory’s stats to date in his NFL career:

He has had quite the average per carry, one that the Jets haven’t seen out of a regular ball-carrier in I don’t know how long. When Chris Ivory has had the chance to play, he has performed admirably. That 716 yards in 2010 were good enough to lead the Saints in rushing that year. He’s fast in space, and at 6’0″, 222 pounds, he is big enough to take the regular pounding should he win the starting job.

Personally, I don’t LOVE the idea of losing a draft pick, but for this player, it’s OK. Why? Because in the alternative, the Jets would have had to draft a running back. As much as I love draftees, and have called for weeks for more and more, you don’t know what they are. There is no way to know whether or not they would have drafted a running back as good as Ivory with the fourth round pick. So if you think about it, they used the pick on Chris Ivory, and a player of his caliber would be an excellent choice.

Moving back to the draft picks, the Jets chose offensive lineman Brian Winters out of Kent State. I see nothing wrong with making a pick like that. You can take a look at what I had to say about Winters last night, but there is no fault to be found about the pick.  For a team that has lacked depth on the offensive line for the past two years, there is nothing wrong with adding a guy that is 6’4″, 320 pounds that can play guard or tackle.

Now, turn the page for my thoughts on the story of the night.

Apr 26, 2013; New York, NY, USA; Geno Smith (West Virginia) is introduced as the number thirty-ninth overall pick to the New York Jets during the 2013 NFL Draft at Radio City Music Hall. Mandatory Credit: Debby Wong-USA TODAY Sports

All right, here we go. I am sure you all knew that I would have quite a bit to say on this subject. Let’s get right to it.

I don’t like it. Let me start there. No, it is not because I think that Mark Sanchez can still get the job done. I do, and I know that I am in the minority on that, but that is not why I don’t like the move. The move isn’t a good one because the second round was too early for ANY of these quarterbacks.

Here is some video on Geno in a game vs. Maryland:

His mechanics, and therefore his accuracy are too inconsistent to be a franchise quarterback. He’ll step into his throws and they will be things of beauty. Other times, he is throwing flat-footed, and his throws aren’t so accurate. This tape, to me, is not the tape of a franchise quarterback, deserving of a pick in the first two rounds. He is not a guy that you build a team around.

The Jets would have been better suited looking for offensive WEAPONS early, and taking a quarterback that is a project, later in the draft. Quarterbacks that are not franchise quarterbacks need to have great weapons around him. Say Geno ends up winning the job. How will the situation be different for him than it would be for Mark? There will still be a lack of weapons at his disposal. See? It seems backwards to me.

What does it say about the circus around the team as well? Coming into this draft, the Jets had two quarterbacks that garner a lot of media attention, in Mark Sanchez and Tim Tebow. Instead of improving the offense as a group, they bring in a THIRD quarterback that is going to draw a lot of attention from our friends in the press. The logic of that escapes me. In later rounds I could have justified it more, but not on the second round. The player needs to have much more sound fundamentals.

It also brings into question the coaching situation. We have all assumed that this is going to be the last year for Rex Ryan and company. But, now they bring in a quarterback, that pretty much says they are starting all over again. Do you then bring in a whole new coaching staff next year, that didn’t choose this quarterback? Wouldn’t that be tantamount to starting over….AGAIN? Does this move mean that Rex gets a long-term extension to try to make it work with Geno Smith? The move creates a lot of uncertainty.

So, with all things considered, I give the day a B+. How about all of you?

Grade the Jets' performance on day 2 of the draft.

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