2013 NFL Mock Draft: The New York Jets Select…….

As draft day approaches, the 2013 Fansided NFL Mock Drafts gets more interesting and more detailed to what teams are probably going to do…..MAYBE.  Lets jump right into this week’s Fansided Mock Draft and see what pick they’ve selected for the Jets and get my thoughts on it…..

The Selection:

” 9. New York Jets – Barkevious Mingo, DE/LSU

Jets fans will likely boo the pick but that has more to do with how mad they are at the teams performance and less to do with their feelings about Mingo. A skill player here would please the fans but it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense given how stingy skill talent is at this point. Cordarrelle Patterson is a dark-horse option here as Mark Sanchez has nobody to throw to, but Mingo can play defensive end or slide out to linebacker and play the outside slot. The Jets need some defensive improvements if they’re sticking with a Sanchez-led offense and Mingo fills a need and brings in some serious talent.”

Linebacker Barkevious Mingo would certainly feel an instant need for the Jets defense

About the prospect:

Mingo is a freak which helps him to produce at a high level despite his thin frame.  He  gets off the snap quickly with his very good foot quickness and has an elite burst to close rather quickly on the quarterback.  He is very good at changing directions on the fly when charging up field and certainly has the flexibility to dip his hips and torso to get underneath the offensive tackle while keeping his balance. His tall frame and long arms helps him to bat down or tip passes at the line of scrimmage, something the Jets didn’t do enough of this past season.   His playing strength is completely dependent on his playing with leverage and aggressiveness.  He does tend to struggle shedding in-line blocks.  He certainly isn’t a power rusher as he lacks the bulk but maximizes his other attributes which overshadows his lack of bulk and strength.  Mingo wont beat an OT with power right away but he’ll beat them with his speed and quickness and his long arms will tend to give him an advantage when rushing on the edge as tackles may struggle to get a legal grip on his with his arms in front of him.

 Mingo would be scary coming from the wide 9 position in a four down lineman front on obvious passing downs with his tremendous speed, burst, flexibility, and anticipation.  Mingo offers that speed rusher that NFL teams covet now a days. Overall, Mingo will upgrade a teams’ speed along the defensive line and edges with his ability to chase plays down from sideline to sideline. He may never be more than a pass rushing specialist until he adds more bulk and playing strength, something that will certainly come with growth and maturity but he’ll be a consistent and effective  pass rushing outside linebacker in a 3-4 defense, but needs some coaching on dropping into coverage.

 Bottom line:

If the draft fell this way it would be hard for me to not get on board with drafting Mingo here.  The only 2 other prospects I would consider here are Chance Warmack and Jarvis Jones and I love both equally but would have no problems taking Mingo here.  I think Mingo certainly fills a need for the Jets at OLB and is athletic enough to take advantage of all the opportunities presented to him off the edges with Coples and Wilkerson on the line.

I like the pick!