Should the Jets Make A Serious Play for Chris Ivory?

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

An interesting situation turns up with regards to the New York Jets and free agency.

If you have been around this team at all, and if you have been around the Twitter fees of us all, you know there has been great interest in Chris Ivory. Anyone who has seen him play in space knows how good an athlete this young man is.

Here are his stats so far for his young career:

As we all know, this young man can play, and he has shown that he can play whenever he has had the opportunity.  He’s an explosive runner that in the past, many fans have expressed great interest in seeing in the Green and White.

Well, last week, reports surfaced that Ivory was coming into visit with the team, and there is mutual interest in getting a deal done.

The problem from the get go will be his compensation.  Ivory was given a second round tender, meaning, if the Jets sign him to an offer sheet, and the Saints don’t match, the Saints would be owed the Jets 2nd round pick as compensation.  The Jets have no resounding reason to drop a second round pick if they don’t have to, but seem willing to talk trade with the Saints for maybe a lower level pick.

So the question is, how serious of a play should the Jets make for Chris Ivory?  To me, the answer is, a big one, even if that means they need to give up the second round pick to do it.

Oh, the running back class is fairly deep.  I certainly understand the reasoning of holding onto those picks, to find the diamond hiding in the rough in this draft class.  The logic is certainly direct and clear.  But, I give you another perspective.

Chris Ivory is only 25 years old, and with a paltry 256 carries under his belt.  Meaning?  He has very little mileage on him.  He is certainly in his prime at 25 years old, not near the other side of the fence yet.  You could make the argument that a guy in the league for 3 years, at the age of 25, is much more ready to start than a guy just out of college.

If Ivory is more valuable than a guy just graduating college, since we just don’t know about him, maybe the second round compensation is worth it for the Jets.

Just a thought.