FanPost

Hmmm, to trade up, or not to?

Well, the draft is just about a week and a half away. It's gonna be a HUGE day for our Jets, because we need to really get some good players in this draft if we want to fill up some of these holes, and get some of these players that we may want. Now, I know you can't really trust anything you hear pre-draft, but Jake Steinberg is reporting that the Jets are apparently having serious internal discussions about trading up with either Jacksonville or Carolina to select Melvin Ingram. Now, as I've said, i'm well aware that you can't buy anything that you hear before the draft, since it's lying season right now, but it can't stop you from thinking. Tannenbaum has done this many, many, times before,with fairly positive results, but not all good. Aaaanyway, let's take a look at the positives and negatives of this potential move.

Note: I'm not a draft analysis guru so i'm working with what I know here.

Positives: Well...He's Melvin friggin Ingram. Probably the consensus favorite prospect in the draft among all of us here. He's a great, great pass rusher that also has a Ton of versatility, since South Carolina lined him up all over the place. We know Rex gushes over those kinds of guys. He's got some explosiveness, power, quickness, and as far as we know, Rex absolutely adores him as a pass rusher. If we did end up drafting him, and he ended up living up to our expectations, this defense would finally have a blue-chip pass rusher. What would that do? He'd put the quarterbacks on their bums a lot more for starters, but also make it easier for our other guys to do that too, which would psyche out the opposing QBs and force them into making ill-advised decisions for our secondary filled with four first-round picks to feast on. Now, let's say Maybin also improves and gets around 10 sacks, we'd have a pretty darn good pass rush then, and our defense would only benefit. Getting such a good player could possibly offset the loss of a pick. Because, would you rather have one real impact player, or two decent players?

Negatives: As much as we all love Ingram, he's actually not the safest pick in the world. He's got really short arms, which isn't a favorable trait for pass rushers. Not all elite pass rushers have 35-inch arms, but those guys that don't are usually extremely fast and explosive. Ingram does have some speed and explosion, but not as much as someone like Dwight Freeney. This is a legitimate concern, but I suppose no prospect is perfect, and it can probably be overcome, but remember the last time we took a swing at a risky prospect pass rusher?...yeah...Anyway, there's also the general issue of trading up: we lose picks. We're not unfamiliar with this, and while we've gotten good players from trading up, it leaves you with not as much depth on your team, and can sometimes make your team rather top-heavy in the future. Eventually you just gotta buckle down, be patient, and work with the picks that you have, which we we haven't done in ages. In our case this year, it also means we fill less holes currently on the team. Every team has it's issues that aren't going to be totally cleaned up, but you would like for us to have some better solutions at safety, Receiver, and right tackle. Trading up with either Jax or Carolina would probably cost a second round pick. That's where you have to decide whether or not Ingram really is that missing piece that you need for your defense, and if he's worth losing a second round pick to address something else.

My opinion: Personally, there are enough good players in this draft and where we're picking that I say we stay put and see what's still on the board. If we don't get Ingram, it isn't the end of the world. Some other guys that we could get as consolation prizes include Mark Barron, Courtney Upshaw, and Michael Floyd. Quinton Coples may still be around too. Any one of those players would make a positive impact on the team and make us better. For that reason, and the fact that I think we need some more depth, I'd rather we don't trade up. What do you guys think?


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