Looking at the 2010 NFL Draft: Golden Tate

Today I saw Todd McShay's latest draft and the Jets selection landed on the offensive line in Bryan Bulaga, a tackle from Iowa. While he has had a excellent career with Iowa, and was selected to the Outland Trophy watch list, McShay himself admitted that he plays too high and he needs to improve his footwork. However my problem was not with the player, at some point we will have to address the tackle position, personally I don't think that point is here with a first round selection.

My main problem came when looking past our selection and seeing the players that were left on the board, most notable Taylor Mays, C.J Spiller, Marvin Austin but most pressing for me Golden Tate. Now before I even start I will say that I am a Notre Dame fan, so perhaps I'm a little biased but hear me out on this one

We have a potential dynamic offence that is missing one key ingredient, that slot receiver, a Wes Welker type player, some have suggested that Danny Woodhead could be that guy, and excitement ensued when he was tried out in the role earlier in the season, and as much as I like the gritty little guy, I don't think the role is right for him.

Many have questioned Golden's stock because of his height, and with receivers like Welker and Smith in the league, this really doesn't hold much water any more. His quickness, elusiveness and solid hands are what should be taken into consideration. His vertical is exceptional, and despite standing under 6 ft, he can go up and get balls that taller receivers couldn't manage.

One area that this team struggles with is the screen, I can't remember the last time we ran a series of effective screens, and while you need a lot of moving parts to come together the receiver can make or break a screen play, Golden is more than capable of running screens effectively, we have seen that with Notre Dame for the last few years.

Although he has gained notoriety as a big play receiver, he is more comfortable making plays after getting the ball in his hands, something that can probably be attributed to his running back past. He runs his routes cleanly, and he continuously brought the ball down in traffic. He never flinches from a hit, so the middle of the field is certainly his friend

So just imagine this scenario, Cotchery and Braylon split out wide, Keller and Tate taking care of the middle of the field, with Leon coming out of the backfield. The options for Sanchez would be numerous, the added dimension to this team would bring the passing offence up with rushing offence and really complete this team.

As you have probably already gathered, I'm a big fan og Tate's, he just broke the single season reception record and receiving yards record held by former Irish star and current Cub player Jeff Samardzija. He won the 2009 Biletnikoff Award given to the best receiver in the country. 93 receptions for 1,496 yards and 15 TD's were his winning numbers.

I believe that we are in a very privileged situation where we really don't have one area that we absolutely have to address, the defensive line has really come along with Pouha and Devito showing improvement, Ellis having a great ending to his season and Douglas being as solid as he always has been. Sure we could possibly bring in a young apprentice either on the line or as a OLB, but we are also in the position where we can take the best player available, and with us likely picking low 20's, I find it hard to imagine that if Golden is their when we select, he is not the best player available.