An old saying in the NFL is the best teams make the most of their mid round picks. A lot of people think that means teams only do that by selecting rookies. The Jets are showing the league a different approach. Draft picks have become ridiculously overvalued in the NFL. Now there's something to be said for holding onto first and second round picks. Those can turn into talented players at discount rates. Mid to late round picks are different, though. There are stories every year about guys who work themselves out of a low Draft position into an excellent career. These guys are in the minority, though. Most guys taken in the middle to late stages never become impact players.
Think about it. Holding onto a pick instead of landing a top notch player is crazy. The odds of the guy the Steelers will take with that fifth round pick being better than Santonio Holmes are small. The Jets are most likely going to end up getting the better of this trade.
People need to think of it in different terms than they are used to doing. Santonio Holmes is now part of this Draft class. He was the Jets' fifth round pick. Those picks are there to help teams get good players. That is what Mike Tannenbaum does. Thomas Jones was part of the 2007 Draft class. When you consider Gang Green also landed Darrelle Revis and David Harris, that goes down as one of the greatest classes in the history of the league. Kris Jenkins was the third and fifth round pick in 2008. I'll take him over the guys the team could have selected any day.
Other teams have been slow to catch on to Mike Tannenbaum's common sense. It's to New York's advantage.