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We hear all the time that early draft picks are vital to building a winning team. Of course to build a competitive roster you have to hit on late round picks and find some diamonds in the rough. However for this exercise, I'm going to look at the starters for the Jets compared to the starters for Seattle and see where each player was drafted.
Obviously you can compare yourself to any team, I chose the Seahawks because they have been to back-to-back Superbowl championships and honestly, they should have won both of them.
First up we're going to go with the offense:
| Jets | Drafted | Seattle | Drafted |
| Geno Smith (QB) | 2nd Round | Russell Wilson (QB) | 3rd Round |
| Chris Ivory (RB) | Undrafted | Marshawn Lynch (RB) | 1st Round |
| Brandon Marshall (WR1) | 4th Round | Doug Baldwin (WR1) | Undrafted |
| Eric Decker (WR2) | 3rd Round | Jermaine Kearse (WR2) | Undrafted |
| Jeremy Kerley (WR3) | 5th Round | Chris Matthews (WR3) | Undrafted |
| Jace Amaro (TE) | 2nd Round | Jimmy Graham (TE) | 3rd Round |
| D'Brickashaw Fergusonn (LT) | 1st Round | Russell Okung (LT) | 1st Round |
| James Carpenter (LG) | 1st Round | Alvin Bailey (LG) | Undrafted |
| Nick Mangold (C) | 1st Round | Lemuel Jeanpierre (C) | Undrafted |
| Oday Aboushi (RG) | 5th Round | J.R Sweezy (RG) | 7th Round |
| Breno Giacomini (RT) | 5th Round | Justin Britt (RT) | 2nd Round |
I
It's interesting to see how the starting roster is composed
1st Rounders: Jets (3), Seahawks (2)
2nd Rounders: Jets (2), Seahawks (1)
3rd Rounders: Jets (1), Seahawks (2)
4th Rounders: Jets (1), Seahawks (0)
5th Rounders: Jets (3), Seahawks (0)
6th Rounders: Jets (0), Seahawks (0)
7th Rounders: Jets (0), Seahawks (1)
Undrafted: Jets (1), Seahawks (5)
Nearly half of the projected starters on the Seahawks are undrafted free agents. Now obviously the Seahawks don't win with their offense, they win by limiting their turnovers and playing exceptional defense. However nobody can win a Championship without being able to make plays on the offensive side of the football. Their scouting department has certainly earned its dinner tonight by plugging in five capable starters without having to spend a single draft pick. Baldwin/Bailey/Jeanpierre and Kearse are Seattle finds from a pool of UDFA options, Chris Matthews was elsewhere before he was brought on by Seattle.
Four of the five first round draft selections for both teams are on the offensive line with Marshawn Lynch the only skill position player taken in the first round of the NFL draft, of course he was taken by the Bills and not the Seahawks. You have to go all the way back to 2002 to find the last player the Seahawks took on the offensive side of the football in the first round who wasn't a lineman, that player being TE Jerramy Stevens.
Defense
| Jets | Drafted | Seahawks | Drafted |
| Muhammad Wilkerson (DE) | 1st Round | Michael Bennett (DT) | Undrafted |
| Damon Harrison (NT) | Undrafted | Tony McDaniel (DT) | Undrafted |
| Sheldon Richardson (DE) | 1st Round | Brandon Mebane | 3rd Round |
| Quinton Coples (OLB) | 1st Round | Cliff Avril (DE) | 3rd Round |
| Calvin Pace (OLB) | 1st Round | KJ Wright (OLB | 4th Round |
| David Harris (ILB) | 2nd Round | Bobby Wagner (MLB) | 2nd Round |
| Demario Davis (ILB) | 3rd Round | Bruce Irvin (OLB) | 1st Round |
| Darrelle Revis (CB1) | 1st Round | Richard Sherman (CB1) | 5th Round |
|
Antonio Cromartie (CB2) |
1st Round | Cary Williams (CB2) | 7th Round |
| Marcus Gilchrist (SS) | 2nd Round | Kam Chancellor (SS) | 5th Round |
| Calvin Pryor (FS) | 1st Round | Earl Thomas (FS) | 1st Round |
Again, it's very interesting to see how one of the best defensive teams in football compares to the Jets, a team who is expected to be one of the best defensive teams in football in 2015:
1st Rounders: Jets (7), Seahawks (2)
2nd Rounders: Jets (2), Seahawks (1)
3rd Rounders: Jets (1), Seahawks (2)
4th Rounders: Jets (0), Seahawks (1)
5th Rounders: Jets (0), Seahawks (2)
6th Rounders: Jets (0), Seahawks (0)
7th Rounders: Jets (0), Seahawks (1)
Undrafted: Jets (1), Seahawks (2)
The Jets have a tremendous amount of talent on the defensive side of the ball, and they've certainly paid the price for it. Outside of Calvin Pace and Antonio Cromartie, the Jets have 5 first round selections starting this year and that's not counting 2015 first round selection Leonard Williams. Where as Seattle has just two. Two of their very best players were located in the 5th round in Sherman and Chancellor, again their scouting department deserves a hat tip here.
Seattle may be the exception to the rule and when I get time, I'm going to dive into this a little deeper to get a more league-wide grasp on just how important first round selections are. If you can find nearly half of your league envied defense in the 5th round or later, you're doing one hell of a job. The Jets have relied on high selections to get their defense to where it is, where as Seattle have relied on later picks with high complimentary hits in Irvin and Thomas.
I just find this quite interesting to look at, hopefully you do too.