It’s a long time until the NFL Draft, but for the New York Jets, it can’t come soon enough.
After the 2014 season concluded, the Jets’ offense ranked No. 28 in points, No. 32 in the red zone and No.32 in passing. There is no doubt the Jets’ offense is in need of a major overhaul in the offseason and the new GM must make offense the centerpoint of the offseason and, more importantly, the 2015 NFL Draft.
Last season the Jets’ John Idzik struck out on all of his offensive picks in the draft (except tight end Jace Amaro). Jalen Saunders (wide receiver), Shaquelle Evans (wide receiver), Tajh Boyd (quarterback) and Quincy Enunwa (wide receiver) all were underachievers. The 2014 wide receiver draft class was one of the strongest in recent memory and the Jets ended up drafting three players who did not see much of the field in green and white.
We can dwell on the past and talk about how disappointing the Jets were last season, but let’s take to the future.
This offseason, the Jets have a plethora of cap room and some solid picks in the draft. Sitting with the No. 6 pick, the Jets must draft a player on the offensive side of the ball. Heck, even a top-notch offensive lineman would help — but please, no more high draft picks on defense.
One name who the Jets should jump all over, if he is sitting there at No. 6, is the Alabama Crimson Tide star wide receiver Amari Cooper.
The 20-year-old is regarded as the best receiver in the class and he was even a Heisman finalist this season; he’s what the Jets need. Eric Decker will be on the team next season, but the same can’t be said for Percy Harvin who may be let go by the Jets to secure a higher draft pick and some more cap space. Drafting Cooper would give the offense a burst of youth and it would take the pressure off Decker and give him the ability to relax and play more as a No. 2 than a No.1.
Cooper’s stats speak for themselves (1,727 receiving yards and 16 touchdowns in 2014) and he has even drawn some nice comparisons to Cincinnati Bengals‘ A.J. Green and Atlanta Falcons‘ Julio Jones.
There are a lot of pressing needs that the Jets’ offense need to fill, and even the quarterback position is also another big huge question mark. The only thing that I know for certain is that if I was the GM and Cooper was sitting there at No. 6, I wouldn’t think twice about it.
Let’s see if the Jets have the same frame of mind.
Vinny Lanni is a New York Jets writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter or add him to your network on Google.
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