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With 6th pick in NFL Draft, Jets put us to sleep!

Shaun Powell

April 27, 2008

Yesterday was a day to take a nap, just as the first-round draft pick of the Jets has been accused of doing from time to time.

Whoa. This isn't what you think it is. This isn't a big diss of Vernon Gholston, a pass-rushing specialist who might be the next Mark Gastineau, minus the stupid dance and the mullet, for all we know.

This is about an NFL draft that went by the book, that stayed put better than Mel Kiper's hair, that didn't surprise, that didn't make any Jets fan run out and blow a few mortgage payments on season tickets.

The Jets got themselves a shiny new piece for their 3-4 defense. Well, OK, this may turn out fine. But right now, it's sorta like your wife went shopping and returned home with a bunch of bags from The Gap, not Victoria's Secret.

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It's a bit of a letdown, only because the Jets didn't raise the excitement level. They didn't get a quarterback to challenge Chad Pennington. They didn't get Darren McFadden, the most dangerous running back on the board, on and off the field.

They didn't get what a boring four-win team desperately needs: a reason to watch it play.

With the sixth selection overall, they either didn't want to get ripped off in a deal or didn't have the necessary goods to put themselves in position to get McFadden, a game-breaker, or Matt Ryan, considered the best of a slim group of quality quarterbacks.

And you'd better believe the Jets wanted either of those two players, no offense to Gholston. They just wouldn't come out and say it. That's a total no-no on draft day. A team must insist that the guy it drafted was the guy it wanted all along.

"We're really happy to have Vernon," said Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum, who at least sounded as if he were telling the truth.

Did they try to move up? Well, duh. Of course they did. However, and this may come as a shock, the Jets didn't have much to trade. Nor were they willing to part with their most valuable asset, next year's No. 1, because such a pick might turn out to be better than this year's. So they took the "best player available," which in draft-speak means they got what they could get.

This doesn't mean they made a mistake. The most agonizing thing about the draft, and the reason it's silly to put much stock into it or even waste a sunny afternoon watching it, is nobody knows how these guys will turn out.

Not even the self-appointed draft experts. Not even the teams themselves. Not even the players themselves.

The whole process of the draft is, essentially, an educated coin flip. These are imperfect people being judged by imperfect people. If GMs really could look into a crystal ball and get a glimpse of the future, they wouldn't, all of a sudden, take Brett Favre a lot higher than he went. They'd quit their jobs and run to Vegas.

Hey, the Jets didn't get McFadden, but the last time they chased hard after a good-looking running back, he also had tremendous physical tools and breathtaking scouting reports written about him in bold type. And he turned out to be Blair Thomas.

Also, the last time they traded up to get the player of their dreams, he turned out to be Dewayne Robertson, who was just dumped on Denver. So who knows?

"Staying at six was our preference," Tannenbaum said.

Evidently, Gholston has plenty of courage, because he was born and raised in Detroit yet turned his back on Michigan and attended Ohio State. There, despite being accused of habitually taking a few games off, he became the all-time sack leader for a program that doesn't exactly play Hofstra's schedule.

And just remember, it's hard to win a Super Bowl, or anything significant in the NFL, without being good up front. The Jets recently signed Alan Faneca, the best offensive lineman on the market, and now have drafted the top pass rusher in college football.

They have, it seems, all the basic ingredients. They just need some frosting. They need someone to bring excitement, make plays, bust a game open, reach the end zone, make folks notice them again.

The Jets will be better next season, if only because it's hard to fall from four wins. Whether they'll be worth your time depends on how you like to spend your time.

If you have trouble sleeping, we have the team for you.