That’s right… If you read the Final Breakdown, posted just hours before the draft started, I managed to get this one right almost perfectly. Everything I read, said as much smoke the Bills and Jets were blowing about former West Virginia WR Tavon Austin the St Louis Rams were not leaving this draft without him. They sent picks #16, 46, 78 and 222 in order to get Austin and the #71 pick, of which the Bills should have been thankful to get such a bounty. Think about this, Darrelle Revis got the Jets the #13 overall and a 3rd round pick next year, while a kid who has yet to play an NFL down, was able to haul a first round pick only 3 picks lower than what the Jets got for Revis, as well as a 2nd, a 3rd, and a 7th round pick in a draft class as an organization, you should already be prepared for. To me that’s amazing. I get the slot receiver in the NFL is a really sexy position and with guys like Wes Welker, Victor Cruz, and Danny Amendola getting new big contracts. (We all know Cruz is getting paid!), there should be a certain allure to giving your quarterback a guy who fits that mold. Sam Bradford should be thrilled. Austin will be an immediate upgrade along with college teammate Stedman Bailey to give the Rams some legitimate threats across the middle. Now, finally we can get to the Bills.

With the #16 pick in the 2013 NFL draft the Buffalo Bills select: Florida State QB E.J. Manuel.
Wait… what?? Not Geno Smith? Not Syracuse Alum Ryan Nassib? Not possible 1st rounder in 2012 USC Matt Barkley? No folks, the Bills seem to think that charisma can win you football games. If you listen to an interview with Manuel, you can’t help but fall in love with the kid. He seems to think and speak clearly and his smile will look great on a cereal box, but can he make a difference for the Bills this year? NO. The Bills took a major risk with this pick. First round picks should be players that fill a need. They got a player that down the line can make an impact, not an immediate one. If we made out grade based on just the first round the Bills would get a PUSH. Good thing we have a few more picks to look thru in a more succinct manner.

#41 – USC WR, Robert Woods – Matt Barkley’s most consistent target should be able to help spread the defense and give Buffalo their wish of using Stevie Johnson in the slot.
#46 – Oregon LB, Kiko Alonso – 81 tackles, 14 for a loss, and 4 INT his senior season at Oregon.
#78 – Texas WR, Marquise Goodwin – Raw receiver with incredible (4.27) 40 speed.
#105 – North Carolina State Safety, Duke Williams – a sure tackler with off field issues that drove him out of the 2nd round. The bills have said he will be on the field in Nickel packages from day 1.
#143 – Clemson Safety, Jonathan Meeks – A 6’ 209lbs “thumper” who fills a need at Strong Safety. DaNorris Searcy should be on notice.
#177 – FSU Kicker, Dustin Hopkins – Hopkins became the NCAA FBS All-time kick scorer with 459 points, and can also kick off, a great value pick in the 6th round.
#222 – Arkansas TE, Chris Gragg – caught 72 passes for 1, 003yards and 4 TD’s in 4 seasons.

PASS, FAIL OR PUSH? – PUSH – The Manuel pick is and overwhelming WHOA to what really isn’t a bad draft for the Bills. GM Buddy Nix got a lot of value late in the draft and as we said before helped his team with good talent at an inexpensive price. In three years, when we see E.J. Manuel either flourish or flop this grade will obviously change from a push.

Up next, with the #9th pick in the 2013 NFL draft, the N.Y. Jets (who probably should have traded one of their top two picks, but decided against it) select Alabama CB Dee Milliner. After trading away their multiple pro-bowl corner Darrelle Revis to Tampa only days before, Rex Ryan and his defensive mindset grabbed Milliner after both Detroit and Cleveland went in a different direction. Milliner was a unanimous 1st team All American in 2012. He finished his college career with 6 INT’s in 30 starts. His numbers are not outstanding, mainly because he had the Nnamdi Asomugha effect, where offenses knew better than to throw in his general direction. Milliner is not afraid to hit anybody, the problem with that is his injury history, including the torn labrum that kept him from fully participating at the NFL combine. Dee will compete with Antonio Cromartie for the CB1 job from day 1 of training camp.
The problem here will be the distractions. Milliner only 5 minutes after being drafted was asked what he thought of the sound of “Milliner Island?” Dee, even if he were to win DROY would still be hiding in the shadow of Revis, and that is something he just can’t control.

With the #13th pick in the 2013 NFL draft the NY Jets select: Missouri DT Sheldon Richardson – This means only one thing. The defense is going back to a 4-3. Richardson is a complimentary player in a 3-4 system but is a pass rushing penetrator in a 4-3. Perhaps the most athletic interior lineman in the draft, Richardson compiled 6 sacks, 4 forced fumbles and 18.5 tackles for loss while at Missouri and managed 30 reps of 225lbs at the combine. (Whoa!) As for whether or not it fills a need… NO. The Jets needed an outside rusher or an offensive weapon, even an offensive lineman would have seemed like a more reasonable, safer decision. This pick left most Jets fans hanging their heads. Richardson isn’t going to win the Jets any games the way a Tyler Eifert could have. Even Texas Safety Kenny Vaccaro would have been possibly a better call if you are trying to fill a need. If this was picking the best player on the board, then I again would question; with so many needs, why not trade out of this position in order to obtain more picks for either this draft or next year?
The Jets also traded their 4th round pick to New Orleans for RB Chris Ivory. Ivory is exactly what Rex Ryan always wanted from new Titans back up Shonne Greene. At 27, the Jets signed Chris to a team friendly contract and should be the starter right from the start. This was a great trade on the part of GM John Idzik. Jets fans should be excited to finally have a running game. Let’s review the remainder of the NY Jets selections
#39 – West Virginia QB, Geno Smith – Great value at #39. What some considered the best QB in the weak QB class, Smith will challenge David Garrard for the starting job right away. This clearly spells the end of the line for Mark Sanchez, as the new GM now has his guy at QB. Pack your bags Mark, it may take until the trade deadline to find someone interested in your services, but it’s bound to happen if he isn’t flat out released.
#72 – Kent State OG, Brian Winters – Wrestling background with a nasty streak in him. He is a “brawler” which is exactly what the Jets offensive line needed, some toughness. I had hope the Jets would have decided on a guy like Chance Warmack at #9, Winters is a great complimentary piece while also getting Milliner at #9.
#141 – Virginia OT, Oday Aboushi – 32 starts at LT. He will give the Jets some depth at need position. He is not a starter, but can help fill a hole in case of injury or certain packages.
# 178 – Michigan DT/ OG, William Campbell – A DT the Jets are hoping to turn into a mauler in the middle as depth for the interior line. He put up 35 bench presses of 225lbs at his pro-day which is unbelievable.
#215 – Wake Forest RB/FB, Tommy Bohanon – John Connor is gone, and the Jets will be hoping to find their lead blocker in the 6’1, 246lbs Bohanon.

PASS, FAIL OR PUSH? – FAIL – The NY Jets were in a position to hold this draft hostage with two first round picks, and did nothing to address some serious holes on their roster. The team now has 5 QB’s after releasing Tim Tebow, thank god (no pun intended) and has no targets for whoever wins the QB1 job to throw to. The Offensive line is still a work in progress, as is the pass rush. I fully understand you couldn’t fix this team in one draft. Like the saying goes “Rome wasn’t built in a day.” I do however, feel trading one of the two top picks the Jets had after the Revis deal would have created both cap space, and given them the ability to fill more holes with good young talent. That’s the deciding factor why the Jets got a failing grade.

And finally last but certainly not least:

However with the way the pre season runs these days in the NFL the only QB they will probably actually play any protracted amount of time against will be Luck and whomever The Jets trot out.  With Pittsburgh being the first game, and New England being the last we can guarantee Tom Brady might not even be in the building, let alone throw any passes.  The exciting match-up comes on a primetime affair televised on FOX between Eli Manning and Andrew Luck.  Luck is an emerging star with all the tools and in week two of the pre season he will probably play the entire first half.

Three AFC teams that the Giants don’t face again in the regular season in 2013, should make for a good opportunity to test a few things out and to get after a few QB’s with some talent….and The Jets

In 2011 the team finished 8-8 after Rex Ryan’s third straight Super Bowl guarantee and didn’t even make the playoffs. Revis then tears his ACL in Week 3 of this past season against the Dolphins and thus sank the Titanic known as the New York Jets. Why did I choose the
 Titanic as a  reference? Because the Jets look more like a shipwreck than a professional football team!

The writing is on the wall here Jets Fans. Mike Tannenbaum is gone, so thankfully no one else is going to give $30 million more to Mark “I-Look-Like-I’ve-Lost-Interest” Sanchez, but the Jets unfortunately still have to pay for all 
the salary mistakes Tannenbaum and Woody Johnson have put their team under. John Idzik is
 renowned for his ability to do just that, but not in one year’s time people! The Jets over the course of the last five 
years have gone from a team with a world of potential to a team lacking even an identity. You can’t 
blame that on one man, but there is one man who can help us, and that man ladies and gentlemen, is Darrelle Revis.

Revis, even with a torn ACL, could cover most receivers better than half the corners in the NFL. He is in 
the same sentence as Deion Sanders and Charles Woodson, names that immortalize that position. He, meaning Revis, 
seems to agree with me. As the news reported in early February, Revis wants to be paid a whopping $16 million per year on his next contract, which would make him the highest paid defensive player in the NFL if it were to happen. Obviously no one in the organization wants to see Revis leave, but if his needs are to be paid at that price, is that too high a price to pay? The answer to that is clearly YES. Even for most teams not under 
salary cap restrictions, a $16 million a year player is a tough pill to swallow financially. For the Jets? They would 
literally choke on it. Ever get a pill stuck in your throat? Nasty right? If New York signs Revis, that taste plus a 
little dirt is what Jets fans will taste until his contract expires.

Let’s re-write the question then. Not “Is the price too high for Darrelle?” but to “At what price can we sell 
Darrelle?” For those Jets fans who tried to punch me through the computer for such blasphemy, think about this: it’s going to be a long season with, or without Revis, so go get some ice for that hand, get some tums for that heartburn, and maybe some aspirin for that hangover. For those of you still with me, you’re probably asking “Has it really come to this?” The answer, in a word, is “Yes.” Despite the most recent news that the Jets have released Bart Scott, Calvin Pace, Jason Smith, Eric Smith, and Josh Baker, the Jets are just barely under the cap, and leaves them basically stranded with laughably very little money to play with during the free agency period.

So again I ask you, if you were to sell your best player and thus give your team a chance to start – wait for it Jets fans – ”rebuilding” for the next regime, doesn’t that seem like an intelligent thing to do? Doesn’t it? Revis could garner a hefty price for those teams thinking he’s the missing piece. It would also benefit the Jets in that they wouldn’t be burying themselves in a monster contract they have no right to even offer the man.

Now, I will ask all you football fans to tweet me your answers. In the end, at what price would you accept a trade for Revis, and at what price are you willing to pay for being a Jets fan?

You can find me at @JFerguson631

Years ago, our very own Eli Manning, did not get off to the best start to his career. In fact, in his first four seasons he had similar numbers to Mark Sanchez’s career (four seasons).

Sanchez has passed for 11,887 with 68 touchdowns and 68 interceptions and helped the Jets reach the AFC Championship game in his first two seasons as a pro. In Eli’s first four seasons, he passed for less yards, 11,385, but threw for a better touchdown/interception ratio with 77/64. Even though Eli has always seemed to have a more promising career since he was drafted, he had his Sanchez moments in his early years.

As faith would have it, Eli went on to win the Super Bowl at the end of his fourth season and has showed no signs of slowing down ever since. He has greatly progressed and has truly become an elite quarterback when he won his second Super Bowl ring. Since 2010, it seems as though Sanchez has regressed mightily.

I am in no way saying that Sanchez could ever amount to what Eli has become, but stranger things have happened. If I were the Jets, I would let him finish the season out and give him one more shot at leading this team next year. If he is used properly and has the help of a surrounding cast, he could be extremely valuable. If they let him go, they may regret not giving him that last chance. After all, one man’s trash could become another man’s gold.

Luckily, the Seattle Seahawks released Braylon Edwards Monday from the injury-reserve list.

Edwards played for the Jets in 2009 and 2010 and emerged as one of Mark Sanchez’s favorite targets. He caught 88 passes for 1,445 yards and 11 touchdowns in those two seasons with the Jets.

Seeing that the Seahawks released Edwards, the Jets desperately signed him in hopes that he could be a spark plug in a playoff run for the Jets. This comes weeks after Edwards called the Jets front office a bunch of “idiots”. Desperation is an understatement.

With the Jets remaining schedule being very weak, let’s see if Edwards can help this team or just add to the circus it has become.