Good Morning ☕
I follow a lot of sports teams. It’s my work, but it’s also my passion. Saturday I watched as Vissel Kobe came from behind to beat Nagoya 3-2. The Tokyo Swallows then went on to beat the rival Yomiuri Giants by the same score line later that morning, but come Saturday night I was devastated.
For all the teams I follow, losing a derby as a Norwich fan to the tractor boys down the road has an impact unmatched by anything else. The feeling walking out of that stadium was pure dejection. Despite it being the first time they’d won in our ground for 20 years. I drove the 35 minutes home in complete silence and replayed every single moment over and over.
One day I want to get to a point where once the final whistle goes, the game gets compartmentalised somewhere in my brain, tucked away so as to not ruin the rest of the day, week, month, year. Only Norwich and the NY Jets hold the significance in my life to impact my emotional state, despite me having absolutely no control on the outcome. I both hate and love that about sports.
Would you take Carnell Tate with #2 pick in the draft? Rich Cimini wouldn’t:
“Carnell Tate would be a mistake at [pick No.] 2. I’ve talked to a bunch of scouts, he is just not worth the second pick in the draft. To me, that would be a major reach. He is a wide receiver who wasn’t even the best receiver on his team. He ran a tick slow at the combine. I just wouldn’t pick a guy like that at No. 2,” Cimini explained on the “Jets Collective”
Cimini also confirmed on the podcast that based on what he’s hearing, if the Jets want Sadiq, they’re going to need to trade up for him, and considering how much help the Jets need, that’s a tough sell IMO:
“Yeah, since we last talked last week, I think the intel that I have been getting on Kenyon Sadiq is [that] he is not going to be there at [pick No.] 16. Kansas City, I think, has the 9th pick. I think the window opens for him right there. I’d be very surprised if he got down to the Jets at [pick No.] 16,”
Matt Lombardo believes that no team is better situated to bag Dexter Lawrence than the Jets:
“Might Lawrence be about to live the inverse of Leonard Williams’ reality? Williams, originally chosen by the New York Jets with the No. 6 overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft, was dealt across town to the Giants for a pair of draft picks, back in 2019. There isn’t a team in the league better positioned from a draft capital standpoint (five first-round picks over the next two years), nor a cap space standpoint, with $39.5 million in cap space this offseason and $151.5 million in 2027 to acquire Lawrence,”
The Jets hosted Washington WR Denzel Boston on Saturday. The 6’4, 212lb receiver is climbing a fair few draft boards and is absolutely an option at #16 overall. He’s coming off a season where he caught 62 passes for 881 yards and 11 touchdowns, came down with 76.9% of his contested catches and a 3.1% drop percentage. He’s the prototypical “x” receiver and is drawing plenty of interest in the first round.
We unfortunately had some sad news over the weekend as it was announced that former Jets QB Browning Nagle passed away at 57 following a battle with colon cancer. Browning Nagle was a 2nd round pick of the Jets in 1991 and spent 3 seasons here before moving on. Thoughts are with all his friends and family, gone far too soon.
Jason La Canforca believes the Jets could be set to draft Miami defensive end Reuben Bain Jr at #2 overall:
“Playing a hunch that the evaluators I really trust, who aren’t concerned about Bain’s “short arms” or ability to wreak havoc lined up inside or outside. “He’s my favorite lineman in the draft,” said one longtime NFL personnel guy. “I’m kicking him inside in nickel and watching him kick ass.” From everything we gather this pick could go down to the wire. I also wouldn’t be stunned if Ohio State linebacker Sonny Styles hears his name called here.”
Former Jets great Kevin Mawae shared a story about how he came to be a Jet despite never wanting to play Bill Parcells: “When I got drafted into the NFL, I told my wife that I would never want to play for Bill Parcells, Fast forward, I get drafted to Seattle, and I become a free agent. So in ’98, I go on free agent trips, and I go to New York Jets. So I had a meeting with Parcells, and I said, ‘Coach, I’m just gonna be honest with you. I said, I would never live in New York; I never wanted to play for you. I told him because all I see about you is yelling, screaming, cussing the players,” Mawae added. “I don’t want to be coached that way, and I don’t respond to that kind of coaching. And he goes, ‘Mawae, you don’t worry about it. He goes, ‘If you’re the player I think you are, you’ll never have to hear me yell at you.’ And he never did”
I’m not sure there is a single second overall pick that will unite the masses.
The more I’ve looked into this class the less enthused I’ve become. Not because there isn’t talent to be had, but because every single prospect is flawed.
Arvell Reese has outstanding potential, but based on what we’re going to ask him to do, he’s a gamble. David Bailey is a ready-to-go pass-rusher who in many ways is a slightly heavier Will McDonald. Love is likely the second best player in this draft but he doesn’t fill a need or tick the box for positional value. Carnell Tate? Like Cimini I agree he’s not good enough to be considered a top 2 pick, Reuben Bain Jr has T-Rex arms and every statistical model will tell you that’s a problem.
Who does that leave?
Sonny Styles.
Just as a point…I’m still taking Arvell Reese if I’m the Jets, but if they’re not sold on him then instead of David Bailey, I feel more comfortable with them taking Styles.
There have been plenty of readers of TJW who have been banging this drum for a while, but I’m finally starting to understand how in many ways, Styles may be the safest bet for the Jets in this draft.
That’s not to say that Sonny Styles is not flawed, his weakness list on his official NFL.com scouting report will do a better job than I will at diagnosing his weaknesses:
Recognition of blocking schemes needs more work.
Can afford to crank up the urgency at times.
Slow to reaccelerate on stop/start movements in pursuit.
Tight hips prevent fluid change of direction from downhill flow.
Inconsistent shading zone drops to quarterback’s eyes.
Average instincts and physicality as a blitzer.
But the positives vastly outweigh the weaknesses. A high floor player with the ceiling of a Fred Warner type.
If you read enough draft content you won’t struggle to find pieces labelling him as the best player in the draft, Fernando Mendoza included.
Styles is a converted safety who played as the weakside linebacker in Ohio’s 4-2-5 base system. He’s a 6’5, 244lb phenom who runs like a wide receiver (4.46), he’s one of the best tacklers I’ve seen at the position and last season he wore the green dot as the defensive captain and communicator.
Since moving to linebacker in 2024, Styles has 182 tackles, 17 tackles for a loss, 7 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, 8 pass defenses and 1 interception.
The more you watch Styles, the more impressive he is. Here is a video from Bengals & Brews who do a great job with these, and his reading of the game pops off, this is just the Indiana game but his positioning, his ability to filter through traffic, his discipline, everything just screams I’m going to be a future All-Pro
So instantly his ability to play the run and be used as a spy is evident. But based on his history as a safety, you know that his coverage reps are as clean as any linebacker in the class. That’s not to say he doesn’t get beat, I remember Texas targeting him a couple of times with Jayden Blue, he got beat for 6 catches and a TD in that game. But overall Styles was targeted 117 times in college and allowed just 2 touchdowns to 1 interception and 6 pass break-ups.
My comfort level with Styles being the #2 pick is sky high.
Cowboys safety Markquese Bell was arrested and charged with possession of a controlled substance and marijuana on Friday.
The Green Bay Packers are trading wide receiver Dontayvion Wicks to the Philadelphia Eagles in exchange for a 2026 fifth-round pick and a 2027 sixth-round pick.
Falcons picked up RB Bijan Robinson’s fifth-year contract option.
Dolphins free agent cornerback Jack Jones is signing a one-year deal with the 49ers.