INDIANAPOLIS – One of the big debates about the NFL draft for the Jets this offseason is whether to take Kyle Hamilton for the safety of Notre Dame number 4 as the overall choice.
Hamilton is clearly one of the best players in this year’s draft, but taking safety in the top 10 can be risky. Jets fans still have scars from Jamal Adams’ 6th draft as the overall pick in 2017. Adams proved to be a good player, but one who wanted loads of money in a no-premium position. This led to the Jets exchanging him for the Seahawks.
Jets coach Robert Saleh did not specifically comment on Hamilton, but did not rule out the possibility of safety in the top 10.
Adjust the fake drafts accordingly.
“It depends on how good he is,” Saleh told reporters at Zoom on Wednesday. “I call them unicorns. I would never want to take a midfielder in the first round, but Tremaine Edmunds was sitting there and I was wearing his shirt on the draft. He is a unicorn in the world of midfielders. It’s the same with the fuse.
“I remember there was a tough discussion about Derwin James and the man is phenomenal. You never want to say no to any position group. Obviously there are first-class positions when you look at the quarterback and the final roster, the corner and the O line. These are easy to book, but you can never say no to a unicorn and someone who has great talent and obviously the best possible player you can take at the moment. You never want to be stubborn in your thought process. To answer your question about taking safety, if it is worthy of it, it will definitely be a discussion.
Saleh also commented on several other positions that the Jets can handle this off-season.
Regarding the final rushers that correspond to his system: “I think the pass rusher is universal. Your ability to win one on one. Your ability to win in three ways – to win with speed, to win with counter moves, to win with strength. There are some really great prospects at the top of the draft. I realized that there is no such thing as a sliding name like Nick Boza or Chase Young, but these guys are really good. They are really, very good. It will be exciting to keep diving deep into all these guys about the direction we are going. It is also very deep. Don’t count those guys who are late first, early second too. It’s an exciting band to watch. “
Regarding their ability to fill the difficult space: “We feel good about it. We had the feeling that our narrow ends did everything possible this year. There were some injuries there. Tyler [Kroft] missed a few games. [Ryan Griffin] missed the last half of the year. It really helps everyone, in terms of playing with running and then adding weapons. I don’t care where you get the weapon. There is an old saying that you are as good as your third successor. Well, that doesn’t mean three wide receivers. These are three guys with skills. Adding to this aspect, when you have guys who can win one-on-one coverage in a critical situation, whether it’s a tight end, back or receiver, it all helps the quarterback. It is obvious that there are some players in the free agency in this thin area. There are some really good ones in the draft. It’s just a matter of evaluating and continuing to go through this process to see the direction we’re going. “