NFL New York Jets

2015 NFL Draft: Pick By Pick With New York Jets At No. 6

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By @rickstavig

Shane Ray, NFL Draft

Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

With the regular season now in the rearview mirror, it’s officially mock draft season. Yes, mock drafts are entirely and utterly useless. It’s all speculation loosely based on rumors and projections, with no mock draft ever being anywhere near perfect. It’s like making a bracket for the NCAA tournament: you’ll get a few right but you’ll never get them all right. Still, they’re fun to make, they’re fun to read, and it fuels hope for a good offseason and a better future for whomever you cheer for.

Here’s an update of the mock so far: no. 1 Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Marcus Mariota, QB, Oregon); no. 2 Tennessee Titans (Jameis Winston, QB, FSU); no. 3 Jacksonville Jaguars (Brandon Scherff, OT, Iowa); no. 4 Oakland Raiders (Amari Cooper, WR, Alabama) and no. 5 Washington Redskins (Leonard Williams, DE/DT, Southern Cal). Who do the New York Jets take at 6?

Shane Ray, DE/OLB, Missouri.

Obviously QB is the team’s biggest need, but with Mariota and Winston off the board in this instance, there’s no QB worth taking. That leaves them with a few options, namely; trading back to the end of the first round and slightly reaching for someone like Brett Hundley (UCLA) or even Bryce Petty (Baylor); trade/free agent market, where someone like Ryan Fitzpatrick (who played well under new OC Chan Gailey with the Buffalo Bills) would serve as a temporary stop gap; or trade up for one of the top two picks, which would cost a plethora in draft capital. I’m going to speculate that Gailey and new HC Todd Bowles are going to go with the second option and allow for some competition with disappointing incumbent Geno Smith.

You could even make the case an edge rusher isn’t the Jets second or third biggest needs either (CB, OT), but it’s hard to pass on a talent like Ray in this scenario, who just might be the most polished pass rusher in the ’14 draft class.

Ray (6-foot 3, 255-pounds, 4.55 40 projection) is a very impressive athlete with elite explosion. Expect him to put up tremendous Combine numbers. But don’t think he’s just a workout warrior, either, as he put up 20.5 TFL’s and 13.5 sacks going against SEC competition this past fall. With an elite get-off, flexibility and bend, violent and active hands and a mature repertoire of moves and counters, he should be counted on to make a contribution immediately, certainly on passing downs. Yes, he needs some refinement in stopping the run, but I wouldn’t be worried about that long term.

Ray would fit in well with Bowles’ scheme, which is highly unpredictable and utterly effective thanks to it’s versatility, and the Jets need an impact pass rusher to go along with building blocks like Muhammad Wilkerson and Sheldon Richardson up front. OLB Quenton Coples is really better suited as a 43 DE and has seemingly plateaued, and unless the Jets pick up his 5th year team option, will be gone after 2015. OLB’s Calvin Pace and Jason Babin will each be 35 this fall and each has just one year remaining on their current deals.

The future of OLB for the Jets is uncertain at best and adding a talent like Ray would quell that, and give Bowles a new weapon to toy with.

Rick Stavig is an NFL Draft Columnist for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @rickstavig or add him to your network on Google+.

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