By Jason Klein
It won’t matter who the Jets select in tonight’s NFL Draft.
You can take that to the bank.
You’ll probably bump into Woody Johnson while you’re there. He’ll be the one shamefully depositing your hard earned PSL money.
If Woody won’t pay Revis, who will he pay?
I wish I were wrong. However, based on everything we know about this team and their owner, I’m not.
How can I be so sure? It’s simple. Woody wouldn’t open up his checkbook for Darrelle Revis.
Darrelle Revis!
He refused to pay a homegrown, game-changing, once-in-a-lifetime talent who single-handedly eliminates the opposition’s best offensive weapon every single week. Revis doesn’t just dominate in some games, or even most games. It’s literally every game! He makes it a ten-on-ten contest every week! There is no other player in the league who can dominate their position like Revis can.
Injury aside, he’s a 27 years-old future Hall of Famer who was a leader in a clubhouse that desperately needs one. Teams could spend decades searching for a player like Revis. Woody had him and didn’t make any effort to keep him. No phone call, no text message, no e-mail or tweet. Woody was more isolating than a trip to Revis Island.
Why? Because, he couldn’t justify giving $16M a year to a Cornerback. OK, fair enough. Revis isn’t a Franchise Quarterback. Understood. But this sets a very dangerous precedent for the two young players the Jets will select in the first round tonight.
Despite the Jets’ dubious draft history, what happens if one of tonight’s selections develops into a Pro Bowl-caliber talent and wants to get paid some day, just like Revis did? Assuming they don’t take a quarterback, will Woody and the Jets sack them too?
The Jets could spend years searching for another Revis.
How can any young player, who’s not a Franchise Quarterback, feel confident about a long future with the Jets? Why should fans root for and support developing players who will be jettisoned, in their prime, before a big payday?
If you won’t pay Revis, who will you pay?
Jadeveon Clowney? A victory-challenged Jets team will be in the running for the South Carolina stud next April, but he’ll want Revis-like money, or more, when his time comes too.
The bottom line is, with the acquired pick from Tampa Bay, the Jets hope to draft a player who can one day, possibly, be the type of star Revis already is today.
New GM, John Idzik, deserves a chance to try and find that elite player. At the end of the day, will it matter though?
If the past week is any indication, it won’t.
Draft choice tonight. Financial castaway tomorrow.
Take that to the bank.
You know Woody will.
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