If you could travel back in time would you draft Aldon Smith or J.J. Watt, and why?

I came up with this question over the weekend and thought it was fun.

I would trade the whole 2012 draft away, move back into the first and draft both

Originally posted by jreff22:

I would trade the whole 2012 draft away, move back into the first and draft both

This. End thread.

Watt

Watt hands down. He is the best defensive player in the league right now. Both are 25 years old. Watt is known off the field for charitable work, not for reckless drunken behavior that gets him arrested and suspended by the NFL. Anyone who picks Aldon Smith has a severe case of homeritis.

As good as Aldon has been for us, I doubt that he's on the same league as JJ

Originally posted by jreff22:
I would trade the whole 2012 draft away, move back into the first and draft both

Oh man...I get moist thinking about that possibility

Watt. We wouldn't have known back then that he'd be good enough to bench RayMac, but quick inside pressure disrupts top QBs like nothing else. A dominant inside rusher trumps a dominant outside rusher. The fact that you just can't throw over him increases his value.

Originally posted by 9moon:
As good as Aldon has been for us, I doubt that he's on the same league as JJ

He is if he stays out of trouble.

Gimme Aldon. I guess I'm crazy but in the long run I see Aldon having a more productive career (if he stays out the News).

We can experiment by getting both DNA / sperm. Use Arnold Schwarzeneggar as the surrogate mother... create ultimate sack master.

Assuming Watt produces the same. $100 million is a lot of money. This defense might look different if he was on the team, don't think we would be able to afford some players.

I'll stick with Aldon.

Originally posted by 9moon:
As good as Aldon has been for us, I doubt that he's on the same league as JJ

more proof that 9 moon is the new word for cloud nine

Clearly you'd go with JJ Watt. You could imagine Justin Smith and JJ Watt anchoring either side of the defensive line? That would be unbelievably disruptive. Any 3-4 OLB could rack up sacks with the double teams those two would require.

Smith has been great, but JJ Watt has been the better player. I don't know why that's so hard for people to admit. He is basically the consensus best defensive player in the game. Smith is an elite pass rusher, but JJ Watt impacts every aspect of the game.

Even if you think they are comparable in production (which I disagree with -- Aldon has been great, JJ Watt has been off the charts), the off-the-field issues skew things in Watt's favor and make it a no-brainer.

JJ Watt in 2011 and Jeffery over Jenkins in 2012