Skip to main content

Jets Outside Free Agency

 In a previous post, titled "Stay or Go," I examined the Jets free agents, who I would bring back, and who I would send on their way. After that exercise, we had $45 million in cap space. With many premium picks in April's draft, the current estimate is it will take about $15 million to sign the class, so that means we have $30 million remaining. 

Now we have seen Joe Douglas likes to leave a little wiggle room under the cap; he is not going to spend every last dollar, so I'm going to say he leaves about $5 million leftover, which gives us $25 million to spend. Of course, a contract can possibly be restructured, such as the 17.5 million for CJ Mosley or the $11.1 million for George Fant, if the Jets are interested in extending him. And I'm going to say that will happen, and the cap hits for those two players will be reduced by $5 million total, taking us up to $30 million.

The depth in free agency is top heavy at certain positions and downright dreadful at others. What I will do is list my primary target at several positions of need, list why I'm high on them, and what offer I would make. I'll also add a couple of backup plans.

Running back
Michael Carter has proven to be an excellent draft pick. He can catch the ball well out of the backfield, something Mike LaFleur likes to do. I also decided in Stay or Go to retain Tevin Coleman for a year. But this team does lack a power back, who can be relied on to convert a 3rd and 2 or 4th and 1. I would prefer to draft one in the middle rounds, but I'd at least check in with a couple of free agents.

My target: Pass, address this in the draft.

FA's I would consider:
James Conner-Arizona
Leonard Fournette-Tampa Bay
Melvin Gordon-Denver

Wide receiver
We kept Berrios, to go along with Elijah Moore and Corey Davis. An outside starter is sorely needed. I would get aggressive at this position, but cautiously aggressive. Mike Williams was my target, but the Chargers have locked him up and I never considered Devante Adams or Chris Godwin as realistic targets due to money.

My target: Pass, address this in the draft. If anything I would sign one for depth like a Keelan Cole-type. But I am thinking we will know the new starting receiver by Day 2 of the NFL Draft, if not Day 1.

FA'sI would consider:
Allen Robinson-Chicago
Christian Kirk-Arizona
DJ Chark-Jacksonville

Tight End
I'm not even going to mention Dalton Schultz, because I don't expect the Cowboys let him reach free agency, he will likely be franchised. Mike Gesicki is not a blocker, he is a glorified slot receiver. I saw one analyst who thought the Jets should pursue Evan Engram. As much as Giants fans loathe him, I can't imagine Evan Engram's drops would go over any better in Florham Park. So with the expectation the Jets will address tight end with a pick in the first two rounds, and considering I kept Tyler Kroft for one year as a backup, I would buy low.

My target: Maxx Williams-Arizona. Contract offer: 2 years, 3.5 million per year.

I like that Williams has the ability to block, first and foremost. He's 6'4, 252 pounds, great size. He has a run block grade of 70 or higher for 5 of his 7 seasons in the NFL. In an offense that places extra emphasis on run blocking, the Jets may value Williams more than other teams would. As far as his receiving ability goes, he's caught 103 of the 122 passes thrown his way and he only dropped two of those passes. The Jets had the highest overall drop rate of any offense last season, Williams can help turn that around. Now on the negative side, he is coming off a torn ACL. But that may benefit the Jets as they could get him on a cheaper contract.

Others I would consider:
Gerald Everett-Seattle
Mo-Alie Cox-Indianapolis

Offensive line
With re-signing LDT and Feeney, they have some depth. I do think Morgan Moses will leave, but I think right tackle gets addressed in the draft with Ikem Ekwonu. Bradley Bozeman does intrigue me, but I don't see Joe Douglas signing a center and shifting Connor McGovern to guard.

My target: James Daniels-Chicago. Contract offer: 5 years, $30 million, $17 million guaranteed
He's that young big body that teams would crave on their o-line. Right guard solved and LDT becomes a great backup.

Others I would consider:
Bradley Bozeman-Baltimore
Laken Tomlinson-San Francisco

Defensive tackle
It's the need nobody wants to address. But as of now, our interior line includes John Franklin-Myers, Quinnen Willians, and Jonathan Marshall. I don't expect Foley and Rankins back, we need to add a piece, especially one who can stop the run.

My target: DJ Jones-San Francisco. Contract offer: He made 3.5 million, so let's go 3 years, 15 million.

Others I would consider: 
Harrison Phillips-Buffalo

Linebacker
This is a position that the Jets are sorely lacking, especially in terms of speed on the outside. Jarrad Davis and Blake Cashman are projected to be gone. Quincy Williams is a useful piece, but hasn't yet proven he can be relied on as a 3-down linebacker. The quality of this position is pretty dreadful overall, so I would try to sign a starter for cheap.

My target: Anthony Walker Jr-Cleveland. Contract offer: 2 years, 8 million, $ million guaranteed.
He consistently has made 100 tackles in 3 of his first four seasons. He isn't the biggest, but he has the speed and we sorely need that to stop the dreaded screen pass.

Others I would consider:
Davondre Campbell-Green Bay
Josey Jewell-Denver
Foye Oluokon-Atlanta

Cornerback
The situation has to be just right for me to sign a starting corner in free agency. Guys like Carlton Davis, Stephon Gilmore, and JC Jackson will not come cheap. And this isn't the position where we can be investing $10 million plus. So if anything, I'm going bargain hunting here. But with a lot of young depth, I'm going to predict Douglas passes.

Players I would consider:
Joe Haden-Pittsburgh
Kyle Fuller-Denver
PJ Williams-New Orleans

Safety
This is the position that presents an impressive level of opportunity. Because I kept LaMarcus Joyner, may not be as dire as it was looking. I mean come on, our safeties right now are Ashtyn Davis and maybe Jason Pinnock. But since Joyner can't be viewed as a long term piece, it makes sense to invest in this position now while there are many young safeties hitting the market. While not all of them will be available on March 16, some of their teams are in cap hell, and aren't about to break the bank to keep them. 

My target: Marcus Williams-New Orleans. Contract offer: 4 years, $50 million, $30 million guaranteed
Second team All-Pro. Awesome against both the run and the pass. I love his speed, his youth his, energy, and his coverage.

Others I would consider: 
Terrell Edmunds: Pittsburgh. Watch for him if Williams doesn't sign.
Quandre Diggs-Seattle
Justin Reid-Houston
Jabrill Peppers-NY Giants

In all, we spent $31 million for this season on outside free agency, leaving us about $14 million left over to sign the draft class. I'll be back for a look at the draft once we start to see the dominoes of free agency fall.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Top 5 Jets Undrafted free agents

5. DL Mike DeVito, 2007 DeVito was with the Jets for six years, although he only started one game in his first three seasons. Over the last three, he developed into one of the best run stuffers in the NFL, starting 40 games, including three in the postseason. DeVito only had 3.5 sacks with the Jets - including 1 in the playoffs - but 1 of those sacks forced a fumble that Muhammad Wilkerson returned for a touchdown in Seattle.   4. WR Robby Anderson, 2016 Anderson averaged 52 catches for 764 yards and 4 touchdowns in his 4 seasons as a Jet. Statistically, 2017 was his best year with career-bests of 63 catches, 941 yards and seven touchdowns. He eclipsed 1,000 yards his first year in Carolina but only scored 3 TDs. Drop rate increased from 2% to 6.4%   3. NT Damon Harrison, 2012 "Snacks" barely played in his rookie season after having had a mountain to climb just to make the roster. Over the next three seasons, he started every game and was arguably the best run d...

Three Reasons the Mets Will Win The NL East

  1 Buck Showalter The best manager in baseball. Never will be outmanaged, always prepared, hungry, respected by all. Best of all, he is not Mickey Callaway or Luis Rojas. Enough said. 2 Reinforced Roster During the swoon of the month of June, the Mets have had a few flaws exposed. For one thing, we can all agree the bullpen does not have a lot of depth. Adam Ottavino gave up a walk-off home run to a backup catcher no one had ever heard of in Houston, but prior to that, he had allowed 1 run in 7 weeks and currently has a 2.86 ERA. Then   Drew Smith gives up a brutal go-ahead ninth-inning HR to Jason Castro, who has a little pop as any player on the Astros roster. His ERA has skyrocketed to 2.48 and his WHIP to 1.07. But some Mets fans are ready to toss both of them onto the Grand Central Parkway. The return of Colin Holderman will improve the pen. Trevor May is working his way back and I still maintain he has never been healthy since joining the Mets. Hopefully this ti...

The best July day in Jets history

 July 27, 2022. The first day of Jets practice. Let's recap what an amazing day this was, actually in my mind, the greatest July day in Jets history.: 1. Mekhi Becton willingly accepted taking the role of right tackle, which in turn allows George Fant to play left tackles, where he is a superior player compared to when he plays right tackle. There was no tackle controversy, like many fans and media thought would happen. No, Coach Robert Saleh addressed it immediately. 2. The kickers! The Jets haven't had a credible placekicker on their roster since Jason Myers. Now they have 2. Veteran free agent Greg Zuerlein and last year's late signing Eddy Piniero have made all 8 kicks they have attempted thus far. 3. Denzel Mims. The most maligned wide receiver in all of football. The second round bust. Well he looks ready to play now. 4 catches on 5 targets, including 2 catches where he had to go up and get the ball. He knows his career is on the line and he playing like it. He may no...