No it shouldn't. I want the pass rush addressed more than anyone, but the options aren't there in FA. There are a LOT of good pass rushing OLB prospects in this draft. They don't need to overpay for an older, slower veteran.
Both are good, but will cost too much and Scott isn't going anywhere for another year. His salary is guaranteed. If the Jets cut him, there will be no FA signings.
Yes. The problem is, there aren't a lot of real good options in FA. There are several younger players with some starting experience, like Anthony Collins of the Bengals, Barry Richardson of the Chiefs, and Oniel Cousins of the Browns. There are older vets like Kareem McKenzie of the Giants and Ryan Diem (although he played OG for the Dolts this past season). There are some middle ground vets like Pat McQuistan of the Saints, Ryan O'Callaghan of the Chiefs, and Khalif Barnes and Stephon Heyer of the Raiders. With a lot of teams needing OTs, they will fly off the board. The Jets may not even get a shot at one of the top OT prospects, and even if they do, I don't think it would be a wise use of the pick. I think both the first and second round picks need to go to OLB and S or OLB and WR. I definitely think a RT prospect should be drafted, but if the Jets plan on signing one of the FAs, then it should probably from the 5th round down. With a full offseason, Ducasse might even be ready to start, or at least be a pretty solid backup. Also, undoubtedly there will be some camp cuts as well. By the time the season starts, hopefully Hunter will be a distant, dismal memory in the Jets' rear view mirror.
Griff, I don't see any way the Jets can sign two of those top 50 FAs. They may be lucky to sign one. If so, I hope it's Griffin or Gaither. I think more likely, the Jets will need to aim at 2nd or even 3rd tier FAs. They'll either have to take a younger player and hope they can coach him up, or bring in a older, cheaper, vet as a one-year rental.
Jets now have Raiders WR coach so this move could be a possibility. Let's just hope it isn't Matthew Hatchette or Justin Mccareins all over again.
I like the cheap rental idea, particularly with the Jets going to more of a power blocking scheme. That way if miracles happen and Ducasse actually pans out the Jets have next year + future covered. If not they'll be looking for a long-term RT in 2013.
Why would the Jets spend cap space on a veteran WR? Because drafting a WR in the early rounds is a complete crap shoot and even if you get it right, a WR rarely makes a significant contribution until their 3rd year (absent some very rare exceptions). So with Burress likely gone are you really ready to go into next season with Holmes and Turner as wideouts and Kerley in the slot while we wait until 2013 for Kerley to be a significant contributor and 2014 for this unnamed rookie???????????
I just hope they fix the offensive line, that shit was downright unwatchable at times last season. I wouldnt mind seeing ted ginn as a special teams return guy. Would be interesting to see what westoff could get out of him. That would be a luxury though.
Good point on the return guys. The Jets had a disastrous group there this year. The guys all had talent but there was no steadiness at all and the ST TO's killed the Jets repeatedly during the season.
This is one of the hardest questions facing the Jets this off-season. How much do they invest at WR, knowing that they've put Sanchez on a carousel already with new WR's every season. Then assuming they want to make the investment what's the best way to do it? Do they want to go get yet another short-term vet and hope that he and Sanchez develop some chemistry? Do they want to try to bring back somebody that Sanchez already knows and has had some success with? Assuming they want a long-term answer at WR do they dip into the second-tier free agents with a 3 or 4 year contract and hope that pans out? Do they draft somebody knowing that he's not likely to produce much for them this season? In retrospect it's pretty obvious that nobody had much of a clue last season. The new guys were bumping into each other and even the guys who had been in the system for awhile were running weak routes. You can put some of the blame on the system and some on Sanchez but the facts are that none of the receivers really had all that good a year.
You never know; we thought we had no chance at Nnamdi last year and Tanny figured it out. And I don't think our cap situation now as it was at the start of last year's offseason.
My fear is that Tanny, sensing that he's on the ship with Rex and Sanchez, may sell out the future to do whatever he thinks is necessary to keep it from sinking and spend that 2014 TV contract cap space with back loaded deals.
If we can win it all with some veteran free agents only to go through a few years of cap hell it would be worth it. If we fall short in a half assed attempt of our leadership to save their jobs it could be several tough years for Jets fans.
It would be worth it but I think you'd be hard pressed to find a team that was able to "buy" a ring in the NFL. I'd much rather have Tanny show patience, stop trading away picks and build through the draft by taking BPA as much as possible. That's how you get on top and stay on top giving yourself multiple realistic opportunities at a ring rather than an "all in" attempt here and there.
FA vs draft If I were Tanny, I would look to for a RT in Free Agency and sign Braylon. Braylon will be cheap and a good RT doesn't demand tons of $ that would cripple the team (like Asomugha would've done). I'd draft the best pass rusher available in the first round, since there seems to be depth there. I'd also draft a safety and a deep threat receiver, in the early rounds. In later rounds, I think S (still), O-line, TE, ILB are needs.
Why is everyone ignoring that Edwards missed almost the entire season with a knee injury? Is he healthy??????????????
