Three hypothetical options during the off-season to address the offense: Option 1: sign a FA QB (either Cousins, Keenum, or Bridgewater), trade up in the draft order to draft Barkley. Option 2: re-sign McCown, trade up to draft Mayfield or Rosen to learn the system for a season, sign Bell. (If they trade up either way, they could offer one of their seconds and Mo Wilkerson as part of a package deal.) Option 3: re-sign McCown, stand pat at #6 in the draft order to draft Jackson to learn the system for a season before taking over, sign Bell. Regardless of their options of how they break the bank, they need to address their biggest problem: O-line depth. Us fans can talk about "franchise changing QB's" all we want, but the Jets allowed more sacks this season than a potato farmer. The offense can only do as well as how well the line protects the QB and runs the ball as evidenced in the seasons when the Jets went to the AFC championship: 1998: 25 sacks allowed, over 1800 yards rushing (Curtis Martin, 1,287) 2009: 30 sacks allowed, over 2700 yards rushing (Thomas Jones, 1,402) 2010: 28 sacks allowed, over 2300 yards rushing (LaDanian Thomlinson, 944) This season: 47 sacks allowed, 1,702 yards rushing (Bilal Powell, 772) [blecch.gif]
Why is Jackson the only QB in option #3? Mayfield could be there or maybe even Rosen. Allen certainly could be, and I'd rather have Allen than Jackson. I don't want Jackson at all, and I like running QBs. I would not give up a bunch of picks to move up for Barkley. No RB is worth that. With Love, Michel, Guice, Chubb and a number of other really good RBs in the draft, I think it would be extremely wasteful to burn picks moving up for Barkley. I don't think there's that big a gap between Barkley and the players I mentioned. With the picks the Jets burned moving up, they could add a quality edge rushing prospect and OL help. They should be able to upgrade the C position (both starting and depth in FA), and should be able to at least upgrade the depth at OG, if not add a new starter at OG in FA.
Jackson is a gimmick QB. He will never make it in the NFL. He'll be converted to another position permanently or be a gadget type player. But Lamar Jackson is just not accurate and has the same footwork problems Hack does
I agree with just about everything you say here......I do think if scenario # 1 plays out and Barkley is still on the board at # 6 the Jets will pounce but no way should they trade up for him......most likely this is what I think should happen if they sign Cousins... #1 Best available Edge #2 OL #2 RB #3 OL -C Don't be surprised if he double dips at RB ( maybe another in 4th round - plenty of good RBs ) once QB is solved...I have a gut feeling they want an almost complete makeover at RB and as much as they can on the OL. The coaching staff seemed to lose confidence in Powell. McGwire is younger and safe for now.... As far as CB goes I believe they will go FA considering they sank their high picks into the S last year and still have hopes one of those later round CBs they took show something...
Bell is going to make $14.54M on the tag this year. He'd make $17.45M in 2019 and $20.94M in 2020. That's a payout of $53M over the next 3 years that hits the cap for $53M over that span or about 10% of the Steelers cap. The Steelers gave Bell 321 carries in 15 games this year plus 106 targets in the passing game, both career highs. Under the franchise tag they'll likely push the workload as high as they can. I don't think Bell has much chance to make it to 30 intact. When a RB's workload goes up in his prime very few have managed to hold on to have a successful post-prime. I wouldn't be a buyer on a multi-year contract at this point unless I had a very good plan to preserve the tread on his tires. I don't think the Steelers will give in on this either. I suspect they want Bell as long as Roethlisberger is around and then they will draft another set of RB's looking for a gem for the next window.
Bell is a luxury the Jets can't afford...if they're smart. Signing Bell would be abandoning the rebuild AGAIN. There are plenty of RBs, even beyond Barkley, and they don't need to spend the money to get a guy who is likely on the downhill side of his career.
Free Agency Targets: 0) People We Want To Keep. There's a lot of price-dependency in here. ASJ, Enunwa, Davis, Clairborne come to mind. I mention the following two guys because needs, culture, and money could all be a fit. They're both young, fit into the youth movement, and are coming from much more cap-stretched teams. They are: 1) Andrew Norwell. For the number of people we have screaming about offensive lines as needs, I see very few people mentioning the Panthers' All-Pro guard. Carolina is not going to have a lot of cap space available, and it's possible he becomes a cap casualty. Get us an All-Pro guard, knowing that in 2019 Carpenter hits FA and Winters can be released for no dead money - or Carpenter can be released now for only 2mil in dead money. 2) DeMarcus Lawrence: Our pressure on the QB this year was ****ing pitiful. Sign the reigning NFL sack leader to a very lucrative but well-structured (3-year out?) contract. He'll likely want to go back to the Cowboys, and could get Franchised (though they'll need to make some cuts to make it happen), but he could hit the open market. Our edge presence has frankly been pathetic for about a decade. A true speed threat off the edge would give our defense a dimension it has effectively lacked since... A lot of people have focused on QBs, or the big 3 non-QB offensive skill candidates (Bell, Robinson and Landry). QB is a possibility, but for the skill-position guys I'd expect them to prefer SF or Chicago - places with more firm QB situations - and respected offensively-minded HCs. Both teams have money to spend and are going to be looking to add offensive weapons. After Norwell and Lawrence, the Jets would still have 40-50mil to spend - which is enough to grab 1-2 other lower-tier, potential long-term contributors and still keep some cap space to preserve flexibility going into 2019's FA. There's also enough money in here to go after a QB, which would change the dynamic a lot, but somehow I expect the Jets to resign McCown, draft a QB in the first, and keep the newly drafted QB on the bench to open the season as they learn the system. A QB early, a center picked up fairly early (Billy Price at the top of the second? Frank Ragnow?), and some BPA Tackle/CB/RB could give us a lot of momentum going into 2019.
I may be wrong, but i think Bell should be the primary target. QB being of course the #1 overall need, with i'm guessing the long term answer coming through the draft and short term coming through FA...But the long term QB (i.e. the young guy) needs two things to succeed, a solid O-Line and a good running game...Jac is a great example of that, Bortles didn't turn into a different guy this season, the team did behind a power running game...Bell would be the versatile, young (goes w/ the rebuild not against it), west coast offense guy that would be a great addition and take pressure off the QB position...Mark Sanchez was another guy who benefited from a good O-line / good running game...Sanchez didn't regress, the team did, Sanchez was the same guy throughout...Count me in on grabbing Bell, but doubtful Steelers let him go...too bad if you ask me...goal in FA for QB is McCown or a trade for Alex Smith in my opinion...I'm not totally sold in Keenum yet...but a good RB, with an improved O-line is the best way to go to improve the team for whomever the QB is next year
Re-sign Demario Davis Re-sign Morris Claiborne, then have him help recruit DeMarcus Lawrence if Cowboys don't franchise tag him. Dangle that "beast" Mo-Wilk and a future conditional draft pick for Alex Smith. If they pass, then go get Drew Brees and reunite him with Morton and.........Sign Jimmy Graham. Sign Nick Easton G/C Draft Saquon Barkley or Da'Ron Payne
Good point about our own FAs that we re-sign having a bearing on who we can and do sign in FA. We have a lot more FAs than the 4 you mention. We have 4-5 starters, and all our depth at S, DE, ILB and OLB, as well as several other important role players (Ealy primarily), but thankfully, most of them are much cheaper, so shouldn't have that big an impact individually, but collectively, they will add up. Even though I live in NC, I don't follow the Panthers news that closely, except in spurts. Did Norwell really make All Pro? That's a bit surprising based on how bad their OL is. Was he not one of the turnstiles when Cam was getting clobbered in the game vs the Saints? If he's as good as you say, then he must be the only one who's really good on that OL, as I think it has been horribly overrated for the last 3-4 years. If he is that good, I'd be very happy to sign him. I'd also be very happy to sign Lawrence, but doubt he'll leave the Cowboys.
Bell's a great player, no doubt about it, but as you said, the Steelers probably aren't going to let him walk, and even if they did, he would cost way too much money. It would be nice since he's a Jets fan, and would certainly add a real weapon to our offense, but imo he's just too expensive, I don't care for his attitude, and with this being such a great draft for RBs, would not be the wisest way to use our FA $s. We have a ton of FAs that will have to be re-signed. Even with all their cap space, the Jets simply cannot afford to replace all of them. The Jets have 4-5 starters who will be FAs, and a lot of their depth, including all the depth at S, DE, ILB and OLB who will be FAs. Good role players like Kony Ealy and Eric Tomlinson will be FAs unless the Jets re-sign them before free agency begins. They could possibly sign 5-10 (maybe more) of their own players for what they'd pay Bell. I'd rather the Jets use their FA $s on a new starting C, LG, OLB/DE (edge rusher like Lawrence or Ansah) and CB. Trading for Smith is out of the question unless we can get KC to take Mo Wilk plus a low round pick, and that ain't gonna happen. Giving up a 2nd or 3rd round pick for a 34 year-old QB for one year would be absolutely nuts. Sanchez did regress. His confidence was shot, and his play was abysmal his last year or so here.
I agree with you that most running backs wouldn't be able to take the pounding Bell is taking. But Bell isn't "most running backs." He is a very unique player with a unique style. I am not sure there is any running back I have ever seen quite like LeVeon Bell. To go from the 250lb straight ahead bruising back he was in college to the lean, slow developing but quick burst back he is in the pros is remarkable. I truly believe it is possible we are seeing one of the all time greats here and I could be wrong, but I don't think he's gonna fall apart early from the pounding like most running backs. The way he runs, he's like a Point Guard in basketball, who takes the ball in his hands, stops, directs where to go and then attacks. While I'll admit that style wouldn't work everywhere- you gotta have a good offensive line - I think it keeps him from taking a pounding and is going to lead to a long career.
Da'Ron Payne is a stud though. If Barkley were gone, and the Jets didn't need to reach for a qb, I would approve that pick. Can't let the past mistakes keep compounding mistakes. Gotta keep looking ahead and not let the noise influence your pick. He's got good hands too.
And jet fans would avoid compounding the past mistake of watching a team that doesn’t prioritize offensive talent & continues trying to build a super DL failing miserably all the while. Many took a year off from actively watching Bowles shit show..this would surely lead many to at least another 2 years of apathetic disinterest
Agreed, it doesn't make sense to sign Cousins and then draft a QB at 6. If you sign Cousins the Jets goals should be to use their top three picks to build an offense around him and get perhaps that one peice missing from the D that could have they most dramatic impact. Not that I am necessarily in favor of Cousins (I really haven't seen much of him), but if the Jets did sign him I would like them to get the best pass rushing OLB, RB/WR, stud OL available when they pick (not necessarily in that order) with their top three choices. Of course that exact course might also change depending on who else besides Cousins the Jets were to pick up in free agency. Why would you expend huge capital (either in draft position or cap dollars) for someone who wouldn't play for you in 2018 / 2019?
You might be right, but then again you might be wrong, and if you are and the Jets signed him they would be on the hook for a ton of money and not getting their full return. Why risk that when there are really good RB's - especially Barkley - to be had for much less? All that is assuming the Steelers let him go, which I doubt.
It can make all the difference on the Jets prospects where the perspective FA/available QBs land. Where does Case Keenum sign? Teddy Bridgewater? Alex Smith? And of course Kirk Cousins. Maybe AJ McCarron is a wildcard or Tyrod Taylor even... It will make a big difference if Denver or Cleveland gets one of these guys, for example. There's gonna be a ton of pre draft QB shuffling, seemingly a lot more than in past years, that will make the draft look very different. Hopefully Keenum won't settle competing with Bridgewater and gets an offer to start while Bridgewater returns to a starting role too
I agree that he's a stud, but the Jets HAVE to start using some of their #1 picks on the offense. Enough with the first round picks going to D every year, especially to the DL. You don't win with D in today's NFL. You have to be able to score points. The only defensive player I could get on board with at all in the 1st round would be Chubb, and that only because they desperately need a stud edge rusher; otherwise, the pick better be used on a QB, OT, RB, or trade down a time or two and take a C or the OG out of Notre Dame.
