A Positive Viewpoint on the Jets' Future

No one has said that. You misread what they said, or are twisting things to suit your opinion/agenda.

 

While he believes in building through the draft, and will primarily do so, imo that doesn't mean that he would never sign a premier FA. He has a ton of cap space for 2021 and someone here posted that he has to spend 85%-90% of that to stay within the rules for minimum cap spending. With all the QBs that have failed for the Jets, if Douglas is able to draft Lawrence or Fields, then I believe that he will do whatever it takes to ensure that this QB succeeds, and succeeds spectacularly, at least he should. He isn't going to leave it up to luck or chance, and is not going to limit himself blindly sticking to some philosophy or maxim. I truly believe that if Thuney or some other excellent OG makes it to FA, Douglas will do all that he can to upgrade that OL to protect his new QB, that will be HIS pick, not Mac's. Similarly, I believe that within reason, he will add as good a WR and maybe TE prospect as he can afford and has cap space to help Lawrence succeed from day one.

I don't believe that he will wildly throw huge money at some older player like Mac did with no clue what he was doing. The only possible exception to that I could see would be Allen Robinson, but Robinson is still playing at a very high level, doesn't drop passes, and AFAIK isn't likely to stop working hard or wind up in some kind of trouble off the field. Robinson is still in his prime and on the right side of 30. But if Douglas thinks Robinson is too risky, then he will go with Smith-Schuster or Godwin or Golladay who are all 4-7 years younger than Robinson.

 

No, no way will it be finished with one more offseason, but neither will Trevor's rookie contract be wasted. There are too many variables to say definitively, but I think it's possible that we could be in better shape than we think at the moment. With the right new HC, CS and systems, I think some of our players could look better, if not a lot better, and we may realize that we didn't have as many holes as we thought, that things just looked worse because of Gase.

The Jets should certainly be more competitive next season, and I would hope that they could win at least 4, if not 6 or more games in 2021. Assuming Douglas' draft picks and FA moves work out in 2021, and he has another good offseason in 2022, then I think the team can challenge for the playoffs in 2022. Add in another good offseason in 2023, and I think the team could be a serious contender by 2024 if not 2023. Of course it will all depend upon the new HC and CS hires, avoiding injuries, some of our players returning to form or improving, and how well Douglas does in FA and the drafts, and if he is able to finish adding the 5 key positions (QB, LT, Edge, WR1 and CB1).

If we add Lawrence, we'll have at least 3 of the 5 key positions (also WR and LT) in place and that will be huge for our offense. Douglas may even add the Edge and/or CB#1 during that draft, but if not, then they will need to be added in 2022. Hall has a chance to become our #1 CB, but I think it more likely that he winds up being our #2 because of his lack of foot speed. If those 5 positions are filled well, then they will make the other players around them better. With them and a solid OL, the Jets should be very competitive.

I believe that we already have some foundational pieces in place and some backup/rotational type pieces in place. Our DL is pretty good. We have a rising star in Q. Williams, and 2 pretty good DL in Franklin-Myers and Fatukasi. With other position groups it all depends if Douglas brings upcoming FAs back or has to replace them. For instance, I think Mims is our future #1 WR and is going to be a very good one, if not a star. Crowder is a very good slot WR. If we bring Perriman back and he can stay healthy, then our WR corps will already be better than it's been in a long time. I expect Douglas to sign a FA WR and/or draft another. If he signs one of Robinson, Godwin, Golladay, Smith-Schuster, Corey Davis, Josh Reynolds, or Damiere Byrd, it could get a lot better very quickly. If he signs one of those first four, we could suddenly have one of the best WR corps in the NFL.

Right now, TE and RB is pretty much a black hole. Wesco is a good blocking TE but isn't much of a receiving threat, or at least wasn't under Gase, but then Gase didn't use TEs much. If Herndon can bounce back under the new HC, and Douglas adds a quality TE in FA (Jonnu Smith, Mo-Alie Cox, Gerald Everett, or even Hunter Henry), our TE production could suddenly be an asset again. Adding a quality starting RB will be key to help keep pressure off of Lawrence.

Our OL has improved during the course of the season. If they are able to have a full offseason of OTA, mini-camps, TC and preseason, they should be even better, even if Douglas doesn't add any new players, but I believe that he definitely will. I think he will sign a starting-caliber OG in FA and probably draft at least another IOL or OT, and maybe two. Clark could be ready to challenge for a starting job next season. Particularly because Douglas is a former OL, and will want to protect his new QB, I expect him to take some strong steps to upgrade the OL.

Of course, it could take longer if the Johnsons interfere with the hire of the new HC, if the injury bug continues to bite, or if Douglas doesn't do as well in subsequent drafts as he did this year. Other teams have turned things around pretty quickly, and there's no reason to think that we can't, especially with Lawrence and a quality HC. I believe that Douglas will continue to make the right moves and add talent in the draft, and will build a very good team. Look at the impact that Becton and Mims have already had on offense even under Gase, with his crappy play calling and system, and mediocre (or worse) QB play. Look at what Q. Williams is doing. I believe that we have every reason to be optimistic.