This possible offseason seems to suggest that the Jets can be quite competitive in 2021: CURRENT CAP SPACE: 77 M Trade Darnold to Eagles for 2nd Round Pick (#37) = 10 M Cut Lewis = 5 M Various Other Cuts (Griffin, White, Smart, Finch, Doctson, Malone, etc.) = 12 M NEW SALARY CAP TOTAL = 104 M PLAYERS TO RE-SIGN: Maye 15 M Poole 6 M Maulet 1 M Farley 1 M V. Smith 1 M TOTAL FOR RE-SIGNED PLAYERS = 24 M (CAP NOW AT 80 M) FREE AGENTS TO SIGN (SALARY ESTIMATES FROM PFF): J. Thuney G 14.25 M C. Samuel WR 9.75 M J. Brown LB 12.0 T. Hendrickson DE 12.0 C.J. Beathard QB 3.0 D. Arnold TE 2.0 C. Santos K 2.0 TOTAL FOR FREE AGENTS = 55 M (CAP NOW AT 25 M) DRAFT: PICK 2: Wilson QB 23: K.Toney WR 34: I. Melifonwu CB 37: Alex Leatherwood T/G 66: K. Gainwell RB 86: Jamin Davis LB 98: Tommy Tremble TE 130: Drake Jackson C 138: Garrett Wallow LB 162: Robert Rochell CB 215: TaQuan Graham DT TOTAL FOR ROOKIES: 12 M (CAP NOW AT 13 M) ROSTER: QB: Wilson, Beathard, Morgan (3) WR: Samuel, Crowder, Mims, Toney, Berrios, V. Smith (6) TE: Herndon, Tremble, Arnold (3) RB: Gainwell, Johnson, Adams, Perine (4) OT: Becton, Leatherwood, Fant, Edoga (4) OG: Thuney, Van Roten, McDermott, Clark (4) C: McGovern, D. Jackson (2) DE: Hendrickson, Franklin-Myers, Phillips, Zuniga, Huff (5) DT: Q. Williams, Fatukasi, Shepherd, T. Graham (4) LB: Mosley, Brown, Cashman, J. Davis, G. Wallow (5) CB: Hall, Melifonwu, Poole, Austin, Guidry, R. Rochell (6) S: Maye, Davis, Maulet, Farley (4) K Santos P Mann LS Hennessey Obviously, this is only one of many possible scenarios, but I think we can field a competitive team if we use our resources right!
A reasonable effort tbh, I don't agree with all of it but it does leave a nice rounded squad. In FA I want Curtis Samual as the WR, cheaper and will fit this system like a glove. Loving Hendrickson but I can't agree with Reed at TE, all the talent is there but he just can't stay healthy, which is a shame really. Also, I like Younghoe Koo as a kicker, give him what he wants, I can't believe we let him pass us by when we had all those troubles in 19 and this guy was sat twiddling his thumbs at home with nobody willing to take a chance until the Falcons did eventually. I like the look of Toney in the draft, a player that also could be special in this system.
Yes, Reed has been hurt a lot. I see him in this view as a veteran backup tight end who can mentor the two other young tight ends that will get the bulk of the snaps. Reed certainly killed us last year and proved to me that he can more than chip in if we limit his snaps! I can't really argue with you about Samuel, as I'd be happy to have him instead of Davis. I just think Davis has more potential to be the #1 receiver we need. Great call on Koo!
I like the top 6 of the draft. For the amount of money the Jets will be laying out I would hope we get a better receiver than Davis. 16 million for him seems like a lot.. Just think we can get a better bang for those types of dollars. Glad Poole and Crowder are coming back. Nice job.
Not sure I see us waiting until 66 to draft OL. And we are definitely picking up a FB, that's not debatable.
With so many informed posters giving the thumbs-down on Davis, I have to rethink my choice for free-agent wide receiver. Thing is, I think that Godwin and Golladay will be franchised, and Robinson probably won't come here without Watson. My impression is that JuJu is a possession receiver with a prima donna attitude. Can we agree then that Samuel is the best choice for our free agent WR?
I like the idea of signing Samuel and drafting a WR by the end of day 2. You're right that we can't assume the WR's who we dream of signing will hit the open market. We really need to find a #1 in the draft like the Colts did with Harrison and Wayne, the Chiefs did with Hill, and the Bucs did with Evans.
I love Toney but I think 23 is a little high for him. Need a rb, I hate signing free agents from NE or Pitts. I think the Bengals make a major push for Thuney. The best free agents are going to be the guys released in the next 2 weeks,due to the salary cap
I share your hesitation to sign Patriot players, as BB is a genius at putting all his players in the exact best position for them to succeed, and surrounds them with other players similarly functioning well. I think Thuney's record proves that he is durable and competent, and he can stand on his own (particularly if surrounded by our budding star LT and likely competent C [who had a good 2019 and last half of 2020 surrounding a poor first half of 2020]). I disagree with you about Toney, though. I feel confident that he will be a transcendent star in the NFL. Just look at his tape--the guy's like a freaking pinball machine, who disappears in your sights like a ghost and then refuses to go down when you do grab ahold of him. Add great quickness in getting open and very good hands and you have a star. I feel just as confident in his budding stardom as I did in Becton's last spring.
Your points about free agents generally make a lot of sense to me. Let's be vigilant to pick up the right players who shake free the next couple of weeks. I love Harris and had doted on him as a RB for #23, but I was just blown away by Toney. Because the NFL is more a passing league and we need a difference maker WR, I think Toney is the way to go. Good point about the Bengals, but I think we can outspend them, and give Thuney the satisfaction of beating BB twice a year!
Who is J Brown LB? I know it's a minimal signing from the system but Jordan Reed honestly needs to retire. Teams would be doing him a favor by not offering him a contract, every six NFL weeks the poor guys concussed. Doubt we'll sign Thuney. It just seems to go against the team building philosophy that the 49ers offense had in investing big in tackles and drafting guards or finding guards to fill in. I think we'll sign one but not him at the contract he'll command. Gotta see what Hendrickson is going to command contract wise. For better or worse he's a one year wonder so far. Maybe his best football is ahead? But he's probably going to be the most sought after edge with Barrett but he's two years younger. Pretty good FA class for edge rushers. As far as the draft goes, I don't know much about this Cuse corner that's been getting a good amount of hype, but I do really think we'll sign Sherman as a one or two year stop gap to be a buy-in the locker room guy and see what we have at corner with all of these young guys that played decent at times (Austin, Hall, Guidry, Maulet, etc.). Austin and Hall are both actually pretty good cover 3 fits (Austin better for cover 2 or a switch to safety IMO though). Maulets a slot corner by the way, and to small and frail to play safety. I do not like Freiermuth at all. Very robotic every time I've seen him play and doesn't shield with his body well enough for his size. Trey Smith is a monster but we'll know a bit more about the scheme for and adapting the scheme to the players rather than vice versa if we draft him. Good athlete for his size, but still not very fleet of foot. He's a road grader that you want going forward not laterally. Drake Jackson is awesome. 44 consecutive starts and the leader of a great offensive line. Perfect fit here.
Good job. Too bad you changed Davis to C. Samuel if you want a #1 WR. Samuels isn't and never will be a #1 WR imo. Davis may be a rising star and he's a very good blocker which our offense supposedly needs. I like Samuel a lot, and would be happy if we signed him, but if you were after a #1 WR, I don't think he's it. Also, Toney and Samuel are somewhat similar players. If you really want Toney, then I think the WR signing should be Davis, Robinson or Godwin or maybe a couple of lesser-known, cheaper WRs who are fast like Pringle of KC and/or good blockers. I like your FA signings except for Reed. He just can't stay healthy. I'd also prefer Daniel Carlson as the K, but wouldn't be upset with Koo. Jayon Brown will definite help our LB corps with pass coverage/defense. In your draft, I love the pick of Wilson, Toney, Gainwell, Melifonwu, and Freiermuth, although I'll be shocked if Gainwell falls to #86. I like Trey Sermon and Jarret Patterson too, so I might wait and take one of them. I like Trey Smith, but am not sure he's a fit for our offense. I think he's a better fit in a man blocking, power scheme. I'll have to watch footage on Drake Jackson. The scouting report(s) I've read on him are less than stellar. The one thing that I don't like about your roster is the OT position. Edoga is awful and Dermott isn't a whole lot better. This is too good a draft to not come out of it with at least a swing tackle if not our future RT. With the 2nd 5th round pick, I'd likely look to take a PR be he a WR, CB or RB. With the 6th round pick I'd look to take another ST, a gunner or maybe a kicker. We don't have a 7th round pick so we won't have pick #215. My draft would look something like this: DRAFT: PICK 2: Wilson QB 23: K.Toney WR 34: Dillun Radunz RT 37: Ifeatu Melifonwu CB 66: K. Gainwell RB 86: Hunter Long TE 98: Aaron Banks OG 130: Ihmir Smith-Marsette WR or Demetric Felton WR 138: 162: It is going to be exciting, because there are so many ways in which JD can go. This is a strong and deep draft, and it's going to be an historic FA class. We could very well be a playoff team in 2021 if we get lucky and JD is able to sign the FAs they want and the draft falls the right way.
Thanks for your thought-provoking post. Jayon Brown (last year with Tennessee) has been getting some notice for his fit for us as a zone coverage linebacker. Here's his blurb from Pro Football Focus: "Another undersized, modern-day linebacker, Brown has earned the 10th-best coverage grade in the league since 2018. His profile is eerily similar to Matt Milano's - they're plus coverage players, below-average run defenders and both have a fifth-round pedigree. The one difference is stylistic, as Milano has done his best work when lined up in single coverage while Brown has performed best in zone. Brown also has the fourth-best forced incompletion percentage since 2017, so he will get his hands on the ball in the middle of the field." We always have seemed a mile short on coverage linebackers, and now that we may be going to a predominantly zone scheme, Brown might help. Yes, it might be a mercy for Jordan Reed to retire while he has a few brain cells intact. And I now read that he's mostly interested in going to a Super Bowl if he keeps playing. I was mostly thinking that he could mentor Herndon and our rookie tight end, and give them pointers about the new offensive system. I was also impressed with his clearly maintained ability to wipe the floor with the Jets defense last year. But then again, a lot of people wiped the floor with our defense last year. Your post just underlined that I've been indulging in wishful thinking. I haven't been able to give up my wishful thinking that we get Thuney or Scherff, though. I got really tired of rushers being in our quarterback's face before he could turn around the last few years. Getting rid of Winters finally was a plus. Now I want an all-star guard to team up with our all-star LT, a decent center, a talented and promising rookie RG, and an athletic RT to give our rookie FQB the protection to which he became accustomed at BYU, so he can work similar magic here. We've got the money for Thuney or Scherff, and the market for talented young free agent tackles is bare, apart from Taylor Mouton. Besides, I bet that Thuney would join most Jet fans in wanting to stick it to BB! A lot of people agree with you about Sherman, and I guess he would be a good mentor/locker room influence if he really wants to play here. I'm generally fed up with older free agents, though. It seems that they just want to collect a last big contract, rest on their laurels, and do everything they can to avoid injury (which may include nursing injuries, for all I know). They certainly lack the fire of young players who are striving to reach their playing potentials and second big contracts! After Trumaine Johnson and others, I'm particularly leery of aging, slowing cornerbacks, unless they're gung-ho about and able to play safety. By the way, I thought Maulet, while too slow to be an effective long-term corner and too small to be an effective long-term safety, played both corner and safety well enough in 2020 as a fill-in reserve to be a part of the 2021 roster. A lot of safeties weigh 190 pounds, and he's more compact than most. I think we need a young tight-end to compete with and back up Herndon. I think Freiermuth fits the bill adequately as both a receiver and blocker, but I'm not married to him. Whom do you like as an alternative TE in the 2nd to 4th round? Good points about Trey Smith. Another soft spot for me is monsters, particularly if they have Rodin-like qualities. Realistically, though, I probably should substitue Leatherwood, Kendrick Green, or Quinn Meinerz.
Upon further thought, I like your draft better than mine! Obviously, I have mixed feelings about Samuel (who has terrific speed and adequate size) and Davis (who has great size and adequate speed). Looking at their tape and statistics, I convinced myself that both have the potential to be number one receivers, but I could be wrong. Damn, both Fant and Edoga are terrific athletes, but so was Wayne Hunter! Sucks that none of them are good at football! Guess I'm a sucker waiting for that athletic potential to break though!
Based on some of the feedback, I've decided to update my draft picks (Alex Leatherwood for Trey Smith and Tommy Tremble for Pat Freiermuth) and change my free agent TE from Reed to Arnold. Unfortunately, this leaves us with Van Roten for another try at RG, unless Clark or some other miracle comes through.
Samual will be a great fit with our offence, regardless whether he is classed as a true number 1 WR or not, with the added bonus that he can run as well.
Pretty good stuff! Well done. My only comment is I am unsure that Saleh though you addressed the Edge and LB via In FA ( like both btw!) is going to not want to pass any edge/ DL/ LB in the draft. I also like Okwara and Judon (though Asking for huge pay). I think Samuel is a great pick. Plenty of good solid WRs out there. Whether JD is going to nab Thuney or not, I hope he has an immediate backup plan or option #2 for OL in FA. M
