Combine is now over, so we officially have every piece of information we can evaluate our prospects on (other than off the field issues that may arise). The only thing left that will affect the draft is free agency. Anyway, my mock offseason: FREE AGENCY: Sign Alcrotraz, 2 yrs ~4-5M per year No explanation needed Sign Devin McCourty, ~8M per year Pats are going to resign Revis, and I hope McCourty is going to sneak through the cracks. Rutgers local guy, I think if he reaches FA, he'll be a Jet, and would be perfect for us. Sign Jason Worilds, ~7-8M per year Pitt can't afford him. NJ local. We need an OLB to line up next to Coples. Here is your guy. Sign CJ Spiller, 3M-4M per year No explanation needed Sign Mike Iupati, ~7-8M per year Need an OG desperately. Not going to be resigned in SF. Sign some veteran QB ~2-4M per year Need a veteran presence behind Geno. Enough said. We won't be able to draft a top tier QB this year, so unfortunately, Geno is gonna be behind center. Total: ~30-33M, more than enough to resign Wilk and have money left over. Notable FAs not returning: pretty much everyone. Powell, Wilson, Harvin, Colon, Pace.etc. Maybe resign Babin to a 1 yr deal. If we could sign Harris to a 1 year deal at a low price, I'd go for it. He could still be an acceptable 2-down ILB that provides a lot of leadership in the locker room. It allows us to groom an ILB behind him. Now, time for the draft: 1. TB- Jameis Winston, QB, FSU 2. TENN- Marcus Mariota, QB, Oregon 3. JAX- Leonard Williams, DT, USC 4. OAK- Amari Cooper, WR, Alabama 5- WSH- Dante Fowler, DE/OLB, Florida The Jets' draft: 1. Kevin White, WR, WVU I believe he is the best WR in this class. He routinely makes spectacular catches look easy. Had a great combine which will raise his stock. The most Larry Fitzgerald-like prospect to come out in a long time. With no big time WRs making it to FA, I believe this pick is a must. 2. Marcus Peters, CB, Washington Talent wise, the best CB in the draft. Plays press coverage aggressively, and has some of the most fluid hips I've seen. Off the field concerns will likely drop him to the second round. If the Jets FO does their due diligence on his background and off the field issues, and gives the green light, he's an absolute steal at this junction. Bowles said he wanted to get two CBs in the FA/draft, and here is his second. 3. Garrett Grayson, QB, Colorado State The old saying to take a QB every year until you find one. Grayson impresses me as he played in a pro-style offense where he had to read defenses and make throws into tight windows. The knock on him is he played against mediocre conpetition (which is a fair point). Still, I see quite a lot of positives for this kid, and would be good value here. 4. Paul Dawson Jr, ILB, TCU Somebody who I thought was one of the best ILBs in the draft. Showed phenomenal instincts and anticipation as an ILB/OLB hybrid in TCU's defense. Had 18.5 tackles for loss, five sacks, four interceptions, five passes batted down, and 2 forced fumbles last year alone. Ran a very disappointing 40 time in the combine (4.95) to which he tweeted: "I'm an awesome football player. The best/most productive linebacker in this draft. Not a track Star. #meetmeonthefield" I think he shows better on-the-field speed than the combine showed. Would be a good replacement for Harris. 5. Rob Havenstein, OT, Wisconsin Another tackle prospect. As a student at Michigan, I've watched almost every B1G game, and Havenstein caught my eye. He has a huge build, and is pretty powerful in the running game. Blocked for Melvin Gordon III. His technique is far from refined, and would be a bit of a project, but you can't teach his size and power. Would be a developmental project for RT. 6. Traded to Seattle 7. Matt Miller, WR, Boise State Insert your favorite sleeper WR prospect here. I like Miller. Is 6'3, and has pretty reliable hands. Only played 5 games last year before needing surgery on his knee ligaments. I think he can develop into a reliable possession receiver. Had a knack for the end-zone while at Boise State. FINAL DEPTH CHART: (Bold implies new addition) QB: Geno, Grayson, Veteran HB: Ivory, Spiller, Powell/UDFA/Cheap veteran a la Daryl Richardson FB: Bohanon/Conner (whomever the front office prefers) WR1: Kevin White WR2: Eric Decker Slot WR: Kerley Depth WRs: Shaq Evans, Matt Miller, The Salad.etc OT: D'Brick, Giacomini, Havenstein OG: Iupati, Winters/Aboushi, Giacomini if he looks better inside C: Mangold, Freeman DL: SoA, Ellis, Douzable/depth veterans from ARI OLB: Coples, Worilds, Babin, Reilly, The Penguin ILB: Davis, Harris, Dawson Jr, Bellore (more or less) CB1: Milliner CB2: Cromartie (CB1 and CB2 could obviously be swapped depending on match-up, how they are playing.etc) Nickel: Peters Dime: McDougle Depth CB: Walls, Williams, Adams.etc FS: McCourty, Jarrett SS: Pryor, A2 Obviously, the positions (especially the secondary) isn't set in stone, and the best DBs will play. My CB projections are just my predictions for how things will shake out.
I'd argue the math / value for the free agency estimate is a little off. I'd guess Worilds will get upwards of 8M and if McCourty actually hits the market and is not tagged, he'll probably get more too. Numbers don't seem way off, but I'd go with the higher ends or more of most. Overall, looks like a solid batch of FAs. Not sure Iupati will be worth such a contract and I'm iffy on Worilds too. Babin is already under contract, so he'll be back, and based on his play last year, he'll be on the roster in 2015. Harris will have suitors on the market and he's not a limited enough player to have to settle for a 1-year deal. If you want him back, you'd probably have to offer about 3 years and probably in the neighborhood of 5M per year. Personally, I'd probably give him that if the deal is structured in such a way that he could be cut after the season if he regresses a lot. Right now, I'd buy those five guys as the top 5 picks. Hate to put so much stock in the combine, but White's performance definitely makes him an even more favorable prospect to me. I'd be very excited if he was their pick; he looks like a potential big-time WR and would be a great compliment to what's already on the roster. I think there's some good value to be had in the 2nd at CB. Peters is one and Jalen Collins and Kevin Johnson, both of which are apparently liked by the Jets, could also be around. I'd flip Grayson and Dawson. Even with a lousy 40-time, I think scouts will see how fast and instinctively he plays on the field and put his combine in the peripherals. He'd be a great value if he even makes it to the 3rd IMO. I'd be okay with Grayson in the 4th, but I'd like to see them consider trading that pick for Glennon. He's still young, has shown well in the league so far, and is still a better prospect than Grayson. But I know predicting trades is even more out there than a typical mock offseason so I can't complain about Grayson. I probably like him more than other QBs after the top two. Not sure about Havenstein. I get a lot of very mixed reviews on him. I like going for an OT there though. Overall, I like this offseason. I'd nitpick about a couple signings and argue some will cost more, but this would be a good team IMO
Cromartie will cost about $3 mil more per year. Rather than blow $8 mil on Iupati I would suggest signing two cheaper linemen including Wisnewski from the Raiders if you don't plan to draft OL earlier than round five Otherwise I like it.
No he won't. He's a year older, he actually struggled in the second half of the season after dominating in the first half, and he wants to come to NY very, very badly. (His house is in NY, he loves Bowles, etc.) He will come at a fair price.
Garrett Grayson is trash, rather wait until the later rounds if you want to take a QB. Take an offensive lineman with the 3rd round pick. You could get a really good guard or RT in that round. Iupati will cost ALOT of cash, I don't think the Jets will break the bank for him. Other then that, I like.
His last contract with us paid Cromartie $11 mil per year. $7-8 mil per year is a very fair price to obtain his services.
His last contract (for the Cardinals) paid him $3 million. I could see that doubling at the very most, but why pay him $8 mil if he will come for $6 (for example.)
If he will sign for $6 mil that's great. If he costs us $7.5 and Maxwell wants $10 then I still think Cro is quite a bargain.
Hmm, interesting. If it's a multi year deal I would take Maxwell. He's much younger and it's not like we're a contending team who only needs a cb for a year or two. 4 years of age makes a big difference in this league, though I would love to have both if possible.
Your free agency is on point I just hope the Raiders fell in love with White after his quick 40 time and the JETS can get Cooper instead. Cooper is hands down the best all-around WR that is just smooth in everything he does on the field and would easily be the JETS #1 guy.
I'm with you on this one. He's made it clear that he wants to come back and I could see him taking slightly less money to come here than elsewhere
Really, really like this off season game plan. Especially the pick of Peters. Maccagnan should give you a job.
