I have to agree that signing a veteran CB (Maxwell, Cromartie, maybe Revis...) is a necessity this offseason. A lot of guys are also attracted by McCourty and the Jets have enough cap space, so this would probably also be a good pickup, although not as important as CB. A LB would certainly make sense, although I am not sure the right guys are available (who would be the best option?). Going defense only in FA, however, forces us to draft at least a RB, WR and potentially a QB. If Harvin is cut, and I think he will be cut, we should draft 2 WRs within the first 4 rounds if you ask me, as otherwise we are left with Decker and Kerley. And if Decker is injured our WR corps looks worse than it did in 2013. Also you don't know whether the rookies will make an immediate impact. Last years WRs did, but that is not a given. I say try to get a WR in FA, of course Cobb or Maclin are my favorites, and eventually the FO will decide which one is the better fit for the Jets. Alternatively, Marshall could be a good pickup for 2-3 years if he can be signed cheap enough due to his age. If no WR signs with the Jets, I would keep Harvin and draft a WR in Round 1 or 2, depending on who is available (White or Cooper would be huge). Try to sign Spiller for $4M or less. Certainly not more. It's not like we are without a RB at the moment. Otherwise draft a RB Round 2-3. Try to improve the O-Line and definitely sign a CB or maybe even two. I am not sure about signing a Safety FA. Maybe we can draft one in the later rounds of the draft instead of going for an expensive FA. Those moves should keep us well under the cap and we have enough money to sign Mo and some of the other guys on the roster.
REALLY?!?!?!? You must be a college fan of Maclin still in denial that he's been a bust in the NFL, again except for last year when he miraculously stayed healthy and somehow managed to put up big stats in Chip Kelly's offense...the first time in his career he's had a full, healthy season and actually made a difference for his team (unless you count 2010, when he had 70 catches and 964 yards. Hardly elite numbers.). Those are just the facts. FACT: last year was Maclin's ONLY 1000 yard season ... not to mention the only season he had more than a measly 70 catches. 2013 Injured - Out for Season 2012 69 - 857 - 7 TD (15 games) 2011 63 - 859 - 5 TD (13 games) 2010 70 - 964 - 10 TD (16 games) 2009 56 - 773 - 4 TD (15 games) http://www.nfl.com/player/jeremymaclin/80429/careerstats Those were his stats, apart from last season's fluky big year. Doing the math, that's an average of 65 catches for 863 yards and 6 TD a year. Are those the kind of stats you expect from a 1st round WR, or from a FA receiver who will get a big, bloated contract???
I'm not as down on the WR corps as I was two years ago: I think there's some talent there: Salas, TJ Somebody, and another guy (name escapes me) who flashed a bit. The TJ guy had some speed, Salas seems to break open when he's on the field. So, I'd like to draft a WR early, even No. 1 if he's the BPA. But I don't know that we need to go two-in-the-early-rounds. There seems to be enough talent available in FA and even on the team to make the position less of the abject wasteland it was the last two offseasons. Of course, I'd like to see Harvin retained, I don't really care so much about the money. But it was mentioned that a 4th-round draft pick is also in the price tag.
Considering he was the 2nd or 3rd option most of those years without playing with an elite quarterback, yes Maclin is a very good wide receiver. You make yourself look incredibly ignorant when you go out and ask the question if 65 catches for 863 yards and 6 TD's are the kind of stats to expect out of a first round receiver. For a #2 much of his career he's been very good. He also averages 952 yards for his career. No need to pull thoughts out of your ass because you don't like the guy or don't want us to sign him. There's no reason to discredit him for personal reasons when he's been literally nothing but productive. I'm not sure what your personal agenda is against him but just because he's not Dez or AJ Green does not make him a bad player or anywhere near a bust.
First of all, do you know what a statistical outlier is? That would be his anomaly of a season last year (if you don't know what those terms mean, look them up, but don't tell me I "pull thoughts out of my ass"!). Last season was the definition of a fluke for Maclin. Apart from that, his 6 year career has been marked by underachieving and nagging injuries. That's why he's only played 2 full healthy seasons in 6 years. That's why I call him injury prone. ..... Just the facts, as annoying as they may be. If we sign him, it would be just like when we traded for Justin McCareins, and threw big money at an overrated player. Maclin has not proven that he can be a consistent difference maker, and so his contract in free agency should reflect that. But just like when we threw big money at an average QB named Neil O'Donnell, some team will overpay him. Let's hope that team is not us!!! (btw, as you pointed out, he's been a #2 WR for most of his career, so he should get #2 WR money, but again he won't in the craziness of free agency)
I understand what a statistical outlier is but you don't seem to understand what being a number 2 receiver is. It means less route packages as the number one read and especially with Desean Jackson, less times as the deep option. He also had Michael Vick throwing to him the majority of his early career and Vick has had one 1,000 yard receiver (Jackson) in 9 years of starting duty. I could understand if the guy was getting 400-600 receiving yards plagued by drops and injuries He's missed 5 games in 5 healthy years and has only barely been under 800 yards receiving once in his career. He's productive. You can't really argue it because all the numbers are there. If you measure receivers as being productive or a bust at the 1,000 yard receiving mark then you're doing it all wrong and you have a distorted sense of productivity in this league. He's not a top 5 receiver but he belongs in this league and probably ranks in the top 20-25. The Justin McCareins reference is just horrible as he eclipsed 700 receiving yards just 3 times and never pushed overy 850.
OK those are fair points. I think what I'm trying to say is that I don't think he will be worth the big contract he's going to get in free agency. What you say is true, he's never been the #1 WR in Philly. So it's kind of unfair then to hold him to the 1000 yard standard that I did in my posts. I see that now. So, I guess the question then becomes, would he be a #1 for us, or a #2 with Decker being the #1? Or would we have essentially two #2 receivers with Decker and Maclin? And if Maclin is not really a true #1 WR, should he get a big contract?
I think you're too hung up on this number one receiver stuff. Would you rather a 1700 yard receiver matched with a 300 yard receiver or two 800-1000 yard guys? We don't need Dez Bryant to have a good receiving corps. I don't really want Maclin and I wasn't advocating for him, all I was saying is that you can't discredit him as being this terrible bust that you said he is.
I just meant he was a 1st round bust...in other words, I didn't think he has put up the stats in 6 seasons that a 1st round WR should. But as you pointed out he's mostly been a #2 guy so we have to cut him some slack for that I guess. I think an elite #1 WR causes the opposing D to have to gameplan for him, double team him, etc, which opens up a world of possibilities for the offense...and you don't get that effect with 2 average receivers. So I think an elite WR1 and a below average WR2 is better than a pair of average WRs. See my point? I guess it's a difference in philosophy or style of offense... I know teams like the Pats and Seahawks have done well with average WRs, but then again they both have great QBs. I think maybe with an average/below average QB like Geno you need a "security blanket" type of elite WR to help him out, and open things up for him across the field, since he's not going to put the ball consistently in tight spots where it needs to go.
I'd like to see the Jets get a WR who can be consistently productive AND be a deep threat. If that's Maclin, that's great. If that's a draft pick, fine. But that's what we're missing: a consistent deep threat with size, who is productive in all the routes.
I have to agree that keeping Harvin might not be the worst option. I assume he will be cut but this could be the wrong move. If he is cut, we need somebody to replace him. Somebody that is a legit threat and helps our QB (whoever that might be, probably Geno) and the running game. If we sign somebody like Cobb or Maclin that would certainly be a good replacement. Then I would draft a WR in rounds 2-4, depending on availability, to add depth. The good thing is that we can make the WR corps a strength of this team even before the draft starts. Let's say Harvin (Maclin/Cobb) Decker Kerley TE: Amaro (hoping he works on his drops) Imo that is an above average group of receivers. Add to that Ivory and a rookie or Spiller and we have an explosive offense, a good O-Line away from elite. We would not necessarily need a star QB. Just someone who doesn't make too many mistakes. Don't forget that we have guys like Salas and our drafted WR as backups and #4 guys. Only weakness is the QB, but it takes a lot of luck to find a good QB. Winston and Mariota could struggle just like RG3 or Manziel. Maybe we draft Mariota at 6, he is as good as expected and we finally have a solid QB, who knows. The good thing is the rest of the offense would be set and a bad WR corps or running game is no longer an excuse for any QB. So far this scenario is only about getting one FA WR or keeping Harvin + drafting a RB or signing Spiller. On the defensive side we have to sign a CB, maybe Maxwell or Cromartie and might add McCourty. Draft a LB and the Jets would be pretty dangerous. All that is left hoping for is good QB play. If the Jets cut Harvin and don't sign a QB, we would certainly draft at least one WR. I would also take a WR in the later rounds to ensure that we have backup in case the first WR is a bust.
I agree and while size helps it doesn't necessarily go hand I hand with being effective at high pointing the ball. If we find a guy that can make a play on the ball at 5'11" that works for me but I get what you're saying about someone with more than just straight line Clyde Gates speed that we'll call our deep threat in the papers.
http://www.bleedinggreennation.com/...lin-eagles-contract-wide-receiver-free-agency Hope the Jets jump in on the bidding war.
Everything else is a moot point if you do not address the most important spot on the team. We have not learned that lesson for quite a while now. It starts with the QB.
