I don't understand where you are coming from at all in terms of OL. On this board for the past 6 months you have been the biggest advocate for fixing the OL - no matter what. Trent Williams on the table, no go, he's too much. Conklin too much. Do you just wanna sign a bunch of jags at OL or draft a bunch of rookies and plug them in? There are legit starters out in FA or to be had by trade and you don't want any of them because the price is too much. I rarely agree with DWC because I think a lot of his takes are over the top and filled with hyperbole, but he is spot on when he says,
Winters will be back on a reduced contract. He’s an nfl level guard when healthy and Joe D lives him. Conklin is going to get what he is worth on an open market and we have the room to do it. I’m not looking to go cheap on the line. Jets are playoff contenders last year with Conklin and Glasgow despite all the other injuries and disappointments. 2nd point is nobody can say with any certainty what is and isn’t too expensive. The cba hasn’t been ratified and after it is there will be new tv deals that could take the cap much higher than the jump we see next season.
Agreed. We can't be cheap everywhere. We should work to extend Adams and Maye. Retain Anderson and Jenkins. After that, we have a lot of young players on long deals (at corner and along the defensive line). If we tie money up into our safeties, as we should, then we can't afford expensive corners either. You can't have ace players at every position. The strong safety/lesser corners in a cover 2 scheme where 6 in the box can stop the run, worked well for this team. We should shell out money on the offensive side. We've never tried to do that in my lifetime. One big contract offensive lineman. One 2nd-3rd tier. And then a couple bargain barrell players. And look to grab two in the draft, two receivers, one corner, one edge and then a kicker and a special teams LBer.
I have been and still am a huge advocate for fixing the OL. I'm just no longer advocating "no matter what" if I ever really was. We're all guilty of unintentional hyperbole at times. I don't think that we have to get the best FAs (among the top players in the whole NFL at their position) out there to fix the OL. I think a wiser course of action for the overall team is to be able to sign multiple FAs and fill several holes, not just 2. WE need 5 new starting OL, not just one at RT. I'd rather be able to sign 2 new starting OL and a better backup OL or two, then just sign Conklin and a CB. We had shit last season on the OL. If we're able to add 2-3 new starters, then almost anything is going to be better. I'm not advocating going cheap, but one doesn't have to go ridiculously expensive, either. If Conklin gets what I'm seeing projected ($15-$19 million per season), that will be 1/2 of our available $ for FA. Do you really think that's wise? Would our OL be much better with only Conklin as a new starter? It could happen, especially if he (Douglas) keeps Winters and Lewis. Maybe all 4 of the top OTs are gone at #11 and Douglas takes Jeudy or Lamb, and then the 6 best OTs are all gone by our pick in the 2nd round. Chances are we wouldn't then get another OL starter out of the draft. How would it look if we signed him, then he goes down with a serious injury and misses all or most of next season? Douglas wouldn't look so great then. With Sam's mobility, ability to throw on the run, and an improved OL, Gase can call more rollout plays for Sam and take advantage of his ability to create. With a better receiving corps, they will be open and available for Sam to throw to earlier in plays. Sam must be protected, but he also must have better skill position players around him. Douglas is supposedly a real disciple of Ozzie Newsome. Newsome rarely, if ever, signed a first tier FA to a big contract. He looked for underrated players who were bargains, i.e., 2nd and 3rd tier FAs. IMO, he should stick with Ozzie's approach. If Douglas signs Conklin, he signs him. I'll hope for the best. I just don't think it's the wisest way to go about fixing our team.
I completely agree with this approach, I am also against signing Conklin and would prefer we explore the following players: Graham Glasgow Joe Thuney Alex Lewis (depth) Jared Veldheer (had a resurgence) Kelvin Beachum Greg Van Roten Definitely grab a tackle at 11, and more than likely you can bring back Robby, Poole and Jenkins. I prefer we don't spend money on corners in FA and perhaps get a young guy in the 3rd / 4th perhaps. Though, I am interesting in Rhodes for a 1 year deal to see if he can get back to his level of play. Conklin, a lot of Titan fans say they use TEs to block which further goes into that PFF grade posted. He had a great first year, but his play took a nosedive since. If I am paying him Lane Johnson type money, I better be able to leave that man on an island. Interesting link - https://www.sisdatahub.com/players/3501 Buffalo Bills are playing 4D chess with their offensive line approach. 3 yrs 15M for Spain, didn't allow a sack I believe last year.
I was all in favor of the Jets signing Spain last year. I like that list of players, although Thuney's FA contract may not be far behind Conklin's. I'm torn regarding CBs. With Blessuan Austin getting benched towards the end of the season, can we count on him being an effective starter again this year? If so, will it be as the #1 or #2 CB? Part of me would like to see a solid, experienced CB starting opposite him and that would mean signing someone like Trae Waynes or Mackenzie Alexander. If we do that, it would be less money to spend on the OL. Part of me would also like to see the entire draft used on the offense, or at least the first 3 rounds. I'm just not sure a 4th or 5th round CB could help that much, if any, except perhaps on STs. If we use a draft pick on a defensive player in the first 4 rounds, I think I would prefer that it be used on a CB and not an Edge. As long as the Jets re-sign Jenkins and have Luvu or Copeland, I'd wait until next year to address edge in the draft and/or FA. Our CB corps was so bad early on, that I'd definitely like to add a good player to the mix. Maulet and Canady played better as the season went on, and even played well at times, and I hope the Jets will re-sign them in the short term. They can always cut them at the end of TC if need be. At a minimum, I think the Jets need to come out of the draft with 2 OL and 2 WR, and I'd prefer 3-4 OL and 2 WRs. I also think they may need to add a RB. If Bell has indeed slowed down and/or if Gase is unable to use him in a more effective fashion due to the OL or whatever, then I'm not sure that Cannon, Josh Adams, Kenneth Dixon, and Jalin Moore will be able to carry the load.
While it’s hard to do mock drafts before FA if I had to make an educated guess based on Jets needs and JD’s comments I would say you’re probably right. The Jets should come out of the draft with at least 2 possibly even 3 OL ( one in the lower rounds for developmental purposes ), 2 WR, 1 CB, 1 RB, and they will probably grab an EDGE at some point but like you say I’m not sure how effective a lower round EDGE would be in this class. Outside of Chase and Chaisson the write ups on the others all show a lot of warts. It’s possible they find a needle in the haystack there. You would also have to assume a CB is drafted rather high..... Also possibly a back up QB?
Gotta make a call out to Thurney and see what you can get. Extremely durable, and a very good player. I wouldn't put too much stock on Austin's benching. Williams expects more from Austin. I don't want to spend a lot of money on corners, but I do think we need a few more young players. Jets don't need a star at CB, so I hope we stay clear of Bryon Jones. The CB unit got better as the season continued. Jets have one of the best safety pairs in the league to help fix some of the deficiencies, have to address the pass-rush at some point, that might have to wait until next year. Jenkins has gotten better each year he's been in the league, he has to come back along with Copeland. With this draft, if the Jets do what they need to do in the FA period, it should set them up for a flexible draft. everyone wants a top wideout, but there will be stars in the 2nd and 3rd rounds. Give me 2 OL, 2 WR, EDGE, and maybe RB / CB / more OL in the later rounds.
What happens in FA will show Douglas' plan. If he doesn't attempt to sign a FA CB, then we will know that his plan all along was to draft one, and most likely he'll take a CB in the 2nd round or at least with the Giants' 3rd round pick. If he succeeds in signing a FA CB, I'm not sure if he'll draft one. That could depend on whether he re-signed Maulet or Canady. If he doesn't re-sign one or both of them, then I think he'll definitely look to take a CB high, and possibly 2 CBs. I really haven't had the time or inclination to do in depth research on edge rushers this season, but based on comments here and the little research I've done, the only 2 edge rushers I think I'd want the Jets to consider are Josh Uchee and Curtis Weaver, and then only in the 3rd round, with hopefully, the lower of the two 3rd round picks. I've read some positive comments on Greenard and Anae, so they may be possibilities, too. I think David Fales is still on the roster. After what happened last season, I think they'll keep Fales as the #3. I'm curious to see what Douglas does with regards to the #2 QB spot. Will he re-sign Siemian, or will he bring someone else in? IMO in his lone action last year, Siemian looked like he didn't know the offense. He looked like a deer in the headlights and he couldn't get the offense moving at all. Luke Falk moved the offense in that game, and I think was able to lead the offense to score some points, but my memory may be faulty on that.
I agree that I don't want the Jets signing Byron Jones or a star CB. He is mostly potential. He's good in coverage and very athletic, but his play has tailed off the last 2 seasons. He hasn't had a pick in 3 years and only has two in his 5-year NFL career. I don't consider Trae Waynes or Mackenzie Alexander "star" CBs. They have 1st tier potential, but I think have only been 2nd tier in terms of production. They should fit the mold of cheaper FAs who still have upside. I agree with you regarding Jenkins. I don't understand why a number of posters here wouldn't re-sign him. Then we'd have holes and both edge positions.
As much as I’d like to see it I don’t see the math working out for signing both. Especially with all of the in-house FAs such as Poole, Jenkins etc.....but I can see one of the top tier OL being signed .....
Yeah I don’t think it’s possible either. I would definitely not go and throw money at edge or CB though. I would do nothing but dart throws at those spots until you found something that worked. The defense was top 10 (albeit against a weak schedule) but we can have Williamson AND Mosley returning. I would allocate every penny to that OL and making sure 14 has every tool to succeed.
If I had to choose I’d sign Thuney for RG. That’s a major block right there. One would have to assume JD resigns Lewis for LG. Maybe Beachum is brought back for LT on a cap friendly deal. The # 11 pick will hopefully be one of the big 4 LTs. Let’s assume it is Thomas. He plays RT in 2020. Then JD drafts the center of the future at some point between round 3 and 4. The Jets keep Harrison and Edoga around for depth maybe Compton too. I’m sure they will sign another lower tier FA for more depth. That is what I see happening with the OL in the next couple of months.
He may sign FAs at those two positions but they would not be upper tier types. If JD is fixated on the OL then there is simply not enough money to go around and OL has to take priority in FA.
Is Free Agency still happening on time? Doesn't it start tomorrow or Monday? Not sure how players can travel with all that is going on. It would suck to delay though too.
Yup. And then draft 2nd and 3rd round olineman after taking either Jeudy or Lamb with our 1st round. We'll then have a revamped offense heading into 2020.
18th Is when players can sign. 16th is start of new league year. They are reviewing the new proposed CBA tonight and will have a decision on that. All of these teams have private jets. They can also do it via FaceTime, Skype, or any other method.
And Le'Veon Bell isn't close to being done. Give him an imporoved offensive line and he'll once again run wild as he did with Pittsburgh. He had over 60+ receptions out of the backfield as a 1st year Jet and unfortunately was running the football behind one of the worst offensive lines within franchise history. Week 1 against Buffalo. 4th and short. Not many RB's could've picked up that 1st down I still don't know how he pulled that off. You give us an improved offensive line and Darnold/Bell then becomes an awesome 1-2 punch @ QB/RB.
