Atlanta Falcons LB Foyesade Oluokun might be a New York Jets free agent target
The 2021-22 NFL season is now officially in the books. The Los Angeles Rams are world champions, and while they celebrate, 31 other teams are focused on getting to that mountain top.
Some teams may be starting halfway up while some are still stuck at base camp. The New York Jets are in the latter category. They need to dramatically improve their roster if they hope to make a run in 2022-23. Fortunately, they have the ammunition available to do that.
Over the coming weeks I’m going to take a look at a couple of free agents I’d be eyeing up if I were the Jets. Today I’m starting that series with a look at unrestricted free agent Foyesade Oluokun, a linebacker from the Atlanta Falcons who spent the first four years of his career in Atlanta as a 2018 sixth-round pick of the Falcons out of Yale.
Foyesade played under current Jets defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich while in Atlanta. Ulbrich was the linebackers coach the year the Falcons drafted Oluokun and Foyesade was elevated to a starter once Jeff became the interim defensive coordinator in 2020. So, there is some familiarity here.
Since becoming a full-time starter in 2020, Oluokun has continued his ascent to becoming one of the better linebackers in football.
One thing is for certain: he’s an absolute tackling machine. Over the last two years, Olukoun has 309 tackles. He led the league in tackles in 2021 with a staggering 192.
While quantity of tackles can be a very misleading stat, you only have to look at his overall game to see he has a ton of ability and a lot of potential at just 26 years old.
Let me give you his full stat line over his two years as a starter in Atlanta:
- 32 games
- 309 tackles
- 5 interceptions
- 10 passes defended
- 5 forced fumbles
- 5.0 sacks
- 16 quarterback hits
- 8 tackles for a loss
Oluokun’s 8.7% missed tackle rate in the 2021 season ranked 20th-best out of 66 linebackers who played at least 500 snaps. Considering the enormous quantity of tackles he makes, that’s an excellent mark for the former Yale man.
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Foyesade’s ability in the passing game is what draws my attention. He had three interceptions and six passes defended in 2021. The Jets’ entire linebacking unit had zero interceptions and seven passes defended.
We’ve spoken at length about the need for the Jets defense to create more turnovers so they can flip the field and change the momentum. When we talk about interceptions it’s natural to think first about the secondary, but the linebackers play a part and it’s an area where the Jets can upgrade.
I’m not saying that Foyesade is perfect – he isn’t. Pro Football Focus scored him with a 45.8 overall defensive grade in 2021, ranking 50th out of 66 linebackers. That includes a 52.8 grade for his coverage, which ranked 40th.
While I have a complicated relationship with the analysis at PFF, I do agree that he’s far from a perfect piece. His average of 11.0 yards allowed per reception ranked him 56th in the league among qualified linebackers. That’s well below the ranks of both C.J. Mosley (24th, 8.9) and Quincy Williams (38th, 9.7).
Last year the Jets tried to bring in some linebacker assistance with the signing of former first-round pick Jarrad Davis. That signing was a huge disappointment and Davis will become a free agent this offseason, which opens the door for another signing that has more potential.
I fully expect fourth-year linebacker Blake Cashman to be a cut candidate this offseason. With Jamien Sherwood missing most of his rookie campaign and fellow rookie Hamsah Nasrilideen being relegated to special teams duties, the Jets need to add more bodies.
The former Yale linebacker would add speed and quickness to the defense. Oluokun ran a 4.48 in the forty-yard dash at his pro-day which would have been the sixth-best time among linebackers at the combine (he did not get an invitation). He also ran a 4.12 in the short shuttle, which would have been the second-best time among linebackers. Overall, Oluokun earned an elite RAS (relative athletic score) of 9.17 out of 10.
Considering Foyesade has spent his time split between MLB and WLB, he offers some positional flexibility as well.
Before the draft, Oluokun was brought into the Jets facility for one of the local days and got a tour of the facilities as well as a medical check-up.
In their free agency rankings, PFF estimates that Oluokun will earn around $40 million over four years with an annual value of $10 million per year and a total of $22 million guaranteed.
The rumor around the beat appears to be that the Jets really like their starting linebackers and are committed to C.J. Mosley and Quincy Williams. If that’s the case they may not want to pay this kind of money for a linebacker when they have so many other needs.
We do have to remember that although Mosley is signed through the 2024 season, his cap hit is sitting at $17.5 million in 2022 and will rise to $18.5 million in the following two seasons. If the Jets choose to, they can get out of that deal after the 2022 season with only $4.5 million of dead cap spread over two years.
But even if Mosley plays out the remainder of his deal, Williams is still largely an unknown and the Jets’ injury record isn’t overly good, so depth at linebacker is most certainly needed. If Oluokun could be had affordably, he makes a lot of sense for New York.