Here’s who the New York Jets may have their eyes on today
Day one of free agency was met with near-universal praise by New York Jets fans. There was not an explosion of spending, but we did see some calculated and measured deals by Joe Douglas.
The first day of free agency was about supporting Zach Wilson. The Jets signed one of the best guards on the market to offer protection in Laken Tomlinson, before signing fan-favorite Braxton Berrios and big TE target C.J. Uzomah.
I don’t believe the Jets are done adding to the offense, but we may see Douglas shift his attention to the defensive side of the football on day two. Here are five free agents the Jets may still have interest in.
5. Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Wide Receiver, Green Bay Packers
Marquez Valdes-Scantling is an option at wide receiver who should come cheaper than a bigger name like Allen Robinson, although he will probably not be too cheap considering D.J. Chark just signed a one-year, $10 million deal with the Lions.
Marquez was targeted 48 times by Aaron Rodgers last season and didn’t drop a single pass. His ability to stretch the field would be a welcome addition for Zach Wilson and the Jets.
There are a lot of mouths to feed in that Green Bay offense, but Valdes-Scantling still managed to secure 26 catches for 430 yards and three touchdowns. His average of 16.5 yards per reception ranked seventh-best among wide receivers with at least 20 receptions.
4. Darious Williams, Cornerback, LA Rams
The Jets didn’t really get involved in the J.C. Jackson sweepstakes and Carlton Davis decided to stay in Tampa Bay. According to Rich Cimini, the Jets are also no longer pursuing veteran Stephon Gilmore.
After a strong Day 1, what might the #Jets do on Day 2?
Forget CB Stephon Gilmore; they’re not pursuing him. They have other (better) CB options. Remain interested in S Marcus Williams, but asking price still too high for teams. QB Joe Flacco could re-sign. Maybe OL Dan Feeney.
— Rich Cimini (@RichCimini) March 15, 2022
That leads me to the door of Darious Williams. The L.A. cornerback gets targeted a lot, but that’s what happens when you play opposite Jalen Ramsey. While he allowed a 65.4% completion into his coverage without recording an interception, he did post nine passes defended and added three more in the playoffs.
The 2020 season saw Williams make a big jump as he allowed just a 50% completion rate into his coverage while recording four interceptions and 14 passes defended. If the Jets want to bank on him returning to that form they may just be interested in bringing him in.
3. Allen Robinson, Wide Receiver, Chicago Bears
The Jets are obviously trying to support Zach as much as possible, but this move would all come down to cost.
While Allen Robinson has been a standout receiver for a number of years, he suffered a down year in Chicago in 2021. In 12 games, Robinson had only 38 catches for 410 yards and one touchdown. At age 29 you have to ask if that’s a trend that will continue or the result of his circumstance with multiple QBs and a horrible coach in Matt Nagy.
The Jets won’t be dishing out a Christian Kirk-type deal for Robinson ($18 million per year) but if it’s reasonable I can see them jumping in to give Zach another weapon.
Remember, Robinson is a year removed from a 102 catch and 1000+ yard season in 2020. His drop percentage has been at 5% or lower for five years now, and reliability goes a long way.
2. Jayron Kearse, Safety, Dallas Cowboys
I firmly believe the Jets are in the market for a safety and if they decide that Marcus Williams’ asking price is just too high then they may elect for Cowboys safety Jayron Kearse.
Kearse recorded two interceptions and nine pass breakups in 2021 as he experienced a renaissance season and there are some similarities between the Dallas defensive system and the one the Jets run.
Kearse won’t cost as much as Williams, and his sure tackling (3.2% missed tackle rate in 2021) would be appealing to a team who fluffed too many tackles last year.
1. Marcus Williams, Safety, New Orleans Saints
Marcus Williams is the big fish at the safety position and boy could the Jets do with reeling in a special catch there. Just one glance at the depth chart will send panic through your body.
The former Utah standout and second-round pick of the Saints in 2017 is one of the best coverage safeties in football. He has 15 interceptions and 38 pass defenses in five years and is always around the football.
Williams won’t come cheap and the Jets will need to decide how much they value the position. Rumors late on Monday night indicated the Jets were interested in Williams and Williams was interested in the Jets.
Other names to keep an eye on: Sheldon Richardson (DT, Vikings), Tyrann Mathieu (S, Chiefs), Russell Gage (WR, Falcons), Bilal Nichols (DT, Bears)
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See what i mean? Marcus Williams goes to the Ravens on a 5 yr 75 million deal and that was too much money to spend for a young acsending player? This is the reason the Jets have 4 wins in 2 seasons and I’m think this will be joey D last season in NY. He lets too many high profile players go to other teams. With that much cap space he should be forming a super team in NY but he want these lower tier guys that keep burning us every year. The blame is on you on this one Joe
Joe D is too methodical and likes to low ball high profile players. He better get a move on with Marcus Wlliams or the honey badger, owner Woody is not going to sit by idly and watch as these free agents come and go and Joe is just going to the next level tiers! Pay these players! Most of the signings where resignings, better get a move on Joe. You say your interested but not willing to pay. If the Jets don’t make playoffs one of the reasons is letting players like jc jackson go to L.A. instead of trying to get him in the fold
I dunno about this man, i disagree. Honey badger would be a maccagnan type signing. An inconsistent player past his prime who wants a huge deal. He’s still sitting out there. Wouldve liked marcus but its logical to not put a lot of money into that position. Build through the draft. You just need a decent player there who wont make mistakes. JD has paid big bucks and draft capital on DL, OL, and WR. That type of plan has a history of working well long term. Maybe he’s too rigid, i really dont know, but id rather a financially responsible gm than one who gets ripped off and is used by players as a pawn in negotiations. You really want them just buying every big name and have this team looking like how maccagnan had it? Sure, half the fans and all the media will eat it up. Then theyll be the same ones making fun of the jets for being same old jets by midseason. Imo.
I’d love to get Williams, just not at the top of the S market. 12-14per? Ok. 16+ gtfoh.
As for the rest of those listed names….ugh gross.
Love how this finished with “… Jets were interested in Williams and Williams was interested in the Jets”. Far too often, I feel like it’s common place to hear that the Jets are interested in (insert sought after FA here) but no one wants to come over and play for the Jets. Frankly I’m so tired of it, and I feel that the team and culture has taken a huge shift… hopefully the snowball continues and the narrative flips to NY being a premiere destination and there’s great pride in playing for the Jets.
Maybe not the most popular opinion, but I really think JD has done a great job in his time here with what he was given, where we stand currently, and what the future looks like. And no, I’m not just saying that based on day 1 of the legal tampering… been high on him since he replaced Mike Maccagnan.
Well said Josh – I don’t think a lot of fans realize just how bad Idzik/MacCagnan/Bowles/Gase left this thing for JD. Now there’s practically no dead money on the cap, he got REAL assets for Jamal Adams Sam Darnold Leonard Williams and Chris Herndon and we now have a professional NFL level coaching staff in place – a QB – yes, I believe in the kid – and legitimate pieces on both sides. Not enough, but pieces. And he’ll add a few more FA and then get ready to wail on our 9 draft picks. Which btw, if he hits say .600 in this draft, we’re going to be competitive this year. My opinion anyway.
The culture is definitely moving in a good direction, which the Uzomah and Tomlinson signings add to, thanks to those two guys being known as great leaders. It’s a very positive thing to help the rebuild progress
Michael, please butt out.
It’s Nania business.
Sorry, I had to.
Saleh is a huge piece to that, clearly the players like playing for him. I keep saying, this is year 2, there is a lot of work to be done but there is progress. Even IF Zach doesn’t work out they should be in a better position to make a transition if needed. I agree this is more than just a turning point in wins and losses. They resctructured the organization, they have a fooball “guy” running things, including choosing a coach who thinks as he does, and let’s be honest Woody at the top, Christopher continuing to work with the “football side” all makes sense.
Overall, I love Joey D. But he has some major misfires on his record.
Don’t even get started on The Mims trade down disaster. I mean…Would you rather have Claypool or Denzel Mims and 2 guys not on the roster anymore? And the book on Becton isn’t finished either. Also he has provided weak overall FA results, often getting us the 3rd or 4th best option in FA at the position for the same price as the top guy. See Jack Conklin v Fant, Trey Hendrickson v Lawson…situations where we apparently balked at the contract terms and then paid out essentially the same deals to lesser players available in the market.
But I definitely agree he’s the best and most capable GM we’ve had and I’ll add he’s probably the best we will ever aspire to get under current ownership. I hope he gets another chance after Saleh which I think was a poor hire. But Joe imo is a keeper. Dude is the king of the trade table. What he got for Adams and Darnold was awesome. He can manage to build draft capital like a boss. He just needs to make sure these draft picks land. More time on the job…hopefully he improves and doesn’t make same mistakes twice.
But ultimately, Zach Wilson will either save him or kill him. Especially when we had Trevor Lawrence in hand and lost him because we didn’t fire Gase early and Joe couldn’t shut everything down to “get a look at our future players”.
I didnt see one Jets fan not celebrate when they got Mims. Some players just dont work out.
But yea, some of his picks havent been great. Easy to say now but i did want wirfs over becton and think most people had him above becton. We could go on about that draft class, it had some bad picks for sure. It was his first though and this past draft was exceptional. Hopefully it continues like that, lol