The New York Jets’ 2026 free agency haul was well-received by most fans and analysts.
In a year where there wasn’t much high-end talent to be found on the open market, the Jets focused on adding a quantity of players to reasonable deals, filling out a large portion of the holes on their depth chart. They avoided any deals that might cripple the organization’s long-term cap picture, while successfully raising the team’s floor in 2026.
However, not all of their moves have received unanimous praise.
In a recent article, ESPN chose the worst offseason move for each NFL team. Their choice for the Jets was the decision to sign former Las Vegas Raiders guard Dylan Parham to a two-year, $16 million deal.
“Teams have taken shots on former Raiders in free agency with the hopes of getting more out of players once they leave Las Vegas. A year ago, that was a success for the Panthers with Tre’von Moehrig, but the Packers didn’t enjoy the same results with Nate Hobbs, who was cut after one season.
“It’s possible that the Jets realize some level of improvement with Parham, who was a four-year starter alongside some rough offensive lines in Las Vegas. But I’m just not sure there has been starting-caliber offensive line play during his time with the Raiders. Parham gave up only five sacks last season, but he also got help more than 54% of the time in pass protection, which was well above the league average of 48% for left guards. Isolated against upper-echelon pass rushers such as Jeffery Simmons and Tuli Tuipulotu, Parham struggled badly.
“There’s nothing wrong with having trouble against great players, and Parham might improve with better players around him, but his résumé probably didn’t support a deal that will pay him $8 million this season.”
While the blurb raises some fair points, there is a reason we tabbed Parham as the Jets’ potential steal of free agency.
In 2025, Parham rated as an above-average starting left guard according to Pro Football Focus, ranking 14th at the position in overall grade. That makes him a six-spot upgrade over the player he is replacing, John Simpson, who ranked 20th.
Considering Parham (27) will be two years younger than Simpson (29) this season, that gap could only grow wider in 2026.
ESPN points out that other teams have bet on free agents improving after leaving the rough environment in Las Vegas, with mixed results. In Parham’s case, there is reason to believe he will be one of the success stories.
Parham managed to post solid statistics despite playing within a horrid Raiders offensive line. This past season, among the five Las Vegas offensive linemen who played at least 500 snaps, Parham was the only player who ranked in the top 16 at his position in overall PFF grade.
That points to a player who rose above his situation. As he joins a much more talented New York offensive line, Parham’s numbers should only improve, as he won’t be put into as many precarious positions as he was within the Raiders’ porous line. The individual stats of offensive linemen are heavily influenced by their surroundings.
Not to mention, Parham was an above-average starter in back-to-back years. Back in 2024, while playing right guard, he ranked 10th-best among qualifiers in PFF’s overall grade.
The Jets will also greatly enjoy Parham’s discipline when it comes to penalties. He’s been flagged just eight times over 30 starts across the last two seasons, and one was an ineligible man downfield call that was not fault. Remove that, and he’s committed seven penalties on 1,725 snaps, an average of 4.1 penalties per 1,000 snaps. The league average for guards was 6.1 in 2025.
Meanwhile, Parham’s predecessor, John Simpson, had 11 penalties on 1,016 snaps in the 2025 season.
As for Parham’s contract, it’s a two-year deal with only $7.5 million guaranteed. His cap hit in 2026 will be $3.94 million; not $8 million, as the ESPN article claims. If the Jets cut him after this season, they would be on the hook for $4 million in dead cap for the 2027 season, while saving $5 million in cap space.
This is a low-risk, high-reward deal for the Jets, and it deserves praise.
Of course, though, someone (or something) has to be the Jets’ worst offseason move. So, who or what should it be?
Rather than choose an individual, it makes more sense to go with a non-move: The Jets’ lack of activity on the veteran receiver market.
New York made up for it in the draft by selecting tight end Kenyon Sadiq and wide receiver Omar Cooper Jr. in the first round. However, because the Jets did not sign or trade for any wide receivers of note until their recent addition of 32-year-old Tim Patrick, they will rely heavily on two rookies to play featured roles in their passing game. That’s a risky proposition.
The Jets should have done more on the veteran receiver market to raise the floor of their pass-catching corps. Instead, they are going to count on a plethora of high-ceiling, low-floor options, including not just their rookies, but also players like Adonai Mitchell and Arian Smith.
The hope is that at least two of these players will break through, but if that doesn’t transpire, the Jets won’t have anyone reliable to fall back on. That should be considered their worst offseason move, rather than the Parham signing.
