The New York Jets stink.
They’re coming off one of its worst seasons in franchise history at 2-14. They’ve hit the reset button with a brand new head coach fresh out of the box and renewed optimism has arrived on 1 Jets Drive.
Those butterflies floating around in the stomachs of Jets fans everywhere is warranted.
The team has money (second-most cap space in the league) and an abundance of draft picks.
On Monday March 15, the legal tampering period begins.
That’s when the Jets and the other 31 teams in the league can begin speaking with prospective free agents and their representation. Everything becomes official a few days later when the new league year kicks off on March 17 at 4 pm ET.
Before we get there, we did a recent video on YouTube “Fixing the New York Jets” (free agency edition):
Despite the ridiculous amount of money the Jets have (over $68M), Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither will this team.
Which means they’ll have to be smart where they funnel their hard earned dollars. Here are some of the positions they should target on the open market:
EDGE
The Jets have undrafted free agent Bryce Huff and a bunch of randoms. It’s time to invest and if I were the Jets, I’d double dip. The positional group is deep enough with names like: Carl Lawson, Trey Hendrickson, Shaq Barrett, Matt Judon, Bud Dupree, and the list goes on.
Interior Offensive Line
Alex Lewis, Connor McGovern, Greg Van Roten. Iniate gag reflex.
I wouldn’t trust these guys to babysit my kids, let alone protect my franchise quarterback. It’s time for a massive upgrade and the New York Jets should be willing to dive into the deep end of the pool.
McGovern has to return based on his contract, but he has interior flexibility. If the opportunity presents itself (a good center tickles the team’s fancy in free agency), then they can add that player and kick Connor inside. Hit two birds with one stone.
Cornerback
This is one of those cases where we the fans love the players more than the team does. Bryce Hall is a great story, Bless Austin fought back from an injury riddled past, but they can’t be relied upon as full-time starters.
Time to add some oomph whether that be schematic fits or upper end investments to the position.
Wide Receiver
It’s time to stop with the scrubs and give whoever is playing quarterback some legitimate toys to play with. While some of the sexiest options were taken off the market thanks to the franchise tags, there are still plenty of ways to improve the position.
Kenny Golladay. JuJu Smith Schuster. Will Fuller. Corey Davis. Curtis Samuel. Nelson Agholor. All of these names would be massive upgrades over what the Jets had last year.
Paul A. Esden Jr is the morning co-host of The Manchild Show with Boy Green from 10-12 Monday through Friday locally in Syracuse, New York on The Score 1260. He's a die-hard New York Jets fan and earned the nickname 'Boy Green' for his unwavering passion for all things green and white!
