It’s that time of the offseason: Dream Off-season time. As we barrel towards the start of the league year, we figured it was time to get y’all ready for what should be a busy off-season for the New York Jets. As always, I utilized Fanspeak.
Internal Roster Moves:
Trade WR Denzel Mims and the 17th pick in the 5th round to the Philadelphia Eagles for the 19th pick in the 4th round: writing is on the wall, and this will probably be one of the 1st moves Douglas makes this off-season.
Cuts:
EDGE Shaq Lawson (save 9M)
OG Greg Van Roten (save 3.5M)
TE Ryan Griffin (save 3M)
*3 easy decisions made easier by who you aim to replace them with.*
Cap Space At Start of League Year: $69.8M
Resign:
QB Joe Flacco (1 year/7M/7M guaranteed)
WR Keelan Cole (2 years/8M/6M guaranteed)
Cole is good depth and has ST experience so he can replace Berrios in that regard, and Flacco should’ve been the backup all along.
Cap Space Entering Free Agency: $59.6M
Free Agency:
Maxx Williams (TE), 4 years/28M deal/16M guaranteed: only had 16 catches last year, but you’re banking on him finally being healthy and still being young enough to break out.
Laken Tomlinson (G), 5 years/50M deal/35M guaranteed: familiarity with the scheme and hits the market at 30 years old coming off his best season.
Foyesade Oluokun (LB), 4 years/30M deal/18M guaranteed: coming off back to back 100+ tackle seasons with 2+ INTs, and knows Ulbricht’s scheme.
Taron Johnson (CB), 3 years/27M deal/21.6M guaranteed: 3 sacks from the corner position this year, excels in man to man, and is 25 years old.
Marcus Williams (S), 4 years/52M/36.4M guaranteed: best safety on the market, 15 career INTs, and immediately upgrades the back end of this Jets defense
Chris Godwin (WR), 4 years/68M deal/54.4M guaranteed: coming off both a career high in catches and an ACL injury, gives Zach another weapon in the passing game, and immediately vaults your pass catchers into best in the league discussion
Harold Landry (EDGE), 4 years/52M/26.2M guaranteed: coming off a 12 sack season, will pair with Carl Lawson to give the Jets two productive pass rushers off the edge, and is still only 25.
The name of the game, Tomlinson aside, was in nabbing free agents on the younger side who had proven production. It allows for Douglas and Saleh to enter the draft with premium flexibility, and let’s them leave the draft with high upside/safe floor prospects who can come in and contribute.
Draft:
TRADES
Trade Partner: Cleveland Browns
Sent: Round 7 Pick 29
Received: Future Round 6 Pick
Trade Partner: Baltimore Ravens
Sent: Round 1 Pick 4
Received: Round 1 Pick 14, Round 2 Pick 13, Round 3 Pick 35
Trade Partner: Pittsburgh Steelers
Sent: Round 1 Pick 14
Received: Round 1 Pick 20 & Round 3 Pick 20
Trade Partner: Atlanta Falcons
Sent: Round 6 Pick 27
Received: Future Round 5 Pick
Trade Partner: Philadelphia Eagles
Sent: Round 5 Pick 20 & WR Denzel Mims
Received: Round 4 Pick 19
Trade Partner: Denver Broncos
Sent: Round 4 Pick 19
Received: Round 5 Pick 9, Round 6 Pick 27, Round 7 Pick 21, and Round 7 Pick 29
Trade Partner: Dallas Cowboys
Sent: Round 5 Pick 3
Received: Future Round 5 Pick
I wanted future picks, so I nab three day 3 picks for 2022. Once Kayvion was gone at 4, trading back is what made the most sense since taking Evan Neal after signing Tomlinson is not an option. I’ve said repeatedly that whoever the Jets take at 4 has to be able to play guard long-term and, given Neal’s size, I’m not sure Neal can. Signing Tomlinson locks that position down with a veteran anyway (something to watch for the Jets). So I go from 4 to 14 and pick up an extra 2nd and 3rd from the Ravens.
Picks:
10: R1 P10 C Tyler Linderbaum – Iowa: fortifies the OL and let’s you cut McGovern post-draft now that you’ve secured his replacement. An OL of Fant, AVT, Linderbaum, Tomlinson, and Becton is a very good OL on paper, if Becton shows up in shape.
20: R1 P20 LB Devin Lloyd – Utah: CJ Mosley’s running mate, able to be deployed in 3 LB packages right away. A base 4-3 defense of Lawson, Williams, Leal, Landry, Mosley, Lloyd, and Oluokun that gives Ulbricht the ability to move his pieces around on the back-end.
35: R2 P3 WR Chris Olave – Ohio State: insurance for Corey Davis, and Corey’s eventual replacement. 4 pass catcher sets featuring Godwin, Davis, Olave, and Moore (who all can be moved around the formation) gives LaFleur the same flexibility mentioned above re: Ulbricht.
38: R2 P6 S Jaquan Brisker – Penn State: Marcus Williams’s long-term running mate and able to start week one. Williams and Brisket’s skill sets compliment each other well.
45: R2 P13 DL DeMarvin Leal – Texas A&M: too good a player to pass up at this point in the draft, and another monster on the DL.
69: R3 P5 EDGE Arnold Ebiketie – Penn State: high ceiling edge who can provide juice on pass rushing situations standing up or with his hand on the dirt. Formations where he replaces Landry with his hand in the dirt, while Landry and Lloyd are the 2 LBs in 4-2-5 looks? Whew.
84: R3 P20 RB Tyler Allgeier – BYU: the power to Carter’s speed, and a familiar face for Zach.
99: R3 P35 TE Jeremy Ruckert – Ohio State: with him and Maxx Williams, you improve your pass game and run game. In the red zone, being able to go Ruckert and Williams with Godwin and Davis gives Zach four big targets. Imagine a jetsweep in the red zone with Elijah Moore, and his lead blocker is Ruckert.
110: R4 P6 OT Tyler Smith – Tulsa: Mehki Becton or George Fant insurance, should be a starter in this league. Smith could replace Fant if the Jets opt to move on from him after next season.
116: R4 P12 CB Jaylen Watson – Washington State: better CB right now than Brandon Echols.
152: R5 P9 WR Justyn Ross – Clemson: too good value to pass up in R5, and could serve as Chris Godwin insurance in case he isn’t 100%. Ross gives the Jets something they haven’t really had: a developmental WR with high upside. Long-term, you could have a WR trio of Olave, Moore, and Ross, who develop with Zach into his 2nd contract.
240: R7 P21 K Cameron Dicker – Texas: a black hole for the Jets
Projected Depth Chart Entering Training Camp, with 11 roster spots to fill:
Offense:
QB: Zach Wilson, Joe Flacco
RB: Michael Carter, Tyler Allgeier ®, Ty Johnson
WR: Chris Godwin, Corey Davis, Elijah Moore, Chris Olave (R), Keelan Cole, Justyn Ross ®
TE: Jeremy Ruckert ®, Maxx Williams, Kenny Yeobah
OT: George Fant, Mehki Becton, Tyler Smith ®
OG: Alijah Vera Tucker, Laken Tomlinson
C: Conor McGovern, Tyler Linderbaum ®
Defense:
DL: Quinnen Williams, Sheldon Rankins, John Franklyn-Myers, DeMarvin Leal (R), Jonathan Marshall
EDGE: Carl Lawson, Harold Landry, Arnold Ebiketie ®
LB: CJ Mosley, Foyesade Oluokun, Devin Lloyd (R), Jamien Sherwood, Hamsah Nasirdeen
CB: Bryce Hall, Taron Johnson, Michael Carter, Jaylen Watson ®, Brandon Echols
S: Marcus Williams, Jaquan Brisker (R), Ashtyn Davis