New York Jets 2016 Season Recap + 2017 Draft/Free Agency Guide
- Tyler Webb
- Feb 5, 2017
- 5 min read
Man oh man, The New York Jets. If New York had its own division, the Jets would still be in 3rd place at 5-11 this season. This for me is a confusing team because it has a lot of great pieces, but it's more of a problem with coaching and management. The offensive line could use improvement, as well their aging defense with very little cap room to work with. Their biggest cap hit right now is Muhammed Wilkerson who doesn’t really to be in the Jets future plans anyway. The quarterback problem is a complete mess, but once that is fixed I believe this actually could become a playoff team due to the lack of competition in the AFC right now. Brandon Marshall is getting older but I believe he is still a top receiver, and Eric Decker is a great number two behind him. At 5-11 the Jets managed to get the 6th overall pick, and can hopefully use this draft to provide more youth on the team. Darron Lee had a subpar rookie season with 73 total tackles, but is still a great young prospect to have on the defense. The AFC East is obviously owned by the Patriots, but no one has a secure hold on the #2 spot. The Dolphins have taken major strides to get to 10-6 on the season, but I personally don’t see it lasting long. The Jets can cut and sign their way back in position for a soon to be Post-Brady era.
As brutal as this will sound, the Jets have to cut Ryan Fitzpatrick as soon as possible. There is no point in having him on the roster when you have 3 other quarterbacks who are cheaper, younger, and arguably better. Heck bringing back Mark Sanchez might even be the better move than keeping Fitzpatrick. This organization as a whole is in a pretty deep hole, with a lot of money spread across little talent, with poor structure. Muhammad Wilkerson is the biggest cap hit on the team, taking up about $26 million next season, and doesn’t seem to want to play for the organization any longer. If the Jets were to cut both of these players before June 1st, the Jets could add close to $32 million dollars for free agency. This would obviously be a game changing factor, which is why I say they have to do it ASAP because after June 1st the number drops to roughly $22 million. Doing this can help the Jets flip their old aging team into a team with bright young stars throughout the draft process and free agency. Moving Wilkerson, to bring in offensive help would be a smart decision for a team that is falling apart on the offensive of the ball. The Jets should definitely look into Andre Smith filling in their tackle position. Ron Leary, and T.J Lang would provide the Jets with a great offensive line to build the rest of the offense around.
Going into the draft, everyone is looking at how the Jets will fix their disgusting quarterback situation, but I don’t think this is the draft to do that for the Jets. 2018 is projected to be flooded in quarterback talent with Josh Rosen, and Sam Darnold just to name a few. Lucky enough, this draft is flooded in everything BUT the quarterback position, so they can fill many holes before bringing a young quarterback to the pressure of New York. The Jets don’t really have many places to go in the first round without reaching heavily for a certain player. They Sadly, Revis has fallen off a cliff, and is now an average second cornerback at best. Marlon Humphrey, Sidney Jones, or Marshon Lattimore could all be potential replacements for Revis, but other than I don’t think the Jets have much value with the 6th pick. With the elite prospects in this draft, The Jets could basically upgrade with anyone they select, but Leonard Fournette is a once in a generation prospect. Matt Forte isn’t going to have wheels for much longer, and if they were to build a solid offensive line, not have to worry about the quarterback position as much. Over his 3 season, Fournette has amassed over 3,800 yards and 41 touchdowns, averaging 6.2 yards a carry. The Jets don’t have the best offensive line, but neither did LSU, and we can see what little Leonard Fournette needs to be an amazing talent.
The second round still has plenty of great value cornerbacks as in this draft, I have 9 going in the first two rounds, and plenty more that have at least a 2nd round grade. Quincy Wilson is a corner I have seen go as high as top 20, but I believe many will have him overshadowed by Jalen Tabor, Vernon Hargreaves, and Keanu Neal in the past seasons. Quincy Wilson is a little better bigger of a corner, though not as fluid, still can present more physicality to the position others cannot. Other prospects like Roderick Johnson, or Forrest Lamp would make sense given the fact that Ryan Clady is seeming to be flaring out his career due to injuries. Roderick Johnson has been a big reason in the success of Dalvin Cook and the Florida State offense for the past three years. As a true freshman, Johnson helped Florida gain over 1,000 of total offensive in the final two games of their 2014 season. If the Jets were to go after the quarterback position in this draft, the mid rounds would be where I think they should start. I wouldn’t be surprised at all to see Davis Webb go to them in the third after not just a great senior bowl, but a very overlooked 2016 campaign as well. This might be a little too rich for most of my reader’s blood, but Webb’s 2016 campaign, was not that far off from this years number one overall pick, Jared Goff’s 2015 season. Goff earned his number one pick with 4,719 passing yards and 43 touchdowns on 13 interceptions in 13 games. Webb finished this season with just under 4,300 yards, and 37 touchdowns to 12 interceptions in 12 games, with a much worse team and with tougher Pac-12 teams. At 6’5, 230 lbs, Webb has the frame of an NFL QB, and has the perfect amount of hype to fit in the New York media.
New York is an extremely tough place for young players to be thrown into. The press is rough-less, the playing conditions can be terrible, and currently the odds are if you’re playing in New York, your team is pretty bad. The New York Jets have a sticky situation with where they have spread their money, but luckily to people that are easily replaceable. We all have seen how to rebuild teams with the as of late Raiders, Cowboys, and Falcons; who all did it in their own similar way. Darron Lee, Leonard Williams, Sheldon Richardson, and Calvin Pryor are a great base for revamping the defense. This draft is loaded at the cornerback position and running back position Addressing the quarterback position is a major need, but has to be handled carefully in the spotlight of New York. As we have seen in the past a quarterback will come, and if they can address the offensive line, and build a great core of players, they can flip this team quickly like others have.
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