The Jets have been looking for a 15-year-old sidekick. Is this the year they finally landed one … or two?
The free agency starts on Monday at noon, when the negotiation window between teams and agents opens. Jets general manager Joe Douglas expects to target the rusher as the team sees a $ 69 million salary cap opportunity and a free agent market in a stronger position than usual.
It’s been a staple since the Jets replaced John Abraham after the 2005 season. Since then, three other GM Jets have failed to adequately fill the hole even with defensive coaches at the helm, such as Eric Mangini, Rex Ryan and Todd Bowles.
The Jets again have a head coach with a defensive stance at Robert Saleh, who needs help to succeed.
There were trifles in the NFL project at the Jets’ position, especially Vernon Gholston, but they didn’t follow many free agency passengers over the years. This is due to the fact that usually the best passengers do not enter the free market.
This is what makes this year different and provides an opportunity for Douglas to hit. Shaquil Barrett (Buccaneers), Yannick Ngakoue (Ravens), Matt Judon (Ravens), Trey Hendrickson (Saints) and Carl Lawson (Bengals) are leaders in the free agency and all would be franchised candidates in most years. With the lowering of the salary cap this year, more good players are entering the market. With so many good edge rushers available, Douglas should be able to find value without paying in excess.
Former NFL safety analyst and current ESPN Matt Bowen has listed Ngakoue as the best fit for the Jets. He turns 26 in two weeks and has never had less than eight bags in his five-year career. He had a strange 2020 where he was changed twice, but he still managed eight bags. He may be a liability against running, but the Jets could live with that. Saleh was the linebacker with the Jaguars in 2016, when Jacksonville retired Ngakoue from Maryland.
“Yannick Ngakoue would be one of my top priorities,” Bowen said. “I think he has a natural doubt and he pulls himself off the ball. I think he has disturbing features. You look at Robert Saleh’s defense and the way he plans his passengers. They do so much with their front four more than people think. It’s not just “Hey, let’s hurry with the defender and play the area.” They do so much with multiple fronts. ”
The expectation inside the Jets is that they will add two edge rushers for Saleh. This could come to the free agency or they could sign a meter and design it. This year’s project has no elite care like Chase Young or the Bosa brothers. Prospects like Gregory Rousseau of Miami, Kwity Paye of Michigan, Azeez Ojulari of Georgia and Jayson Oweh of Penn State could be potential targets with the second-round pick of the Jets (No. 23 overall), but they all come with questions.
The new coach is excited about what the Jets have on the inside defensive line with Quinnen Williams, John Franklin-Myers and Folorunso Fatukasi. The feeling is that if I can get a strong rush from the sidelines, it will prevent Williams from becoming a double team and release him to speed up the passer further.
The last big pass the Jets signed to the free agency was Calvin Pace in 2008, when he signed a six-year, $ 42 million contract. Pace had 46 sacks in eight years with the team, but was never dominant. He had double-digit bags only once.
For the past decade, the Jets have been forced to get in the way of inside passengers, such as Muhammad Wilkerson and Leonard Williams, or linebacker Demario Davis or Jamal Adams.
Douglas has a chance to give Saleh something his predecessors didn’t have – a top lawyer. That could happen immediately on Monday.