The Jets have been looking for an edge grid for 15 years. Is this the year they finally land one … or two?
Free agency begins Monday afternoon when the negotiation window between teams and agents opens. Jets general manager Joe Douglas is expected to target the front of rusher as the team sees an opportunity with a $ 69 million salary cap and a free agency market in a stronger position than usual.
This has been an essential position since the Jets traded John Abraham away after the 2005 season. Since then, three other Jets GMs have failed to fill the gap adequately, not even with coaches like Eric Mangini, Rex Ryan and Todd Bowles.
The Jets once again have a defensive head coach in Robert Saleh, who needs a passing assist to succeed.
There have been swings in the NFL draft at the Jets position, especially Vernon Gholston, but they have not chased many pass-rushers into free agency over the years. This is because the best pass-rushers usually do not reach the open market.
This is what makes this year different and provides an opportunity for Douglas to strike. Shaquil Barrett (Buccaneers), Yannick Ngakoue (Ravens), Matt Judon (Ravens), Trey Hendrickson (Saints) and Carl Lawson (Bengals) are the leaders in the free agency and all will be a franchise candidate in most years. With the decline in the salary cap, more good players are hitting the market. Since there are so many great edge-rushers available, Douglas could find value without paying too much.
Former NFL safety and current ESPN analyst Matt Bowen has named 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 experienced a strange 2020 where he was traded twice but still managed eight bags. He may be a liability against the flight, but the Jets can live with that. Saleh was the lineout coach at the Jaguars in 2016 when Jacksonville drafted Ngakoue from Maryland.
“Yannick Ngakoue would be one of my top priorities,” Bowen said. ‘I think he has a natural bend and pulls off the ball. I think he has disruptive qualities. You look at Robert Saleh’s defense and how they plan their pass rushers. They do so much with their top four, more than people think. It’s not just, ‘Hey, let’s chase the quarterback and play zone.’ They do so much with multiple fronts. ”
The expectation within the Jets is that they will add two edge stormers for Saleh. It could be a free agency, or they could sign a rusher and set one up. This year’s concept has no elite pass rushers 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 all be potential targets with the Jets second-round pick in the first round (number 23 overall), but they all come with questions.
The new coaching staff is excited about what the Jets have on the home defense line with Quinnen Williams, John Franklin-Myers and Folorunso Fatukasi. The feeling is that if they can get a strong chase off the edge, it will prevent Williams from becoming a double team and free him to chase the passer more.
The last major pass the Jets signed in free agency was Calvin Pace in 2008 when he signed a six-year, $ 42 million contract. Pace had 46 bags with the team in eight years, but was never dominant. He only had double-digit pockets once.
Over the past decade, the Jets have had to get their passion from domestic lineouts like Muhammad Wilkerson and Leonard Williams or from lightning linebacker Demario Davis or lightning safety Jamal Adams.
Douglas has the chance to give Saleh something his predecessors have not yet had – a big lead. It could happen like that Monday.