Jump to content

Donta Hightower - Future Jet?


Integrity28

Recommended Posts

  • Replies 226
  • Created
  • Last Reply

the thing about ex-patsie players is they look much better because of the team's success. that's not saying hightower isn't a very good player but if he's not used the same way the patsies do he may not look as good. it could be a really good signing.  hightower was highly regarded when he was drafted and it looks like he hasn't missed a beat.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just now, rangerous said:

the thing about ex-patsie players is they look much better because of the team's success. that's not saying hightower isn't a very good player but if he's not used the same way the patsies do he may not look as good. it could be a really good signing.  hightower was highly regarded when he was drafted and it looks like he hasn't missed a beat.

lol, ffs

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What else are we going to do with the money we have? He's 26, very good, a leader, let's us cut Harris & his 6.5 million. Pretty much a win/win, especially if we draft hooker or Adams & a CB in the 3rd. 

Could be the makings of a damn good LB core, Lee-Hightower-Jenkins-Mauldin-Martin-Lemolier (not shabby at all). I'd be shocked if he came here but happy if he does.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

14 minutes ago, Jetster said:

What else are we going to do with the money we have? He's 26, very good, a leader, let's us cut Harris & his 6.5 million. Pretty much a win/win, especially if we draft hooker or Adams & a CB in the 3rd. 

Could be the makings of a damn good LB core, Lee-Hightower-Jenkins-Mauldin-Martin-Lemolier (not shabby at all). I'd be shocked if he came here but happy if he does.

You put this cat and Lee behind a true NT to protect them from OGs and it immediately improves the Jets run defense and pass rush  due to the constant double teams Poe demands . This is what the Jets defense lost when Snacks Harrison went to the Giants . In a 34 Defense, a NT that demands a double team is worth his money in gold .

Link to comment
Share on other sites

31 minutes ago, Tinstar said:

This would be an absolutely great signing for the Jets and would allow us to retire David  Harris gracefully   .I would go so far as to offer him 8-9 mil per on a 4 year deal  contingent on him losing 10 lbs .

Holy ******* hell

Link to comment
Share on other sites

35 minutes ago, rangerous said:

the thing about ex-patsie players is they look much better because of the team's success. that's not saying hightower isn't a very good player but if he's not used the same way the patsies do he may not look as good. it could be a really good signing.  hightower was highly regarded when he was drafted and it looks like he hasn't missed a beat.

Then adjust your scheme to use him in the EXACT same way.  That was, allegedly, one of Bowles' strengths was it not?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Linebacker Dont'a Hightower is second in ESPN’s Top 150 rankings, yet two full days into free agency he remains unsigned.

Few saw this coming.

Why the delay? And where are things headed?  

There are no decisive answers to those questions right now, and as is the case in free agency, things can change in an instant. But until they do, let’s focus on what we know and how it might apply to one of the more unique developments of the past 48 hours.

A few days after the New England Patriots won the Super Bowl, Hightower told ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter of his free-agency plans: “I love what I have in New England. I don’t have too much drawn up. I just want to be respected and loved.”

The Patriots want Hightower back, and while placing the franchise tag on him was never a strong consideration, the transition tag was. But in the end, the team didn’t go that route (a transition tag would have given New England the right to match any offer Hightower received) in what could be viewed as an act of good faith. The idea was that the Patriots would allow Hightower to explore the open market with no restrictions, and by doing so, Hightower might be more inclined to keep an open dialogue with Bill Belichick & Co., and likely give the club a chance to match any offers he received.

No team has obviously stepped up with the type of offer Hightower, 26, was hoping for. Perhaps that could still come, but offers generally don’t go up after the first wave of free agency.

When I reached out to a coach for one linebacker-needy NFL team about Hightower, the response surprised me. Hightower, I was told, wasn’t a fit for that team. One example was that one of Hightower’s best assets is his rush ability, and this particular team doesn’t use its linebackers that way.

That got me thinking about how Hightower, at 6-foot-3 and 265 pounds, is a unique player who doesn’t fit into the traditional linebacker box. Few have his combination of size, power, football IQ and big-game chops, but he’s not a quick-twitch athlete, his production doesn’t jump off the stat sheet, and there is an injury history for teams to consider.

Thus, a flexible defensive scheme and a creative coaching staff are an important combination to maximize what makes Hightower so special.

The Patriots certainly qualify, but are there really many other schemes and coaching staffs like that across the NFL? Perhaps that explains why no other NFL club has been decisively linked to Hightower through the first two days of free agency, assuming something big hasn't been cooking behind the scenes and is about to explode. If so, it could spark a dynamic where the Patriots do value Hightower most, but Hightower himself isn’t yet feeling the love and respect he’d hoped for, especially after seeing former teammates Jamie Collins (Browns) and Chandler Jones (Cardinals) cash in big time elsewhere.

Would that make it harder for him to walk back through the locker room door in New England? Sometimes it's easier for a player to take less money elsewhere with a fresh start than settling for something with the team that you just gave everything you had over the past five years.

It’s all theory at this point. Answers should be coming soon.

By this point, almost everyone thought those answers would have been known regarding Hightower.

 

After starring for Patriots, why is Dont'a Hightower still on market? - New England Patriots Blog- ESPN from Mike Reiss’s Tweet 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Jetster said:

What else are we going to do with the money we have? He's 26, very good, a leader, let's us cut Harris & his 6.5 million. Pretty much a win/win, especially if we draft hooker or Adams & a CB in the 3rd. 

Could be the makings of a damn good LB core, Lee-Hightower-Jenkins-Mauldin-Martin-Lemolier (not shabby at all). I'd be shocked if he came here but happy if he does.

Actually if they signed him they should move him to OLB 

Jenkins.....Lee......Harris......Hightower

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

PAts started with a 10mil per year offer.  TItans currently won't match.  I think Hightower is looking for Jaime Collins money, which is 12 mil per year +, which is probably what the Jets would need to produce in order to sign him.

Hightower isn't a great fit for the Jets system.  He is a better player than Collins, but he doesn't have the same sort of measurable wow moments.  He is a liability in coverage, and doesn't have great range sideline to sideline.  He is really good at run stuffing, and probably one of the best ILB blitzers in the league, and he's very versatile and smart.  Definitely an upgrade over Harris, but not so much that hes worth 7 million dollars more.  Now for the Pats, they will use him in multiple formations, so he fits their hybrid schemes a lot more.

it just doesn't make much sense, other than to drive up the price for a division rival, and the worry is u might get stuck with him (and the pats pocket another 3rd rounder)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

No.  No.  No.

The Jets are going nowhere in 2017 or 2018.  Signing Hightower is not going to change that.   Fraud Agency for 2017 should be bargain shopping only.  They already overpaid for Kelvin Beachum. But OL is more important to the rebuild process than a LB.  The OL must help protect whatever QB the jets decide to draft in the next two years.

Likely Hightower is just using the Jets to drive up New England's offer anyway.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, Jetster said:

What else are we going to do with the money we have? He's 26, very good, a leader, let's us cut Harris & his 6.5 million. Pretty much a win/win, especially if we draft hooker or Adams & a CB in the 3rd. 

Could be the makings of a damn good LB core, Lee-Hightower-Jenkins-Mauldin-Martin-Lemolier (not shabby at all). I'd be shocked if he came here but happy if he does.

If Greene can make something out of Mauldin, they would be set at linebacker.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.


×
×
  • Create New...