With a new Deal in Hand, Time for Mac to Come up big at Premium Positions

[JetNation]

If Jets GM Mike Maccagnan were up to bat swinging for the fences (unlikely using a Louisville Slugger) with hitting on premium positions being balls and strikes, it would look a little something like this.

Quarterback: Strike one

Pass rusher: Strike two

Left tackle: fouled that one off his foot

Cornerback: Strike three…looking

Like every GM to ever wear the title, Mike Maccagnan has had some swings and misses in his time with the Jets, but he’s also had some hits with the likes of Leonard Williams, Robby Anderson, Jamal Adams, Jordan Jenkins and Jermaine Kearse to name a few.  The biggest problem for Maccagnan however, is that the misses have been critical. The GM’s inability to man premium positions with premium players has got to come to an end this off-season.  No more excuses.  No more free passes.  Luckily for him, there’s a road map to make it happen, and it’s not all that far-fetched.

Quarterback:

This is the first and most critical step because it allows the others to fall in to place.  With veteran signal callers such as Kirk Cousins, Alex Smith and Tyrod Taylor expected to be in play, Maccagnan should have a chance to use some of his $90+ million in cap room to get an established signal caller.  Adding a free agent such as Cousins would be the most desirable move as it would allow Maccagnan to keep all of his draft picks.  If the Chiefs are willing to move Smith for a pair of second-round pick or less, that would likely be the next best move.  It also means having a proven NFL starter over a lottery ticket draft pick who may need four to five years before getting on the level of a Smith or Cousins.  There’s also the chance that the pick is never any better than Mark Sanchez or Geno Smith.

Pass Rusher:

With a quarterback in the fold during free agency, the Jets snatch up the top pass-rusher in the draft in Bradley Chubb.  Not since the days of John Abraham have the Jets had a pass rusher who could consistently harass quarterbacks and Chubb could be a great one.  Currently rated as the number one prospect in the country by CBSSports.com, Chubb fills another of the four premium gaps on the roster.

Left Tackle:

Kelvin Beachum ranks 18th in average salary among current left tackles and that’s not a bad deal.  His performance has been about average and he’s a player the Jets could live with for another season or two while targeting a left tackle at the top of the draft next season.

Cornerback:

The Jets can open up the check book once again to re-sign Morris Claiborne to be their no. 2 cornerback next season, but the concern here is the top corner on the depth chart.

There are several free agents who wold offer huge upgrades at the position.  Trumaine Johnson is expected to bolt from Los Angeles and current Jets DB coach Dennard Wilson coached him when he played his best football with the Rams.  Another (and probably better) option would be the highly touted Kyle Fuller, who at 25, is expected to hit the market when free agency begins.  Colts cornerback Rashaan Melvin should garner a look as well.

Just a handful of moves, none very far-fetched, and in the span of a few months, Maccagnan could have roughly $50 million in cap room with six draft picks remaining to address the rest of the roster with three of four premium positions filled.  Perhaps he does address left tackle with one of his second round picks while grabbing a center with the other?  The possibilities would be limitless, and the Jets would go from doormat to instant playoff contender.

 

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[CrazyCarl40]

Just two offseasons ago Macc spent a “war chest” on the secondary grabbing three corners and a safety to big deals. Here and now the only player left from that is Buster Skrine, one of the worst players on the team. So not only did his spending spree net only 20 wins in 3 seasons, he didn’t add a single player to the team with any staying value. 

I do not trust Macc to spend the 100 dollars properly or to fix the premium positions he’s largely ignored for the better part of three years. He’s made critical error after massive mistake and the Jets aren’t a better team or have a better roster than when he took over. 

I just don’t see him being able to finally “get it” and it will probably doom the team to sub .500 football until he’s unceremoniously dropped from the Jets. 

[Larz]

Agree 100%

If you look at Andrew luck, the entire oline is a priority along with durable running back. I remember reading Macc has a good reputation for scouting oline, let's go get it 

 

[LIJetsFan]

Carl, please keep in mind that many of Mac's FA moves year one were dictated by ownership.  Kindly climb back down off the ledge.  Ownership seems to be giving him a free hand now.  Let's see how our older and wiser GM handles it.

[CrazyCarl40]

Just now, LIJetsFan said:

Carl, please keep in mind that many of Mac's FA moves year one were dictated by ownership.  Kindly climb back down off the ledge.  Ownership seems to be giving his a free hand now.  Let's see how our older and wiser GM handles it now.

Prove that. 

Macc is older and wiser now? He’s learned from his mistakes? I don’t know about ou but if I’m hiring a candidate for a position of general manager, I’m asking that person what and how specifically they are going to make my business better in the short and the long term. Macc has failed at both of those premises and hasn’t shown any signs of “getting it” over the last two offseasons. He’s using high picks on non-premium positions, he’s completely ignored the offensive line, and he’s not only failed to bring in young talent at the most important position in all of sports, he’s also swung and missed multiple times on identifying and valuating a quarterback. He’s shown no growth or signs of changing his ways as a person hired to find the best players at the most important jobs and I don’t see that changing because he got rewarded for failing his first three seasons. 

[LIJetsFan]

3 minutes ago, CrazyCarl40 said:

Prove that. 

Macc is older and wiser now? He’s learned from his mistakes? I don’t know about ou but if I’m hiring a candidate for a position of general manager, I’m asking that person what and how specifically they are going to make my business better in the short and the long term. Macc has failed at both of those premises and hasn’t shown any signs of “getting it” over the last two offseasons. He’s using high picks on non-premium positions, he’s completely ignored the offensive line, and he’s not only failed to bring in young talent at the most important position in all of sports, he’s also swung and missed multiple times on identifying and valuating a quarterback. He’s shown no growth or signs of changing his ways as a person hired to find the best players at the most important jobs and I don’t see that changing because he got rewarded for failing his first three seasons. 

You didn't hire Mac, Woody did.  Woody didn't ask for what you asked for.  Woody wanted a cap driven quick fix, not a rebuild.  Now Mac has full authority to do things his way.  I think he's done enough so far to be hopeful with him going forward.  I understand why you not feel this way and I think you are downplaying most of his good moves/decisions.    

[JiFtheOracle]

Agreed.  Year 4 into a rebuild with a new contract in hand. NOW it’s time to start prioritizing premium positions. Screw those first 3 years.  Time to crank it up now that the Jets mean business with the Mac Bowles  expeess!!! 

 

[CrazyCarl40]

27 minutes ago, LIJetsFan said:

You didn't hire Mac, Woody did.  Woody didn't ask for what you asked for.  Woody wanted a cap driven quick fix, not a rebuild.  Now Mac has full authority to do things his way.  I think he's done enough so far to be hopeful with him going forward.  I understand why you not feel this way and I think you are downplaying most of his good moves/decisions.    

Now you know what Woody wanted in a GM? GTFO. Even Woody didn’t know that’s why he hired outside people to hire the GM. Are you serious?

I’m not downplaying any good moves. There just hasn’t been very many. I’m not going to rehash what everyone already knows. Macc has failed. 

[LIJetsFan]

So Woody didn't give Mac direction?  lol

[JetPotato]

He just barely missed on the Adams pick, so I'm hoping he can address the safety position early this year to button that up finally.

[Integrity28]

Mac's best moves so far:

1. Leonard Williams falling in his lap
2. Marcus Maye in the 2nd round
3. Bringing Demorio Davis back at a relatively team-friendly cost

Mac's not-so-best moves so far:

1. Reaching on Hack in Round 2
2. Rebuilding the secondary with all the Idzik cap savings, and having them only play well for 3/4 of a season before all needing to be cut/replaced themselves
3. Mo Wilk deal
4. Drafting Darron Lee, who can't play ILB, which necessitated bringing Demorio Davis back
5. Drafting Darron Lee, who can't play S, which necessitated using 2 draft picks on S in the following draft
6. Placating Bowles insistence on having a veteran QB (something he gets from Arians) and giving us Fitz (x2) and Mccown for 3 years
7. Saying it was too expensive to trade up for Goff/Wentz, then using the draft picks it would have cost us on players like Hansen and Ardarius Stewart, then not giving them any playing time and acquiring guys like Kearse and Kerley to play ahead of them
8. Making lame coffee jokes a thing on Jets message boards
9. Ginger beard scruff
10. Other stuff I cannot think of

[JetFaninMI]

59 minutes ago, CrazyCarl40 said:

Prove that. 

Macc is older and wiser now? He’s learned from his mistakes? I don’t know about ou but if I’m hiring a candidate for a position of general manager, I’m asking that person what and how specifically they are going to make my business better in the short and the long term. Macc has failed at both of those premises and hasn’t shown any signs of “getting it” over the last two offseasons. He’s using high picks on non-premium positions, he’s completely ignored the offensive line, and he’s not only failed to bring in young talent at the most important position in all of sports, he’s also swung and missed multiple times on identifying and valuating a quarterback. He’s shown no growth or signs of changing his ways as a person hired to find the best players at the most important jobs and I don’t see that changing because he got rewarded for failing his first three seasons. 

A resounding HELL YES to this post. If I could rep it a million times I would. It sums up Macchole in a paragraph, which is more than I would give him.

[dbatesman]

In a way, next year is really year one of the rebuild

[Jetsplayer21]

no running back ? Guess he forget to even swing at 1 of those ha

[Jet Nut]

41 minutes ago, CrazyCarl40 said:

Now you know what Woody wanted in a GM? GTFO. Even Woody didn’t know that’s why he hired outside people to hire the GM. Are you serious?

I’m not downplaying any good moves. There just hasn’t been very many. I’m not going to rehash what everyone already knows. Macc has failed. 

Apparently it's not what everyone knows.  Just a handful of whiney, clueless fans who refuse to look at the good but have no problem harping on the bad or just making shlt up.  

[rangerous]

1 hour ago, CrazyCarl40 said:

Prove that. 

Macc is older and wiser now? He’s learned from his mistakes? I don’t know about ou but if I’m hiring a candidate for a position of general manager, I’m asking that person what and how specifically they are going to make my business better in the short and the long term. Macc has failed at both of those premises and hasn’t shown any signs of “getting it” over the last two offseasons. He’s using high picks on non-premium positions, he’s completely ignored the offensive line, and he’s not only failed to bring in young talent at the most important position in all of sports, he’s also swung and missed multiple times on identifying and valuating a quarterback. He’s shown no growth or signs of changing his ways as a person hired to find the best players at the most important jobs and I don’t see that changing because he got rewarded for failing his first three seasons. 

well see him prove it when wilky gets launched.  that's a fish or cut bait type move and keeping mistakes is just as bad as the mistake in the first place.  and much as people want to pick on him for yet getting a top qb, we still have very little indication of what hack can do on game day.  at worst, hack was drafted a few spots too high.  at best he can be the starter or at least an effective back up.

the oline is an issue.  going into the season with only johnson at center was a problem that was compounded by bowles not trying another player at the position.  winters was a so-so move.  beachum is not bad nor is carpenter.  and shell has shown good ability  it takes time for an oline to gel.

[Ex-Rex]

2 hours ago, JetNation said:

Left Tackle:

Kelvin Beachum ranks 18th in average salary among current left tackles and that’s not a bad deal.  His performance has been about average and he’s a player the Jets could live with for another season or two while targeting a left tackle at the top of the draft next season.

I think center is a position of need more so than tackle. Beachum and Shell can get better and I think they will with help inside. I think Dakota Dozier is a better fit than Winters and Wes Johnson is sub par on every level. I do not see Wahington letting Cousins go anywhere and the same can be said for Alex Smith. I would sign Tyrod Taylor to a mid level contract or bring back McCown if the Jets draft a QB. At seven through nine I don't see them getting any one of the BIG FOUR QB's coming out unless Allen falls, so I would take the stud RB Nick Chubb from Georgia and look at Jarrod Stidham in the second round. The rest of the draft I would go after C, pass rusher, CB and DL.

[Ex-Rex]

2 minutes ago, rangerous said:

at worst, hack was drafted a few spots too high.  at best he can be the starter or at least an effective back up.

What have you seen from him that makes yo make such a BOLD statement? Hackenberg can't get playing time over Bryce Petty who has stuck it up so bad I am still delousing my living room from the stench. Hackenberg is the biggest Jets draft bust since Vernon Gholston and Blair Thomas. Worse even, because they at least got to play some.

[rangerous]

1 minute ago, Ex-Rex said:

What have you seen from him that makes yo make such a BOLD statement? Hackenberg can't get playing time over Bryce Petty who has stuck it up so bad I am still delousing my living room from the stench. Hackenberg is the biggest Jets draft bust since Vernon Gholston and Blair Thomas. Worse even, because they at least got to play some.

because i'm not there watching him in practice, i can't read bowles mind as to what he thinks about inexperienced qb's, and i am surely not qualified to judge how good or bad hack is.  however, he did play okay in preseason, he is a big kid who should be able to shed would be tacklers, he's got an arm, and he has good mobility.  and let's not forget he went from a bad program at penn st to a bad program with gailey and is only now having a good coaching staff to work with.

finally, we all know that bad draft picks have consequences.  in hack's they used a second round pick for a guy who needed work.  fair enough in saying the pick was wasted.  but at the same time value of a past pick diminishes in time.  we all point to gholston or thomas as being extremely poor picks, and rightly so, but the impact of those picks has diminished so they don't impact on anything going on today.  in a couple of seasons hack's pick will have no impact on the future jet team unless he's still their qb.

[Integrity28]

1 hour ago, JiF said:

Agreed.  Year 4 into a rebuild with a new contract in hand. NOW it’s time to start prioritizing premium positions. Screw those first 3 years.  Time to crank it up now that the Jets mean business with the Mac Bowles  expeess!!! 

 

It reminds me of that year where the narrative was "Rex gets a reset".

Oh well. Grin and bear it, I guess?

[Warfish]

1 hour ago, JiF said:

Agreed.  Year 4 into a rebuild with a new contract in hand. NOW it’s time to start prioritizing premium positions. Screw those first 3 years.  Time to crank it up now that the Jets mean business with the Mac Bowles  expeess!!! 

 

Just to be clear, we're not in year 4 of a rebuild, we're going to be entering year 2 of a rebuild.

It's rather obvious the first two years of the Macc/Bowles tandem they were not rebuilding, they were trying to win.  They failed, of course, but they were trying.

This year was the first year that legitimately looked like a "Ok, time to rebuild, fire the Vets, draft some kids, cut salary, etc".

I don't think that should change any opinions per say, but we should try and be accurate.  Macc/Bowles was not rebuilding in 2015-2016.

[BurnleyJet]

Not what I wanted, but it is what it is.

There is no Honeymoon now, it's sh*t or get off the pot. Both these goons need to deliver. It's QB time for Macc and Todd needs to Coach a whole lot better. 

[dbatesman]

13 minutes ago, rangerous said:

he did play okay in preseason

[Philc1]

3 minutes ago, BurnleyJet said:

Not what I wanted, buy it is what it is.

There is no Honeymoon now, it's sh*t or get off the pot. Both these goons need to deliver. It's QB time for Macc and Todd needs to Coach a who lot better. 

We are getting blown out in Foxboro some honeymoon 

[Philc1]

35 minutes ago, Jet Nut said:

Apparently it's not what everyone knows.  Just a handful of whiney, clueless fans who refuse to look at the good but have no problem harping on the bad or just making shlt up.  

Yeah we’re just making up the fact that he reached for Hack, Lee and Devin Smith and two safeties and we have no qb after 3 years

[Pennington]

You lost me with the outrageous idea of trading 2 second round picks for Alex Smith. This schmuck GM needs to find a way to end up with either Darnold, Rosen, or Mayfield. Enough with the veteran stopgaps at the most important position in the game. 

[Jet Nut]

2 minutes ago, Philc1 said:

Yeah we’re just making up the fact that he reached for Hack, Lee and Devin Smith and two safeties and we have no qb after 3 years

If you think he reached for Lee or Smith, yes you are.  Only and the clueless think because Smith blew out his knee he becomes a reach.  Or Lee at 20.  Yes, you're making it up, especially when neither is fact.  

[ASH1962]

13 minutes ago, Pennington said:

You lost me with the outrageous idea of trading 2 second round picks for Alex Smith. This schmuck GM needs to find a way to end up with either Darnold, Rosen, or Mayfield. Enough with the veteran stopgaps at the most important position in the game. 

Alex Smith = No thank you

[Bugg]

2 hours ago, CrazyCarl40 said:

Prove that. 

Macc is older and wiser now? He’s learned from his mistakes? I don’t know about ou but if I’m hiring a candidate for a position of general manager, I’m asking that person what and how specifically they are going to make my business better in the short and the long term. Macc has failed at both of those premises and hasn’t shown any signs of “getting it” over the last two offseasons. He’s using high picks on non-premium positions, he’s completely ignored the offensive line, and he’s not only failed to bring in young talent at the most important position in all of sports, he’s also swung and missed multiple times on identifying and valuating a quarterback. He’s shown no growth or signs of changing his ways as a person hired to find the best players at the most important jobs and I don’t see that changing because he got rewarded for failing his first three seasons. 

Hackenberg over Prescott.

Adams over Watson.

Oh, NOW, 3 YEARS IN, he's gonna address the quarterback slot. 

RIGHT. 

BAP BAP BAP.....

[nycdan]

Can we please stop with the Hack over Prescott theme?  Three other teams passed on Prescott after we did.  I don't recall Prescott being ranked above Hackenberg in any reasonable mocks or prospect rankings.  And as it turned out, when DAL no longer had a star RB in the fold, Prescott looked a little more average.  Hack was a total whiff.  But let's not rewrite history to say Prescott was the glaringly correct pick in that position.

Also, while I am entirely undecided on Macc, I would not exclude the Sheldon trade for Kearse and a 2nd rounder in the positives column.  In retrospect, it was actually a very good deal for the Jets.  Richardson would have added very little value to the team this season and is now a FA while Kearse looks like a very solid vet in a sorely needed position (with 2 more years of team control) and that 2nd round pick was more than most expected even without the added player.  

 

[Pennington]

34 minutes ago, ASH1962 said:

Alex Smith = No thank you

It would be such a Jets move to do everything possible to go 8-8 next season future be damned. The media made Bowles out to be a hero for winning 5 games so just imagine the praise he would get for winning 8 with ultimate JAG Alex Smith at QB.

Never has a team with 5 wins been as celebrated as this Jets team and it's why this organization is a laughing stock.

[UnknownJetFan]

It was Woody's decision to bring back Revis at a really high bad contract and that was evidenced by the tampering he got caught for in saying so while Revis was still under contract in NE. I also from the eye test see that the 2nd year 2016 with Fitz, Woody most likely pushed to re-sign Fitz since he thought the 2015 season was no abberation. Also, at the time the Mo. W. contract seemed to have Woody's writing all over that since Mac postposned it for so long and you could tell he didn't really want to sign him and more likely wanted to re-sign Snacks instead. This is evidenced by any contract the size of Mo's has to go through the owner since you as a GM would be fired immediatley by creating a big contract and signing it without ownership agreeing. Due to Mo's bad contract we couldn't re-sign Snacks since there wasn't enough cap space at that point. So can we see how these 3-4 moves caused so many problems and the GM had his hands tied by the owner. For all we know Mac may have made a deal for Cousins, but Woody maybe didn't want to spend that type of Money on him. Now, as was mentioned by another poster here(And enter Owner Chris Johnson), the combo of more experience and leeway for Mac to do his job himslef, in the 3rd year made some better decisions with the Richardson deal (Kearse and 2nd rounder), very modest deal for McCown to stabilize and grow the team while he was in there, revamping 3/4 of the secondary with Adams, Maye, and Claibourne, swap of Pryor for Davis, OT Shell, ASJ, Kicker and Punter Stabalized, etc. Positions of LT haven't been bad, and Pass rushing has been generated by committee and would have looked even better had the O had not been off the field as quick for many spurts of games. Mac now has to deliver on QB, since he didn't do enough there especially in year 3 when he maybe could have, but didn't have the $ or FAs out there in that year and other than the hurt Watson this wasn't a great draft for QBs. Lets see now as this year 4 will be huge for him. Get a real QB, Center and a good RB and that in itself will change the whole Offense. A real KR/PR is in order also. On D we need another CB or two and try to get that ever ellusive pass rusher who can change games and get quick stops when we need them.

[tuffhand]

1 hour ago, Ex-Rex said:

What have you seen from him that makes yo make such a BOLD statement? Hackenberg can't get playing time over Bryce Petty who has stuck it up so bad I am still delousing my living room from the stench. Hackenberg is the biggest Jets draft bust since Vernon Gholston and Blair Thomas. Worse even, because they at least got to play some.

Seriously, you rate the second round Hackenberg pick on a par with Blair Thomas and Vernon Gholston?

[detectivekimble]

4 hours ago, dbatesman said:

In a way, next year is really year one of the rebuild

Too bad for Mac then.  Because another clunker like this and he'll be on the unemployment line.

[SenorGato]

They really should put the defense stuff on the backburner. The pass rusher can put a roster over the top, see the Miller/Manning Broncos or maybe/hopefully the current Chargers, but you still need that gd pesky QB.