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Did Jets upgrade or downgrade this offseason? | Position-by-position analysis

Posted June 03, 2018 at 05:00 AM | Updated June 03, 2018 at 05:03 AM
 
 
 
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By Darryl Slater | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

The Jets this offseason made some big additions (like cornerback Trumaine Johnson). They also lost key players in free agency (like tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins). And they picked quarterback Sam Darnold third overall in the 2018 NFL Draft. So did the Jets upgrade or downgrade at each position? Let's take a look. Plus, after we break down each position, we offer our take on whether the Jets upgraded or downgraded overall. 

NFL: Combine
AP Photo
 

Todd Bowles, of course, is back for his fourth season as the Jets' head coach. 

 
 
QUARTERBACKS

KEY PLAYERS IN 2017: Josh McCown, Christian Hackenberg, Bryce Petty 

KEY LOSSES: Hackenberg (traded), Petty (cut) 

KEY ADDITIONS: Teddy Bridgewater (free agency), Sam Darnold (draft) 

 
 
 
DID JETS UPGRADE OR DOWNGRADE AT QB?

Upgrade. 

Hackenberg and Petty stunk with the Jets. They drafted a potential future franchise quarterback, re-signed McCown (who was productive last season), and signed Bridgewater to a low-risk, one-year contract. So far, during spring practices, Bridgewater has looked good. Maybe the Jets can get something for him in a trade. 

 
 
RUNNING BACKS

KEY PLAYERS IN 2017: Matt Forte, Bilal Powell, Eli McGuire 

KEY LOSSES: Forte (retired) 

KEY ADDITIONS: Isaiah Crowell (free agency), Trenton Cannon (draft) 

Darryl Slater | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
 
 
 
 
DID JETS UPGRADE OR DOWNGRADE AT RB?

Upgrade. 

Forte was finished last season, as he battled through chronic knee pain. Crowell isn't a star, but he has workhorse potential for the Jets (206 and 198 carries the past two seasons). More likely, the Jets will split the workload between Crowell (who is 25) and Powell (who is going on 30). 

 
 
 
TIGHT ENDS

KEY PLAYERS IN 2017: Austin Seferian-Jenkins 

KEY LOSSES: Seferian-Jenkins (free agency) 

KEY ADDITIONS: Jordan Leggett (back from injury), Chris Herndon (draft) 

 
 
 
DID JETS UPGRADE OR DOWNGRADE AT TE?

Downgrade. 

At least for now. The Jets didn't want to meet Seferian-Jenkins' asking price, after he had 50 catches for 357 yards and three touchdowns for them last year. He isn't an elite tight end, but he is more of a sure thing that Leggett and Herndon at this point. Herndon is a rookie coming off knee surgery. And Leggett is essentially a rookie, since he missed his entire rookie season, last year, because of knee surgery. 

 
 
WIDE RECEIVERS

KEY PLAYERS IN 2017: Robby Anderson, Jermaine Kearse 

KEY LOSSES: None 

KEY ADDITIONS: Terrelle Pryor (free agency), Quincy Enunwa (back from injury) 

Andrew Mills | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
 
 
 
 
DID JETS UPGRADE OR DOWNGRADE AT WR?

Upgrade. 

Anderson and Kearse were the Jets' only legit receiver options last season, because ArDarius Stewart and Chad Hansen underwhelmed as rookies. Now, the Jets have not only Anderson and Kearse, but also Enunwa and Pryor. So they might not need to depend on Stewart and Hansen much at all. That said, let's see how Enunwa returns from neck surgery. And Pryor this spring is dealing with an ankle injury.

 
 
OFFENSIVE LINE

KEY PLAYERS IN 2017: LT Kelvin Beachum, LG James Carpenter, C Wesley Johnson, RG Brian Winters, RT Brandon Shell 

KEY LOSSES: Johnson (free agency) 

KEY ADDITIONS: C Spencer Long (free agency) 

 
 
 
DID JETS UPGRADE OR DOWNGRADE AT OL?

Upgrade. 

Or that's how it appears right now. Johnson was terrible last season. Presuming Long can return OK from quadriceps surgery, he should be an upgrade. And Winters struggled with an abdomen muscle tear last season, which significantly affected his play. Now that he is healthy, he should be more effective. But the Jets need more from Beachum, Carpenter, and Shell than they got last season, when their line was dreadful. 

 
 
DEFENSIVE LINE

KEY PLAYERS IN 2017: Leonard Williams, Steve McLendon, Mo Wilkerson, Kony Ealy 

KEY LOSSES: Wilkerson (cut), Ealy (free agency)

KEY ADDITIONS: Henry Anderson (trade), Foley Fatukasi (draft), Nathan Shepherd (draft) 

Darryl Slater | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
 
 
 
 
DID JETS UPGRADE OR DOWNGRADE AT DL?

Downgrade. 

The Jets had no choice but to cut Wilkerson, a chronically late dud who did next to nothing last season. But they didn't really replace him with a proven player. So will they be able to keep double teams away from Williams' side of the line? The Jets will try to do it by committee, with Anderson, Shepherd, and Xavier Cooper. That's a bit of a risk, since the Jets badly need to get more from their pass rush. 

 
 
 
INSIDE LINEBACKERS

KEY PLAYERS IN 2017: Demario Davis, Darron Lee 

KEY LOSSES: Davis (free agency) 

KEY ADDITIONS: Avery Williamson (free agency) 

 
 
 
DID JETS UPGRADE OR DOWNGRADE AT ILB?

Upgrade. 

Tough call here. We don't know if Williamson will be able to grasp Bowles' defense as well as Davis did last season, when the 29-year-old middle linebacker had the best season of his six-year career. We are giving Williamson a slight edge over Davis because he is three years younger. But we could certainly hear an argument for the Jets downgrading at this position. 

 
 
OUTSIDE LINEBACKERS

KEY PLAYERS IN 2017: Jordan Jenkins, Josh Martin, David Bass 

KEY LOSSES: None 

KEY ADDITIONS: Lorenzo Mauldin (back from injury), Dylan Donahue (back from injury) 

Darryl Slater | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
 
 
 
 
DID JETS UPGRADE OR DOWNGRADE AT OLB?

Stayed the same. 

The Jets didn't make any high-profile additions at edge rusher. Who knows what they can really expect out of Mauldin and Donahue in 2018? And Jenkins hasn't been a legit pass rusher through two seasons. It's tough to envision him as some ascending pass rusher right now. The Jets hope their edge rushing production can be upgraded in 2018, but at this point, it's hard to look at the talent and say the Jets definitely upgraded. 

 
 
CORNERBACKS

KEY PLAYERS IN 2017: Morris Claiborne, Buster Skrine, Darryl Roberts 

KEY LOSSES: None 

KEY ADDITIONS: Trumaine Johnson (free agency), Parry Nickerson (draft) 

 
 
 
DID JETS UPGRADE OR DOWNGRADE AT CB?

Upgrade. 

No doubt about it. Johnson was the Jets' highest-profile addition in free agency, and he gives them a legit, lockdown No. 1 corner. He will take some pressure off Claiborne (who won't have to defend No. 1 receivers anymore) and Skrine (who can go back to his natural slot role). 

 
 
SAFETIES

KEY PLAYERS IN 2017: Jamal Adams, Marcus Maye, Terrence Brooks 

KEY LOSSES: None 

KEY ADDITIONS: None 

Darryl Slater | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
 
 
 
 
DID JETS UPGRADE OR DOWNGRADE AT S?

Stayed the same. 

Adams and Maye have a year under their belts, so they should be better. But since the Jets didn't do anything at this position in the offseason — in terms of adding or losing significant players — then we can't say for sure that the position is better. It might turn out to be better, if Adams and Maye progress as expected, though. 

 
 
 
SPECIAL TEAMS

KEY PLAYERS IN 2017: Chandler Catanzaro, Lachlan Edwards, Thomas Hennessy 

KEY LOSSES: Catanzaro (free agency) 

KEY ADDITIONS: Cairo Santos (free agency) 

 
 
 
DID JETS UPGRADE OR DOWNGRADE ON ST?

Stayed the same. 

The only change is at kicker. Catanzaro is an 84.4-percent career field goal kicker. Santos is at 84.1 percent. The Jets have lacked a dynamic returner in recent years. Could Cannon, Lucky Whitehead or Andre Roberts be that guy for them in 2018? Hard to say for sure right now, but it's not a lock. 

 
 
COACHING

KEY LOSSES: John Morton (offensive coordinator), Steve Marshall (offensive line) 

KEY ADDITIONS: Jeremy Bates (offensive coordinator), Rick Dennison (offensive line/running game coordinator) 

Darryl Slater | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
 
 
 
 
DID JETS UPGRADE OR DOWNGRADE WITH COACHING?

Stayed the same. 

They went from one inexperienced offensive coordinator to another. A potential plus, for the Jets' returning offensive players, is that Bates won't overhaul things, scheme-wise. So it's not like he is putting in an entirely new system. Continuity ought to help. But it's foolish to say right now that Bates is some genius who will get more from the Jets' offense than Morton did. Now, maybe Bates can develop a quarterback better. 

 
 
 
OVERALL, ARE JETS AN UPGRADED OR DOWNGRADED TEAM?

Upgraded, though not by a ton. 

The Jets' problem areas last season were their pass rush, secondary, and offensive line. In the bigger picture, the Jets needed (and still need) to get some answers at quarterback.

Drafting Darnold could help in that department. But it's hard to see how the Jets are that much better with their pass rush. They should be improved on the offensive line. And they should be vastly improved in the secondary, with Johnson in the mix.

If the Jets were able to sign a proven quarterback (Kirk Cousins), we would say they upgraded by more. Still, they're a better team than the group that won five games last year for the second straight season. Can they go 7-9 or 9-7 or something like that in 2018? It's not outside the realm of possibility. 

 
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5 minutes ago, johnnysd said:

I actually think we upgraded significantly at DL. Time will tell, but Wilk was a loser and we added a lot of solid talent.

Yes it could be a case of addition by subtraction with Mo gone. Plus we added some talent in the draft.

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Just now, Long Island Leprechaun said:

Linebackers are pretty mediocre overall. That's an area of real need going forward. That and upgrading the O-Line. Jets will be competitive once they take those steps.

Agree, gotta upgrade that O line next off season.

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13 minutes ago, CanadienJetsFan said:

Yes, we are more talented than last year. Now will the coaching improve? Stay tuned.

That's a very legit question. You can have tons of clay but it's how you mold it that counts.

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My question right now is if we're better than the Browns - whose team looks pretty stacked to me right now.  I'd trade the Jets roster for the Brown roster right now.

 

Browns roster

http://www.ourlads.com/nfldepthcharts/depthchart/CLE

compared to the Jets roster

http://www.ourlads.com/nfldepthcharts/depthchart/NYJ

 

They may have 8 players better than the best 2017 Jet (our best this year is Trumaine Johnson)

Josh Gordon

Jarvis Landry

Joel Bitonio

Kevin Zeitler

Myles Garrett

Ogbah

Jamie Collins

Denzel Ward

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Not only did we upgrade but alot of our youngsters that played for the first time in the NFL last season now have a seasons experience and should be that much better. This team could take a major jump from last season. 

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mostly agree on where the jets upgraded but when you upgrade that many facets of the team then it's more than just maybe.  and qb is where they upgraded the most.  okay so darnold is a rookie and has yet to play a game but he also came from a big time program and seems to be showing the leadership clearly lacking in petty and hack.  mccown is mccown and bridgewater even with one leg is an upgrade to petty. and the article went out of their way giving a back hand to stewart and hansen.  stewart didn't impress much but hansen did and it was clear he was improving over the last few games.

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A rebuild is called a REBUILD because your turning over a lot of veterans with younger players. Adams & Maye showed they belong in the NFL, the question is what is their ceiling? Are they going to be part of the future leaders of the team?

The running joke is we've been rebuilding since 1968, but any knowledgeable Jet fan knows this is the 1st true rebuild that includes not overpaying washed up players with 1 or 2 years left in them. None of us know yet exactly what we have in Stewart, Hansen, Leggett, Herndon, Cannon, Nickerson, Nathan, Foley, plus the UDFAs? 

What we do know is that we finally have a legit chance of having a Franchise QB and he's only 20 years old. Like Brady in New England, a QB makes everyone on offense a percentage better. Look at Kearse & Anderson with McCown, and fast forward to the sh*tshow with Petty at the helm. 

While the QB play is the number one issue, the defense under Bowles & Kacey is going to be the reason for an increase in wins if we have one in 2018. The combo of Trumaine & Morris is a HUGE UPGRADE at the CB spots. The growth of Adams & Maye with these CBs will be a telling story. If Nickerson shines, the 2 safeties take a huge step, this secondary can be really effective & get this defense off the field. I believe the Jets D in 2017 was bottom 5 on 3rd down.

Nathan & Foley replacing Mo is another big upgrade. Mo might be one of the laziest guys I've ever witnessed in the NFL (disgusting). A healthy hustling Henry Anderson is an upgrade over Mo. So the D line has a chance to be much approved adding Anderson, Nathan & Foley. And they still have McClendon who can rotate off the bench. I'm most interested in seeing if Kevin Green can find a couple of guys to bring pressure from the edge. Bass, Mauldin, Donahue, Luvu, Gwacham, Martin, Pierre-Louis, Wint. There is a lot of competition here & guys will be fighting for their NFL lives in camp come July. 

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17 hours ago, johnnysd said:

I actually think we upgraded significantly at DL. Time will tell, but Wilk was a loser and we added a lot of solid talent.

Wilkerson was only trying/playing at half speed so even putting an average NFL player in his spot is an upgrade if that player gives 100% effort.

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20 minutes ago, BCJet said:

Wilkerson was only trying/playing at half speed so even putting an average NFL player in his spot is an upgrade if that player gives 100% effort.

If Nathan or Foley beast it will definitely benefit Leo greatly. Let's hope the Jets have learned a valuable lesson...DO NOT draft players who have as one of their negatives in college as "takes too many plays off". One of the biggest problems with years of bad drafts is the pressure the FO feels to resign who they believe their best player is when the entire team stinks. I was one of the fans that was totally AGAINST giving Mo a huge contract (I just didn't see him as a top player in the NFL) and felt that his #s in 2015 were enhanced by a couple of good games vs sh*tty teams like Buffalo. 

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18 hours ago, johnnysd said:

I actually think we upgraded significantly at DL. Time will tell, but Wilk was a loser and we added a lot of solid talent.

Agreed. He contradicts himself by calling Mo a "dud", but we didn't improve?

A tree stump would be an improvement over Mo from last year.

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Agree with some but definitely not all

QB: upgrade and same

  • Overall = upgrade to depth, and huge upgrade individually for the long term
  • Immediately for 2018 alone = same, and possible downgrade in terms of production. That is, until such time as we know the week 1 starter isn't McCown; or if Bridgewater will have a better personal season than McCown 2017 (assuming he isn't traded), or until the time comes that Darnold 2018 is also better than McCown 2017. The reality is there's a possible immediate downgrade, since McCown played better than expected, and only desire would assume he'll repeat his fine 2017 season (much like people blindly assumed Fitz/Marshall/Decker 2016 would be as productive as Fitz/Marshall/Decker 2015). Darnold wasn't drafted to be a 2018-superbowl-or-bust addition, of course. The trio as a whole is clearly upgraded for 2018, but only 1 of them is on the field at a given time so it's not like WR or DB depth. McCown and Bridgewater both have had serious past injury concerns.

RB: upgrade

  • Crowell is an upgrade from Forte, though I think a lot of the latter's strength would have been as a veteran in the huddle for Darnold. Regardless, his primary reason for being there is touching the football and a little blocking, not coddling Darnold as yet another player-coach like McCown. 

TE: total unknown

  • I can't call them a downgrade (or an upgrade) from ASJ before I've seen them in live NFL action. ASJ bobbled or dropped 3 TD passes (whether or not there were bad calls on 2 of them, his job is to catch them without bobbling in the first place) so think about that when grading McCown's season. Even when he did catch them cleanly he had had a pathetic 7 ypr. I don't know if that's all on him or the play calls, since ASJ never had such a lowly number before.
  • It's easy to upgrade from ASJ's production last year (as a receiver), so long as you aren't looking only at the Jets' pre-ASJ TE production as the measuring stick.

WR: unknown, but should be an upgrade

  • Anderson and Kearse let's assume they're both the same since they're both still young
  • Enunwa is an unknown at this time, unforutnately. Pryor may not even make the team at this rate. Stewart/Hansen should play better than the low bar they set for themselves as rookies, but that doesn't mean it'll actually happen. The team lost Kerley from early 2017, and like it or not he was a sure-handed target for McCown for the first half of the season, and he took attention away from ASJ who was near-useless as the lone #3 downfield target.
  • If just one of those 4 steps up, then it's an upgrade. But the fact is that this time in 2017 we viewed Enunwa as the #1 or #2 WR and he missed the whole season, just like many assumed continuity of production from Marshall/Decker the year before, so it's too early to even count on the top 2 returning WRs as being equal to last year.

OL: upgrade

  • agree 100% with the initial writeup

DL: downgrade

  • agree with the writeup here, too. No-brainer to cut Mo. While his replacement may be about as productive, every OC and OLC had to give attention to Mo because they didn't know for sure when he'd wake up and play like he used to. Now that he's not there, that much more attention can be given to Leo. Based on that alone, even if we get the same production from someone else, it's a downgrade.
  • Also unknown yet if McLendon will continue to be as productive. When a player's a couple of years into his 30s, each year is in the running for the year he hits the wall in his career. He did miss a good chunk of the season the year before.

ILB: downgrade

  • I like the move to swap Williamson for Davis, and long term I think it is an upgrade that'll be more obvious in time.
  • For 2018 alone, it would be pure homerism to presume Williamson will be as productive as 2017 Davis was. If it makes you feel any better reading this, it'd also be homerism to presume Davis would be as productive as 2017 Davis was.

OLB: same, I guess

  • The position was bad last year and once again we have no serious edge rusher from the OLB position (except the slow Mauldin, who returns in 2018, if he makes the roster). Donohue is one messed-up guy, but his Lincoln Tunnel crash happened well in advance of the season so that should be enough time to knock some sense into him if he's willing to wake up with more than just fluffy quotes we like reading.
  • The combination of downgrade at attention given to Mo, and maybe less production/help from Avery over Davis from last year, means this may actually be less productive than 2017. However since the bar from 2017 was set so low, it should be easy to upgrade their production, so I'm still calling this a wash for now.

CB: upgrade

  • Johnson is an upgrade, even if Claiborne goes back to being unreliable health-wise. If they're both healthy it's an obvious upgrade.
  • Note: Johnson has been in a contract-season for each of the last 3 years. He was playing out his rookie contract in 2015, then was franchise tagged in 2016, then tagged again in 2017 (if I have this right). So this is the first time since 2014 that he doesn't have an expiring contract at the end of the season. We'll find out this year if the Rams were wise or stupid to tag him twice instead of extending him.

S: upgrade

  • Yes the same two starters return, but in the absence of a WOW rookie season, I'll give any talented starter a presumed boost for year two.

PK: downgrade

  • This is a downgrade. Forget Catanzaro's overall FG% because two of Catanzaro's 5 misses were from 45+ in a monsoon vs. Atlanta. He missed from 40 in the final game vs NE, but until then he was 100% on his FGs inside 45 and didn't miss any of his XPs. 
  • In his last full season with KC, Santos missed 3 FGs from inside 40 and also missed 3 XPs. Last year he had a groin injury with KC, who put him on IR and then cut him; then he signed with Chicago, re-injured it a couple weeks later and was put on IR again.
  • I'm sure the Jets had him pass a physical, but he wasn't that reliable the year before when healthy, so as of today he's a downgrade.
  • Note: Catanzaro was viewed as a downgrade when we signed him, so there's that to consider. 

Coaching

  • Too early to tell if Bates is an upgrade or downgrade over Morton, but he's a significant change.
  • Ditto with Dennison replacing Marshall, who didn't have much to work with and probably spent the season trying to constantly scheme around their 3-man hole in the middle of the OL, to the extent such a thing is even possible.

 

Overall, I think it's important to look at the moves made separately for long term and short term (e.g. no one expects Darnold's career-best season to be in 2018). So...

For the long term:

  • Upgrades in a lot of places - especially at QB and C - except PK, and possibly TE. Really it would've been hard to not upgrade.
  • Possible long-term downgrade at RB, if Crowell is just ok, but just enough that his contract influences the Jets staying away from a more dynamic RB next year (especially in the draft) over a greater, immediate perceived need.
  • The long term QB possibilities (possibilities plural, with both Darnold and Bridgewater) is the story of this offseason. 

For the 2018 season alone:

  • Upgraded starters at CB, RB, C, RG (if Winters's bad play was truly all due to injury), and S. Upgraded depth at QB.
  • Hate to admit it but there's a good chance we get a downgrade at QB production from McCown's 2017 season (but not from Petty's sorry production). The unit as a trio is an obvious upgrade, since McCown was the only NFL-level QB we had last year, but only 1 plays at a time. Upgrades to the OL will help a lot, and maybe 1 more WR is productive hopefully, and QB production rises again.
  • Downgrade at ILB (over 2017 production), DE, PK, and possibly NT
  • Too close to call in early June at TE, WR, OLB
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I think you are grossly underestimating the improvement at OC.  Bates may not have experience as an OC but I hear a lot of good things about him, particularly re: his handling of the QB position.  This is an upgrade that the Jets desperately need. Morton, Gailey and Schottenheimer were three of the worst OCs ever.  If the Jets get someone who can properly scheme a game and also have the flexibility to make adjustments during the game, this would be an almost miraculous improvement to what I have witnessed during the last ten seasons.  It would be so refreshing to have an OC who actually understands the talent he had on the team and uses wisely.

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