Free Agency Mock (It's alot)

[kdels62]

Alright so what follows is going to be  extremely long and fairly detailed. I used Fanspeak GM Manage the Cap (https://fanspeak.com/mtc/) function to bid on players and then I used Over the Cap's calculator (http://overthecap.com)  to ensure the contracts fit and were done reasonably. I then used that info to do a mock to build a full team. 

CUTS/Trades  AND EXTENSIONS

I've cut Henry Anderson, George Fant, Alex Lewis, and Ryan Griffin.

I traded Sam Darnold for a 3rd Rounder. 

Jamison Crowder is extended. Basically I guaranteed him $16 million over the next 2 years instead of giving him $10 million for 1 season

 After all those moves this is the projected cap room according to Overthecap.com

This is way too much money to spend. So I went for it and tried to build the Jets into contenders in one offseason.

FA Signing and Player retention

 

Gerald Everett (TE) - 2 year, $13 MillionA nice veteran tight end with ability. 

Taylor Moton (RT) - 4 year, $50 million, $34million Guaranteed.  George Fant's replacement. 26 years old. Never had a PFF grade below 73.0. 

Joe Thuney (LG) - 3 year, $40 Million, $31million GTD. Mekhi Becton's new partner. The guarantees are what brings him here since they will all be paid out in 2 years. He's a stud

Marcus Maye (S)- 4 year, $38 Million, $21 million GTD. The key to getting Maye at this price is that he's getting all $21 million in the first 2 years. He's cuttable after that or his salary can be converted to bonus if he's worth keeping after that. 

Shaquil Barrett (Edge) - 4 year, $65 million, $53 million GTD. Barrett is underrated and good at rushing the passer. He'd be a true EDGE threat and will help out Q and JFM. He's entirely cuttable after year 3 though. 

Allen Robinson (WR) - 4 year, $75 million, $61 million GTD. This contract works because the last year is funny money. The $61 million GTD is more than Cooper and its all in real guarantees unlike Cooper's deal which is really either 2 years, $40 million or 3 years $60 million. 

Re-signed: Neville Hewitt, Tarell Basham,  Josh Adams, Jeff Smith and Breshad Perriman. 

49ers Connection: I brought it Richard Sherman (CB) and Jerick McKinnon (RB) to help the team transition. This gives veteran insight into the play book. 

Final Thoughts and Salary Cap:

The big problem: The Jets have way too much cap space. It probably explains why we sucked this past year. The big shock however is that we have no one to re-sign in the upcoming years. The only players really worthy of extensions next year are Foley Fatukasi and John Franklin Meyers. We're two years away from the only big looming contract in Quinnen Williams. I did this mock Free Agency and found it impossible to not target big money guys to big guaranteed money. I believe that will be the way to set the team up to avoid cap hell in 3 years. It will be virtually impossible for JD to convince this many blue chip guys to come here without personally meeting any of them, so this is a pipe dream but I had fun.

Future Team Building: The contracts in this mock are mostly set have outs in two, three, or four years. That should be plenty of time to develop and draft young replacements. This team needs starters and that was my mentality when picking players. I also specifically was looking to create an environment for a QB to come in and prosper. 

Sam Darnold - I don't expect to trade Darnold before the draft so subtract about $4 million from the cap if you want to see the team with Darnold on the roster. Basically, we'll have $13 Million for draft picks. 

The Draft - The way I built the team, this upcoming draft should focus on two things: A starting QB and Depth in expensive positions. I originally did a mock draft to put in here but before the combine projecting EDGE players does not work. My thoughts are this: Zach Wilson or Justin Fields at 2 and then any of OL, CB, Edge, or WR after that for the next 3 rounds. Personal faves are: Alijah Vera Tucker, Chris Olave, Jaelin Philips, Jaycee Horn, Eric Stokes. 

Starters (Pre-draft)

Offense

LT- Mekhi Becton

LG- Joe Thuney

C- Connor McGovern

RG- GVR

RT-  Taylor Moton

TE - Herndon/ Everett

WR - Allen Robinson

WR2- Denzel Mims

Slot - Jamison Crowder

RB - Ty Johnson

QB - Either 2 overall or Sam Darnold

Defense 

LE- Shaq Barrett

DT- Quinnen Williams

DT- Foley Fatukasi

RE- JFM/ Kyle Phillips/ Bryce Huff

LB - CJ Mosley (unless he retires)

LB- Neville Hewitt / Blake Cashman

Nickel - Javelin Guidry

LCB- Richard Sherman

RCB- Bryce Hall

S- Marcus Maye

S- Ashtyn Davis 

If anyone has criticisms please go absolutely off on me. I love the discourse. 

 

 

[joewilly12]

George Fant has been decent here. 

Ty Johnson as the starting feature RB? 

I like Ju-Ju 

[Sonny Werblin]

Is that the cap hit for the whole roster? If so, who are all of the players and their respective cap hits? And how much do you project will be left in cap room after the draft? 

[Skeet Ulrich]

18M AAV for Allen Robinson seems a bit low - Keenan Allen just signed an extension for 20M AAV and I'd rather have AR

[kdels62]

3 minutes ago, Sonny Werblin said:

Is that the cap hit for the whole roster? If so, who are all of the players and their respective cap hits? And how much do you project will be left in cap room after the draft? 

Yea that’s the salary cap outlook after free agent spending and and a roster of 55 before the draft. Usually $10 million is the amount that is set aside for the draft. In my vision for the team who we draft determines a series of next roster moves eg: we draft Alijah Vera Tucker in round 1 . we cut or trade GVR; we draft Olave, we dump Perriman. Generally, falling into cap hell seems impossible and I tried.

[kdels62]

4 minutes ago, Skeet Ulrich said:

18M AAV for Allen Robinson seems a bit low - Keenan Allen just signed an extension for 20M AAV and I'd rather have AR

His true guarantees are over $20 million a year for the first 3 years. Essentially, you can add to a number last year and it’s functionally the same contract. It gives us room for an extension or him to hit free agency for one more pay day. I used the poor structure in Amari Cooper’s deal as the baseline I had to beat.

[ElBarrioJets]

Bravo. Way more thought out and realistic than most mock offseasons. 

That said, yeesh to Richard Sherman and McKinnon would be a strange add as his play style is similar to Ty Johnson. 

With Saleh aboard, we instantly have to look at 49ers free agents to see who he could bring over here. 

Personally, I'd rather shoot for Ahkello Witherspoon, who is 26, a UFA this year and has been in the system for awhile. 

Our stable at RB is actually not half bad. Ty Johnson, Perine, and Josh Adams is an RFA. Draft Najee Harris and let's roll. 

[kdels62]

16 minutes ago, joewilly12 said:

George Fant has been decent here. 

Ty Johnson as the starting feature RB? 

I like George Fant but with the money we had to spend I wanted to go big and get a guy that would make the Penei Sewell thing go away. 

I don’t believe in feature backs. So basically it’s a committee of backs with varied skill sets.

[kdels62]

Just now, ElBarrioJets said:

Bravo. Way more thought out and realistic than most mock offseasons. 

That said, yeesh to Richard Sherman and McKinnon would be a strange add as his play style is similar to Ty Johnson. 

With Saleh aboard, we instantly have to look at 49ers free agents to see who he could bring over here. 

Personally, I'd rather shoot for Ahkello Witherspoon, who is 26, a UFA this year and has been in the system for awhile. 

Our stable at RB is actually not half bad. Ty Johnson, Perine, and Josh Adams is an RFA. Draft Najee Harris and let's roll. 

I thought about Witherspoon or Verrett but settled on Sherman on a 1-year deal because of the experience. I expect Sherman to be a shell of himself after a few weeks but if we make the playoffs, veteran savvy would be nice.

[joewilly12]

18 minutes ago, kdels62 said:

don’t believe in feature backs. So basically it’s a committee of backs with varied skill sets.

A feature RB helps the passing game and a RB who can catch passes makes the passing game better. 

We need a feature RB. 

[kdels62]

Just now, joewilly12 said:

A feature RB helps the passing game and a RB who can catch passes makes the passing game better. 

We need a feature RB. 

Disagree. We’re working the Shanahan offense which worked with Tevin Coleman, Raheem Mostert and others guys of that ilk. 

[joewilly12]

5 minutes ago, kdels62 said:

Disagree. We’re working the Shanahan offense which worked with Tevin Coleman, Raheem Mostert and others guys of that ilk. 

Ok we have no RB on the roster equal or better than those you listed. 

Ty Johnson is not a feature RB 

[Joe Willie White Shoes]

12 minutes ago, joewilly12 said:

A feature RB helps the passing game and a RB who can catch passes makes the passing game better. 

We need a feature RB. 

Who was the feature running back for any of the recent SB winners over the past 15-20 seasons?  I'll give you a hint.  None. Zero. Zip.

There is NO need for a feature running back in today's NFL.  Get a RB late in the draft or in free agency.  Its 2021, not 1972.

[joewilly12]

4 minutes ago, Joe Willie White Shoes said:

Who was the feature running back for any of the recent SB winners over the past 15-20 seasons?  I'll give you a hint.  None. Zero. Zip.

There is NO need for a feature running back in today's NFL.  Get a RB late in the draft or in free agency.  Its 2021, not 1972.

I said feature I should have said decent.

We haven't had a decent RB here in ages. 

A decent RB helps open up the passing game and actually gives the QB more time to throw the ball. 

You add a decent RB like Etienne or Harris to your offense and you instantly improve. 

We failed to score points in the Red Zone and usually always played for the FG. 

A decent RB changes all that and more. 

Decent QB RB WR's TE you score points something the NY Jets have struggled to do. 

 

[Joe Willie White Shoes]

11 minutes ago, joewilly12 said:

I said feature I should have said decent.

We haven't had a decent RB here in ages. 

A decent RB helps open up the passing game and actually gives the QB more time to throw the ball. 

You add a decent RB like Etienne or Harris to your offense and you instantly improve. 

We failed to score points in the Red Zone and usually always played for the FG. 

A decent RB changes all that and more. 

Decent QB RB WR's TE you score points something the NY Jets have struggled to do. 

 

I'm just reacting to the steady drum beat of posts calling for the Jets to draft Najee Harris with pick 23 or 34.  That is a wasted draft pick for a rebuilding team like the Jets (or any team, IMO).  The Jets may have a decent RB on the roster now in Perine or Johnson. We just don't know it with the garbage offense under Gase.

[joewilly12]

Just now, Joe Willie White Shoes said:

I'm just reacting to the steady drum beat of posts calling for the Jets to draft Najee Harris with pick 23 or 34.  That is a wasted draft pick for a rebuilding team like the Jets (or any team, IMO).  The Jets may have a decent RB on the roster now in Perine or Johnson. We just don't know it with the garbage offense under Gase.

Odds are neither are as good as Etienne or Harris 

[kdels62]

5 minutes ago, joewilly12 said:

Odds are neither are as good as Etienne or Harris 

Odds are that it doesn’t matter. Literally, RB doesn’t move the needle, running games matter. but the actual player doesn’t really matter. Zeke, Cook, McCaffrey, Jacobs, none of them make their teams winners. The only RB that matters in this league is Derrick Henry. Neither Etienne nor Harris will be Henry.

[Joe Willie White Shoes]

Odds are enormous that the Jets can get players in much more important positions with picks 23 and 34 than Harris or Etienne .  And the SF running game is based on blocking schemes and not RBs.  Any RB is effective with good run blocking.  I don't understand this infatuation with Harris and Etienne.  Maybe 1 RB will go in round 1 and another in early round 2. That's it. And it won't be a rebuilding team that takes either one because by the time the team is built, the RBs are done.  A RB is good for maybe 4-5 seasons.  That's it.  Draft QB,  OL, Edge, WR, DB with the early picks and save RBs for day 3.  

[Joe Willie White Shoes]

Just now, kdels62 said:

Odds are that it doesn’t matter. Literally, RB doesn’t move the needle, running games matter. but the actual player doesn’t really matter. Zeke, Cook, McCaffrey, Jacobs, none of them make their teams winners. The only RB that matters in this league is Derrick Henry. Neither Etienne nor Harris will be Henry.

And when the Ravens stuffed Henry, the Titans were toast.

[Warfish]

Why does every Mock of our pending offseason just seem to presume we'll land not one, but like ALL the very top-desired Free Agents, no worries?

 

[kdels62]

2 minutes ago, Warfish said:

Why does every Mock of our pending offseason just seem to presume we'll land not one, but like ALL the very top-desired Free Agents, no worries?

 

“I did this mock Free Agency and found it impossible to not target big money guys to big guaranteed money. I believe that will be the way to set the team up to avoid cap hell in 3 years. It will be virtually impossible for JD to convince this many blue chip guys to come here without personally meeting any of them, so this is a pipe dream but I had fun.”

This is in the post above. But sure 

[joewilly12]

5 minutes ago, kdels62 said:

Odds are that it doesn’t matter. Literally, RB doesn’t move the needle, running games matter. but the actual player doesn’t really matter. Zeke, Cook, McCaffrey, Jacobs, none of them make their teams winners. The only RB that matters in this league is Derrick Henry. Neither Etienne nor Harris will be Henry.

No but they make their teams offense a lot better giving them better chances of winning and thats something we could use around here. 

[Warfish]

4 minutes ago, kdels62 said:

“I did this mock Free Agency and found it impossible to not target big money guys to big guaranteed money. I believe that will be the way to set the team up to avoid cap hell in 3 years. It will be virtually impossible for JD to convince this many blue chip guys to come here without personally meeting any of them, so this is a pipe dream but I had fun.”

This is in the post above. But sure 

It wasn't a specific criticism of you Kdel, I appreciate the thought and effort of the OP honestly.

More a general observation, EVERY Jets Fan offseason literally starts with "oh yeah, we'll just sign Robinson and Thuney".

It won't be that easy, is all.  We may not get either, much less both.

[section314]

35 minutes ago, Joe Willie White Shoes said:

And when the Ravens stuffed Henry, the Titans were toast.

Thank God we didn’t hire their OC?

[Dupe]

Again, where is Elflein?  He played real well for us at LG.  A bonafide feature back really changes your identity and helps the passing attack.  This has to be considered even more so now.  

[kdels62]

14 minutes ago, Dupe said:

Again, where is Elflein?  He played real well for us at LG.  A bonafide feature back really changes your identity and helps the passing attack.  This has to be considered even more so now.  

No room for Elflein who I didn’t think was good last year. And featured backs are not a thing I view as vital to success.

[TheClashFan]

If Greg Van Roten is a starting guard for the Jets next year, something has gone very wrong...

 

[kdels62]

8 minutes ago, TheClashFan said:

If Greg Van Roten is a starting guard for the Jets next year, something has gone very wrong...

 

Hopefully being reunited with Moton improve his performance. Or maybe we draft a replacement. So many options!

[Ghost420]

3 hours ago, joewilly12 said:

George Fant has been decent here. 

Ty Johnson as the starting feature RB? 

I like Ju-Ju 

JuJu needs to stay away from this team with his clown ass. 

[Jimmy 2 Times]

Just want to put this out there:

I don't think Crowder is a great fit for a west coast offense.  He was ideal for Gase. I wouldn't be extending him until we see how it works.  

[Lurker89]

35 minutes ago, Jimmy 2 Times said:

Just want to put this out there:

I don't think Crowder is a great fit for a west coast offense.  He was ideal for Gase. I wouldn't be extending him until we see how it works.  

I really think that Crowder is a top notch professional receiver no matter the system. I'm not saying he is one of the best receivers in the league but he is a well above average savvy intelligent vet who stabilizes the WR room, I would gladly extend him yesterday.

[kdels62]

1 hour ago, Jimmy 2 Times said:

Just want to put this out there:

I don't think Crowder is a great fit for a west coast offense.  He was ideal for Gase. I wouldn't be extending him until we see how it works.  

I considered not bringing him back. In my mind Perriman is actually more like “upside veteran depth presence 1.” It’s a spot that could be taken by a Demarcus Robinson or player of that ilk. As for Crowder, I just think he gets open well and is a better deep threat than most slot guys. Honestly, if we don’t keep Crowder it wouldn’t be the worst thing, we’d save $7 million to put towards another receiver. 

[Jetster]

26 minutes ago, kdels62 said:

I considered not bringing him back. In my mind Perriman is actually more like “upside veteran depth presence 1.” It’s a spot that could be taken by a Demarcus Robinson or player of that ilk. As for Crowder, I just think he gets open well and is a better deep threat than most slot guys. Honestly, if we don’t keep Crowder it wouldn’t be the worst thing, we’d save $7 million to put towards another receiver. 

 Though it was 10.5 million if you don't resign Crowder?

[kdels62]

4 minutes ago, Jetster said:

 Though it was 10.5 million if you don't resign Crowder?

From the end point of my hypothetical mock offseason it would be $7 million . It’s $10.5 million if we just cut him as is

[#27TheDominator]

Three of the guys you are looking to cut ties with are guys Douglas brought in.  Considering how much of the team was brought in by Maccagnan, I would be surprised if 3 of the 4 big cuts were Douglas guys, On the other hand, the cupboard is pretty bare to dumping Maccagnan guys and those contracts were constructed with quick outs.  With Saleh likely going 3-4 I would expect Anderson to be out, but it is kind of a shame since the line seems more 3-4 than 4-3, though I guess it would probably benefit Quinnen WIlliams.  Fatukasi seems less a one-gapper.