Grading the Jets Free Agency Moves

[LIJetsFan]

MAX SCHNEIDER

Just over a week removed from the start of the free agency period, the New York Jets’ roster looks a bit different. Like any four-win team, New York had a handful of holes to fill up and down the depth chart, and even though Joe Douglas and his staff are armed with four of the top 40 picks in the NFL Draft, they needed to make a splash in free agency to leave themselves with even the slimmest of margins for error.

Typical of the Douglas era, there wasn’t one big splash this free agency. Instead, the Jets made a series of smaller waves in the hopes that this roster can improve tangibly across the board. If they are to do so dramatically in a stacked AFC, the whole will have to be greater than the sum of its parts. Here are those parts, graded based on talent, fit and contract value.

Laken Tomlinson

The first big move of New York’s free agency was arguably its best. After the two-year Greg van Roten experiment failed miserably, the Jets desperately needed a right guard to shore up the offensive line. In Tomlinson, they get a proven, really good one. The 30-year-old veteran played the last five years in San Francisco, earning a Pro Bowl nod in 2021. And while the contract value might seem a tad high at three years, $41.2M, the Jets are getting a plug-and-play guard with scheme familiarity that has never missed a single game in his career due to injury. This also likely closes the book on New York taking an offensive lineman in the first round, particularly a tackle at four just to convert him to guard for a year. That pick can now be used on a defensive player.

Grade: A

D.J. Reed

New York made it pretty clear early in the free agency period that they were out of the J.C. Jackson sweepstakes. Once Tom Brady returned the Bucs, Carlton Davis quickly followed suit, and the Jets were left scrambling for answers at corner. Given that situation, this was probably the best possible outcome. Another guy who played for Robert Saleh in San Francisco, Reed is a natural scheme fit who comes to the Jets by way of Seattle on a three year, $40M deal. He’ll look to repeat his production from a season ago, where he ranked as the eighth best corner in the NFL on Pro Football Focus, fifth best against the run, an area where New York’s corners struggled a bit a year ago. The only concerns with Reed are his height at 5’9” for a boundary corner and his just one year of high-level success, but banking on that production at just age 25 feels like the right kind of gamble for the Jets.

Grade: B+

C.J. Uzomah

The Jets desperately needed tight end help after tossing out Tyler Kroft and Ryan Griffin at the position a year ago. Neither were even remotely productive, nor will they be on the team this season, so this was one of the more obvious areas of need entering the free agency period. Dreams of Dalton Schultz were quickly erased when Dallas chose to franchise tag its star tight end, so the Jets pivoted to Uzomah, who enjoyed his best season to date. The 29-year-old caught 49 passes for 493 yards and five touchdowns for the AFC Champion Cincinnati Bengals. He continued to build on his breakout season with 13 grabs for 135 yards and a touchdown in his first two playoff games before suffering an MCL sprain against the Kansas City Chiefs. Uzomah is a dual-threat tight end who showcased his ability to get out and block for Joe Mixon in the run game this past season.

His contract is somewhat backloaded, and the Jets can cut him without penalty after two years, so the three year, $24M is a little more team friendly than it seems.

Grade: B

Tyler Conklin

With New York’s tight end problems, just signing Uzomah wasn’t going to be enough to turn things around. Adding Tyler Conklin gives New York the 1-2 punch they’ve been looking for. Conklin also had his breakout year in 2021, catching for 593 yards and three touchdowns in Minnesota. His 61 receptions would have been the most on the Jets roster, and the most by a Jets tight end since Dustin Keller in 2011. Conklin’s standalone value is clear, but the value of each of these tight ends is bolstered by the presence of one another. Both guys are willing and capable blockers in the pass and run game, coming from offenses that had ample success on the ground a year ago, making it difficult for defenders to diagnose assignments in 2-TE sets. Conklin in particular was often left on an island to block talented pass rushers in Klint Kubiak’s offense. Conklin grades out a little bit higher than Uzomah because of his age (26), his slightly better production and his contract (three years, $21M).

Grade: B+

Jordan Whitehead

This is where Joe Douglas’s bargain-hunting really shined. He didn’t want to give Marcus Williams $70M, just like he didn’t want to extend Marcus Maye or make Jamal Adams the league’s highest paid safety. Instead, he went out and got an up-and-coming safety from a great defense for just $14.5M over two years. Whitehead is a force in the run game when playing downhill. He consistently shoots the edges to stop toss and stretch plays before running backs can get back to the line of scrimmage. He wraps up and prevents big plays before they can materialize on screens or quarterback keepers. For a defense that was gashed with regularity on simple screens, Whitehead is the antidote.

The 25-year-old also displayed excellent zone coverage skills, often covering up blown assignments in Tampa Bay’s secondary by limiting big plays with physical, downhill hits. He does struggle in man coverage, and New York would be wise to draft a more traditional deep safety to complement Whitehead in the secondary, but this might be the best value the Jets made this offseason.

Grade: A

Jacob Martin

This move was the first real head-scratcher for Jets fans, not because Martin is a bad player by any stretch of the imagination, but because he’s a non-household name from a really bad Texans team on a three year, $15.5M deal. Here’s why it’s better than the surface shows: First, this is another team friendly deal. Martin is making just $2.7M in 2022. The Jets have a slight out in 2023 and an easy out in 2024 if they want to cut him to clear space. If he meets expectations, though, don’t expect them to do that. Martin is a situational pass-rusher that thrives in his role. His pass rush win rate is well above league average. He got to the quarterback with regularity in that role in his first couple years in the league. Last year, he became a starter in Houston and that number dipped a little bit, but that’s not what he’s going to be in New York. He’s going to be a third down pass rusher behind Lawson and whatever edge the Jets presumably take with a Top 10 pick. And in that role, he uses his 4.59 speed and fresh legs to get to the quarterback and create pressure. 

Martin isn’t the best run-stopper, and he shouldn’t be used in those situations. If Carl Lawson and a rookie edge rusher really pan out, there might not be much use for Martin as anything more than a backup. But for an injury-laden team that likes to rotate pass rushers, the Jets could have done a whole lot worse.

Grade: B-

Braxton Berrios

The darling of the Gang Green fan base and best buddy of its young quarterback, Berrios was a major priority for the Jets in the offseason, so long as they didn’t get outpriced. From the looks of things, they didn’t. Berrios re-signed on a two-year, $12M contract that’s heavily backloaded toward 2023. The 26-year-old Miami product caught 46 passes for 431 yards and two touchdowns a year ago, adding on two rushing touchdowns and a kick return touchdown en route to a first-team All-Pro nod. Berrios will continue to be one of the more reliable and dynamic return men in the NFL while functioning as the WR4 for the Jets. New York would like to not have to rely on him so much in the passing game this year, though. Injuries have jolted him into a starting spot for parts of the past two seasons, likely inflating his value along with his All-Pro selection. This is probably a slight overpay (see Kalif Raymond’s contract with Detroit for comparison) but there’s something to be said for rewarding homegrown guys who take advantage of opportunities.

Grade: B

Tevin Coleman:

The Jets running backs last season looked a lot more productive than the numbers showed. A big part of that was the litany of injuries on the offensive line, whose inability to open a hole strangled backs like Coleman for much of the season. When Coleman did get going, though, he looked every bit the part of a backup tailback for a good offense, which is the role he’ll play behind Michael Carter this season. Coleman is the fastest of the team’s backs, the best pass-protector, had some big runs late in the season and is the kind of veteran that can be a locker room leader, all on a one-year, $1.5M contract. This is good value and the kind of continuity that aids a rookie quarterback.

Grade: B+

Joe Flacco

Speaking of helping out your rookie quarterback, this is how you continue to do it. Up until the Jets signed Flacco, backup quarterbacks in New York were tough to watch. Trevor Siemian and Luke Falk trudging out there in 2019 was a crime against humanity. The Mike White week of fame was fun enough to erase those memories, but it’s guys like Flacco that strengthen a quarterback room for the better. A 37-year-old former Super Bowl MVP with enough left in the tank is what the Jets need should something happen to Wilson. The offense won’t completely crumble if he has to enter the game. They can win. That, and his ability to be a mentor to a young gunslinger looking to rise into the elite echelon of AFC quarterbacks, is all that matters. It’s worth the one-year, $3.5M deal.

Grade: A-

Conor McDermott:

McDermott is probably best known for catching a touchdown on fourth-and-goal against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 16. Unfortunately, his receiving skills have proven to be better than his blocking skills. McDermott has been forced into action a few times due to injuries by the Jets starters, and he struggled mightily. He’s not a reliable third tackle, and frankly, he doesn’t provide much as a fourth tackle either. New York isn’t exactly opening up the checkbook for McDermott, and the Jets can free more than half of his $1.5M salary by cutting him after training camp, but it’s hard to see any scenario in which McDermott makes any sort of leap this season.

Grade: C

Dan Feeney:

Like McDermott, Dan Feeney’s best attributes in New York haven’t come from playing offensive line. Known for his mustache, mullet and fan presence at New York Islanders games, Feeney drew some attention last offseason. When the pads came on, though, and he was forced into action, he was routinely overmatched. A contract like McDermott’s wouldn’t have been so bad, but Feeney is making $3M this season, all guaranteed, so he will make the 53-man roster this season. It’s hard to see how Feeney earned that designation on the field last year.

[Fantasy Island]

Flacco, A-.  LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL

Feeney INC, nice

[Beerfish]

The flacco comments and laughable.

"A 37-year-old former Super Bowl MVP with enough left in the tank is what the Jets need should something happen to Wilson. The offense won’t completely crumble if he has to enter the game. They can win."

Joe Flacco has been involved in 7 games for the jets the last two years ...... 0-7

You should give your team a chance if he starter goes down, Flacco gives you no chance.  Flacco at best should be QB3. even that....

[Sperm Edwards]

6 hours ago, Beerfish said:

The flacco comments and laughable.

"A 37-year-old former Super Bowl MVP with enough left in the tank is what the Jets need should something happen to Wilson. The offense won’t completely crumble if he has to enter the game. They can win."

Joe Flacco has been involved in 7 games for the jets the last two years ...... 0-7

You should give your team a chance if he starter goes down, Flacco gives you no chance.  Flacco at best should be QB3. even that....

He wasn’t my top choice either, but this is bit of an oversimplification. It’s a team sport not a 1 player sport. Blaming him in any part for 2 losses where he threw 2 and 3 passes (all of them completed, including a TD, with no turnovers) is some major agenda-driven stuff.

He had a couple bad starts in his first 2 games returning to live action after his prior injury, with the same crappy cast around him that the starter failed with. e.g. his 2nd start his only legitimate starter, Crowder, had 116 yds and a TD. There were no other NFL players on the field much with him. Next-best Berrios was active, but didn’t play much with Crowder manning the slot. Awful outing, but he had little to work with in backs and receivers and TEs, plus 4 of the Jets’ 5 OLmen mostly sucked in 2020, including Fant.

Last 3 starts 7 TDs 2 INTs. He’s nothing great, and again he wouldn’t have been my top choice, but he’s not been as bad as you make it out.

 

[Scoop24]

Lol ill let you know my grades when they play. 

[Dunnie]

... and Max Schneider is ?????

[JustInFudge]

The Jacob Martin signing is interesting.  He's obviously a situational guy but if you look at his production vs. his snaps, he's effective and this was on a team that rarely saw leads, similar to the Jets.  I think him and someone like Huff make a nice rotation for situational pass rushers opposite of Lawson.  Seeing what some gettable FA's edge rushers got money wise this season, I think JD has his heart set on finding a pass rusher via the draft for the long term.

 

[rangerous]

i think you can judge each player individually but it still remains to be seen how they play as a team.  thus far douglas has brought in players that fit specific needs of the team.  the tomlinson choice finally give the jets some really good oline talent across the board.  signing uzomah and conklin finally addresses the te position. berrios deserved to be re-signed.  whitehead and reed also strengthen the secondary.  the jets haven't had great safety play for quite some time.  maye was good and adams was more of a small lb.  hopefully whitehead can solidify the position and reed can add some veteran experience to the young guys .

the bottom line is the paper evaluations only go so far.  let's see what they bring in september.

[UntouchableCrew]

They signed quality players at positions of need to largely reasonable deals. Maybe a little extra to lock up Tomlinson or Uzomah, but nothing crazy. No real top end game changers but we improved the team. Hard to be critical of any of these moves...

...an A- for Flacco though? It's bizarre we keep bringing him back. He's got nothing left. 

[UnknownJetFan]

8 hours ago, Beerfish said:

The flacco comments and laughable.

"A 37-year-old former Super Bowl MVP with enough left in the tank is what the Jets need should something happen to Wilson. The offense won’t completely crumble if he has to enter the game. They can win."

Joe Flacco has been involved in 7 games for the jets the last two years ...... 0-7

You should give your team a chance if he starter goes down, Flacco gives you no chance.  Flacco at best should be QB3. even that....

Yes, M. Figgen White did beat the Bengals, so at least he gives you a chance to win a game. He should be the Backup and Flacco should be the 3rd string basically player/coach like Paul Newman was in Slapshot.

[JoJoTownsell1]

8 hours ago, Beerfish said:

The flacco comments and laughable.

"A 37-year-old former Super Bowl MVP with enough left in the tank is what the Jets need should something happen to Wilson. The offense won’t completely crumble if he has to enter the game. They can win."

Joe Flacco has been involved in 7 games for the jets the last two years ...... 0-7

You should give your team a chance if he starter goes down, Flacco gives you no chance.  Flacco at best should be QB3. even that....

Geno Smith was the backup in Seattle last year. 

Brandon Allen was the backup in Cinci. 

Cowboys backup was Cooper Rush. 

Rams backup was John Walford. 

Those were teams looking to win a SB last year and they didn't have good backups. Why do the Jets need a better backup QB than Flacco or White? 

If Flacco was good enough to win games in the NFL, he wouldn't be a backup. There are no good backups in the NFL. There are barely enough good starters. 

[Beerfish]

10 hours ago, Sperm Edwards said:

He wasn’t my top choice either, but this is bit of an oversimplification. It’s a team sport not a 1 player sport. Blaming him in any part for 2 losses where he threw 2 and 3 passes (all of them completed, including a TD, with no turnovers) is some major agenda-driven stuff.

He had a couple bad starts in his first 2 games returning to live action after his prior injury, with the same crappy cast around him that the starter failed with. e.g. his 2nd start his only legitimate starter, Crowder, had 116 yds and a TD. There were no other NFL players on the field much with him. Next-best Berrios was active, but didn’t play much with Crowder manning the slot. Awful outing, but he had little to work with in backs and receivers and TEs, plus 4 of the Jets’ 5 OLmen mostly sucked in 2020, including Fant.

Last 3 starts 7 TDs 2 INTs. He’s nothing great, and again he wouldn’t have been my top choice, but he’s not been as bad as you make it out.

 

I never blamed him for those 2 or 3 pass loses, if you see how i worded it i specifically said he was involved with the game.  The guy in the article stated Flacco gives you a chance if the starter goes down, he doesn't.

Worse yet he is a totally different QB than the starter, he is a pure pocket statue so if he goes in the offense and all play calling has to change.

Flacco is Mark Brunnel, a guy the jets have for no good reason at all other than to be zero threat to the starter.

Awful guy for a backup, as your season is over if the starter goes down and it does not have to be that way.

[Sperm Edwards]

3 minutes ago, Beerfish said:

I never blamed him for those 2 or 3 pass loses, if you see how i worded it i specifically said he was involved with the game.  The guy in the article stated Flacco gives you a chance if the starter goes down, he doesn't.

Worse yet he is a totally different QB than the starter, he is a pure pocket statue so if he goes in the offense and all play calling has to change.

Flacco is Mark Brunnel, a guy the jets have for no good reason at all other than to be zero threat to the starter.

Awful guy for a backup, as your season is over if the starter goes down and it does not have to be that way.

I saw how you worded it, but the obvious insinuation and/or guilt by association, is he was a part of 7 losses otherwise why bother mentioning them? He had a 100% completion percentage. 

3rd time, he wasn't my preference, but when the backup QB is throwing multiple TDs and/or leading the offense to 25+ pts, not throwing picks, and the team's still losing, the problem wasn't the backup QB. He's not been Brunell, who was 40 & 41 when he was here. If he throws 2 TDs without any picks and/or the offense scores 25+, that loss is more on those around the QB2. 

That said, it's doubtful he's going to get better rather than worse with each passing season. My feeling is if they wanted him to be the QBC then pay him off the cap as the QBC with that same $3-4MM for all I care. But they figure he can start a few games to a month if needed. If they need him as long as they needed Moses last year, I'd be less than thrilled with him, but probably that'd go for most other QB2s, too.

[BigRy56]

The offseason gets a B from me. An A comes around should the inevitable WR trade happen

[RichardTodd27]

3 hours ago, JoJoTownsell1 said:

Geno Smith was the backup in Seattle last year. 

Brandon Allen was the backup in Cinci. 

Cowboys backup was Cooper Rush. 

Rams backup was John Walford. 

Those were teams looking to win a SB last year and they didn't have good backups. Why do the Jets need a better backup QB than Flacco or White? 

We need a better backup QB because Zach Wilson threw 9 TD's and 11 picks last year.

I'm not just worried about Zach getting hurt, also concerned he'll play like he did last year. We needed a better contingency plan than Flacco/White.

[JoJoTownsell1]

3 minutes ago, RichardTodd27 said:

We need a better backup QB because Zach Wilson threw 9 TD's and 11 picks last year.

I'm not just worried about Zach getting hurt, also concerned he'll play like he did last year. We needed a better contingency plan than Flacco/White.

If he plays poorly, this team isn't making the playoffs regardless of who the backup is. So again, who cares if we have Flacco or Fitzpatrick or Geno or Henne or Daniel or any other Backup QB. They all suck. If they were good enough to win in the NFL they wouldn't be backup QBs. 

 

[bitonti]

Laken Tomlinson is only OK 

He's like a B or B- type of player. He is good at run blocking, he's only OK in pass protection and he's not that amazing of an athlete. he is smart and durable. is he better than GVR? absolutely

but they are moving him from LG to RG and that's always weird. It's a fine signing. It's not like Alan Faneca part II and it certainly doesn't prevent JD from drafting another tackle 

[kmnj]

there are two things about free agency to really consider it as a whole

who did Joe sign

who did the division rivals sign

did we upgrade our talent and did we upgrade our talent relative to when considering what the fins bills and pats did

we are the worst team in the division we need to be improving vs our rivals and I dont think we did

 

 

[#27TheDominator]

1 hour ago, JoJoTownsell1 said:

If he plays poorly, this team isn't making the playoffs regardless of who the backup is. So again, who cares if we have Flacco or Fitzpatrick or Geno or Henne or Daniel or any other Backup QB. They all suck. If they were good enough to win in the NFL they wouldn't be backup QBs. 

 

Mac Jones, Ryan Tannehill and Jalen Hurts made the playoffs.  Plenty of QBs in the NFL suck, the idea they shouldn't have a better backup is silly.  There is a fair chance the backup could be better than Wilson.

[TuscanyTile2]

I liked all of our FA moves but I still think the team is thin at RB, WR, OL, LB.  

[JoJoTownsell1]

32 minutes ago, TuscanyTile2 said:

I liked all of our FA moves but I still think the team is thin at RB, WR, OL, LB.  

Luckily the Jets have 9 draft picks, 4 in the top 38. 

We also had enough cap space to sign Tyreek Hill to a mega deal. It's pretty likely a few teams will be trying to unload high priced players, especially after the draft. Tyreek  

[docdhc]

17 hours ago, #27TheDominator said:

Mac Jones, Ryan Tannehill and Jalen Hurts made the playoffs.  Plenty of QBs in the NFL suck, the idea they shouldn't have a better backup is silly.  There is a fair chance the backup could be better than Wilson.

Who would you want as backup QB that’s available and at what price?  Other than Mayfield I don’t think there’s anyone out there significantly better than Flacco and he may be a valuable mentor for Zach behind the scenes. Our long term success hinges on Zach’s success. If a backup has to play it’s unlikely we’re in playoff contention anyway and winning a couple more meaningless games doesn’t help us. 

[#27TheDominator]

1 minute ago, docdhc said:

Who would you want as backup QB that’s available and at what price?  Other than Mayfield I don’t think there’s anyone out there significantly better than Flacco and he may be a valuable mentor for Zach behind the scenes. Our long term success hinges on Zach’s success. If a backup has to play it’s unlikely we’re in playoff contention anyway and winning a couple more meaningless games doesn’t help us. 

A few meaningless games?  No games are meaningless.  I am not advocating breaking the bank for a backup QB.  Our long-term success hinges on finding a QB.  If it is Zach, great, but I don't think the old "if Zach isn't good we should give up the season" is a valid way of thinking.  If you want to use the extra 2 million to upgrade elsewhere, fine, but acting like winning a couple more games is meaningless?  I don't want that near my team. 

[docdhc]

12 minutes ago, #27TheDominator said:

A few meaningless games?  No games are meaningless.  I am not advocating breaking the bank for a backup QB.  Our long-term success hinges on finding a QB.  If it is Zach, great, but I don't think the old "if Zach isn't good we should give up the season" is a valid way of thinking.  If you want to use the extra 2 million to upgrade elsewhere, fine, but acting like winning a couple more games is meaningless?  I don't want that near my team. 

Ok but who can we sign better than Flacco?

[#27TheDominator]

25 minutes ago, docdhc said:

Ok but who can we sign better than Flacco?

Mike White?  

I don't really give a ****.  I don't have anything against Flacco.  I think he seems like a strange choice, being a statue and all, but whatever.  They seem to like him.  My post was not to complain about Flacco, but to disagree with the whole argument that it doesn't matter cause it is Zach or bust.  That is silly thinking in my opinion.  Saying that you shouldn't draft a QB in the 4th because you have Darnold?  Well, then Washington on shouldn't have burned a 4th on Cousins when they had Griffin, or the Cowboys Prescott behind Romo.  Tannehill to backup Mariota seems smart now, but I'm sure Titans fans complained.  The issue is in the execution, not that teams should just accept that they will not score if the starter goes down.  IMO that is doubly true when the starter is sketchy.