NFL Free Agency: Why Santonio Holmes Is Crucial to the New York Jets' Season

After making their second consecutive trip to the AFC championship game, the New York Jets will look to take the next step in the 2011-12 season and get to their first Super Bowl since 1969.

With quarterback Mark Sanchez leading the way, the Jets made tremendous strides in their passing game last year when compared to the 2009-10 season. Sanchez threw for 3,291 yards, 17 touchdowns and only 13 interceptions, compared to 2,444 yards, 12 touchdowns and 20 interceptions in 2009-10, his rookie year.

Although Sanchez made great individual strides in his game, a lot of the credit can be given to the Jets' offseason wide-receiver acquisition, Santonio Holmes.

Holmes finished the year with 52 receptions for 746 yards and 6 touchdowns, all while playing in just the final 12 games. He was suspended for the first four games of the season due to a violation of the NFL's substance-abuse policy.

While his stat line might not jump out, Holmes' impact went far beyond the numbers he put up.

Holmes caught game-winning touchdown catches in back-to-back weeks to cap off comeback victories against the Cleveland Browns and Houston Texans and forced a late pass-interference call that set up a game-winning touchdown against the Denver Broncos, helping the Jets punch their ticket to the playoffs for the second year in a row. 

Holmes was one of Sanchez's favorite targets all season, and his tremendous after-the-catch speed and agility led to big gains time and time again for the Jets passing game. While Braylon Edwards was more of a deep threat, Holmes had the capability to turn any catch into a big gain.

However, with the NFL lockout taking over the offseason, the Jets are left with questions about who their starting wide receivers will be with the start of the season nearing.

Both Holmes and Edwards will become free agents when the lockout ends, and most experts agree that it is highly unlikely the Jets will resign both.

If they are forced to choose just one, the choice should be clear to Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum and head coach Rex Ryan.

It has to be Santonio Holmes.

Holmes is much more consistent then Edwards, and is one of the top five or 10 most talented wide-outs in the league today. While Edwards' big-play ability would be missed, it is possible to replace him with other veteran wide receivers who the Jets have expressed interest in, specifically Randy Moss or Plaxico Burress.  

There is no replacement for Holmes on the free-agent market right now, and if the Jets don't re-sign him, they risk taking a step backwards from being a team who is on the verge of a Super Bowl appearance.