Free Agency 2012: 5 Realistic Free Agent Targets for the Jets

We'd all love the Jets to make a run at Mario Williams, DeSean Jackson or Carl Nicks, but the fact is the Jets just don't have the cap room to pursue players of that caliber.

Given their current financial situation it will be tough for the Jets to bring back their own free agents, most notably nose tackle Sione Pouha.

The Jets will have to look for lower priced high upside type players. Guys who other teams will overlook. Here are five realistic targets for the Jets in free agency. 

Reggie Nelson

According to Pro Football Focus' premium stats, Eric Smith was the seventh worst safety in the league. This likely comes as a surprise to most Jets fans, who would have ranked him dead last. 

Brodney Pool wasn't the playmaker they needed and Jim Leonhard, despite his leadership abilities, is nowhere near athletically capable of covering either of New England's elite tight ends. When looking at safeties, that's something the Jets need to keep in mind. 

Reggie Nelson isn't known as an elite coverage safety, but he's an athlete who can cover ground and make plays. The former Florida Gator intercepted four passes last year. In other words, he picked off more passes than the entire Jets safety trio did combined. 

Nelson's demands may be a bit out of the Jets price range in a normal season, but this year's free agent class is loaded with top safeties. Dashon Goldson, LaRon Landry and Michael Griffin will likely get most of the attention from teams looking for help at that position, so a lower level player like Nelson may be willing to take a short term deal and cash in later.

If Nelson's price tag is a bit too high, the Jets will likely target a safety in the draft. Alabama's Mark Barron is the consensus top safety available, and if he's on the board at No. 16 the Jets will definitely consider him. Rex Ryan is a known admirer of Nick Saban's program, and Alabama defenders have faired quite well as rookies in recent years. 

Nelson may not be a Pro Bowler, but he could be a cost effective way to upgrade the secondary. Even if he's average, the upgrade from the abysmal safety play the Jets had last year would help take the Jet defense back to the top of the league. 

Scott Chandler

We have seen a shift in recent years towards two tight end sets. One tight end tends to be an athletic pass catcher while the other is a more physical red-zone threat. This model has been perfected by New England with Aaron Hernandez and Rob Gronkowski.

The Jets have their athletic pass catcher in Dustin Keller, but must find a physical red zone threat to complement him. The player they tried to use in that role, Matthew Mulligan, caught only five passes for 58 yards. His blocking (or lack thereof) was also a big reason Mark Sanchez was sacked 39 times. 

That's where Chandler comes in. He's certainly not Rob Gronkowski, but he and Ryan Fitzpatrick built a nice rapport last season to the tune of six touchdowns in nine starts. He also contributed 38 catches for almost 400 yards.

He is by no means an elite blocker, he tended to struggle protecting the run, but that may be attributed to Buffalo's below average offensive line. Playing next to D'brickashaw Ferguson can mask the deficiencies of most blockers as long as they aren't a total liability. 

Given his lack of a significant body of work, Chandler is likely to come at a low price to whoever signs him. Buffalo will likely make an offer, but they have many needs and their focus will be on retaining wide receiver Stevie Johnson. If the Jets can swoop in with a higher offer Buffalo may not be willing to match it. 

Chandler bounced around the league for a few years before getting playing time in Buffalo. He'll likely be looking for a deal that gives him some security. If the Jets are willing to give him three or four years at a relatively low annual salary they may be able to steal him away from the Bills. 

Vernon Carey

In 2010, the Jets had one of the better offensive lines in football. LaDainian Tomlinson enjoyed a renaissance season rushing for almost 1000 yards and Mark Sanchez actually had time to pass. So what changed in 2011?

Wayne Hunter.

Damien Woody, Hunter's predecessor at right tackle, was an effective blocker. Hunter was not. He allowed a ton of sacks in his first year as a starter and may have been even worse as a run blocker. 

Yet for some reason, the Jets chose to bring him back for the 2012 season. 

I can only assume the Jets have some sort of plan in place to improve their offensive line. Their three Pro Bowlers (Ferguson, Nick Mangold and Brandon Moore) aren't the problem. While Matt Slauson isn't perfect, he is at least a passable starter on a line with as much talent as New York's. Hopefully the Jets are planning to bring in another veteran to compete with Hunter for his spot.

Vernon Carey moved inside to guard last year, but he has been an effective right tackle in the past. He had a rough season in 2011, but that can be attributed to playing next to one of the league's worst right tackles, Marc Colombo. 

Carey will be 31 going into the season, so most teams will likely be hesitant to give him a long term deal. If he gets one, it certainly won't come from Miami, who has big money tied up in Jake Long and must maintain cap flexibility if they hope to make a run at Peyton Manning. 

This is the type of player the Jets should target to compete with Wayne Hunter. Carey is not an elite tackle, but he is certainly a starter, especially on a line with proven talent. Hunter should be relegated to a backup role. He is simply not a starting caliber player. 

Chester Taylor

With LT gone the Jets need a new third down back that can catch passes. At age 32, that is all Taylor can do at this point. He won't find a team willing to pay him big money as a featured back, but someone will bring him on as a role player. 

Shonn Greene can be an effective runner, but he's really more of a platoon back than a starter. In an enhanced role last year he managed to run for 4.2 yards per carry, which is decent but nothing special. 

Mark Sanchez loves screen passes. He reads defenses far too slowly, which forces him to check it down more often than most quarterbacks. While Greene is a decent runner, he really shouldn't be used as a pass catcher. Taylor can fill that role at a minimal cost.

Running back is a position the Jets will likely address in the draft. They need someone who can make big plays, so look for them to target Oregon's LaMichael James or Florida's Chris Rainey.

The Jets can't afford to make a run at Arian Foster or another big money back, so they will likely add a few players who can do different things. A platoon of Greene, Taylor and James may not be able to replicate the 2009 group of Greene, Thomas Jones and Leon Washington that led the league in rushing, but it would be an effective unit that Rex Ryan could use to get back to his ground and pound style. 

Braylon Edwards

The Jets made a mistake in keeping Santonio Holmes over Braylon Edwards. They are similar players in talent, but Edwards actually enjoyed playing for Rex and being a Jet. As he proved last year, Holmes does not. Luckily for the Jets, they will have a chance to rectify their mistake this year.

Braylon Edwards struggled last year for San Francisco, but can you blame him? He was hurt most of the season and had to learn a new system in a lockout shortened training camp. He was also playing on a one year deal, something most players find uncomfortable. Because of this, Edwards' value as a free agent plummeted to the point that a return to New York became feasible. 

The Jets thought that Plaxico Burress could fill Braylon's shoes as a deep threat and red zone target. They were half right. While he was very effective in the red zone, Burress was a shell of his former self everywhere else. He looked slow and his routes were sloppy, which was only amplified by Mark Sanchez's lack of accuracy. 

New York also had serious problems moving the ball downfield. While Holmes is fast, neither he nor tight end Dustin Keller can stretch the field consistently. Braylon Edwards can. He has the speed to get downfield and the height and leaping ability to go up and get jump balls. He drops more passes than you'd like, but no receiver is perfect, especially at the price tag the Jets would like to get him for. 

The Jets locker room imploded last season. Holmes was clearly upset and his relationship with Sanchez deteriorated to the point that many fans wanted them to release him despite the hefty cost it would have on their salary cap. Edwards enjoyed being a Jet, his teammates liked him and he had chemistry with both Sanchez and Holmes. If the Jets hope to solve their receiver issues this offseason, they should target Braylon Edwards.

Bonus Target: A Veteran Quarterback

The Jets need to bring someone in to compete with Mark Sanchez. Teammates have called him soft and have clamored for Peyton Manning. While Manning is a possibility, I wouldn't call it likely. The Jets will look to bring in a veteran to compete with Sanchez and see if he can fight to keep his job. 

They have been linked to former Dolphin Chad Henne due to his knowledge of Tony Sparano's system, but I'd say that move is unlikely. Someone should give Henne a chance as a starter, or at least a more realistic chance to compete for that spot. He's only been in the league for four years and still has potential.

The type of quarterback the Jets will look for is an older veteran who plays smart and can fit into the ground and pound style. A few guys the Jets will likely look at are Kyle Orton, David Garrard, Byron Leftwich and Donovan McNabb. 

Bonus Target 2.0: A Pass Rusher

The Jets need a pass rusher, but this is something the Jets will likely target in the draft. Courtney Upshaw and Whitney Mercilus will be options in round one, and there are some other nice players they could target later on. For the first time in years, the Jets have picks in all seven rounds, so they have the flexibility to move up if they fall in love with someone or they can stand pat and look to add depth.

The veteran options here are few and far between. Either they will command too big of a contract (Mario Williams and Anthony Spencer) or they're middling veterans who wouldn't actually do much to improve the Jets (Matt Roth, Manny Lawson and Erik Walden being chief among them). 

The most likely scenario is that a veteran or two we haven't thought of will be a June 1st cap casualty. If that is the case, those guys may be targets for the Jets. If not, look for this need to be addressed in the draft.