6 Bargain-Bin Free Agents Who Could Fill Big Holes for the New York Jets
Let’s forget the big-name free agents for a minute—Ndamukong Suh, Darrelle Revis and Demaryius Thomas to name a few. What inexpensive free agents can the Jets snag and possibly start for the 2015 season?
According to ProFootballTalk writer Josh Alper, bargain signing is an option new general manager Mike Maccagnan plans to explore:
"Maccagnan said that the team would explore all avenues in free agency, suggesting they won’t just throw money at the biggest names. That’s probably wise for a team that’s as short on talent in various spots, a state of affairs that makes it all the more important that Maccagnan is able to build through the draft in the years to come.
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The New York Jets are projected to have $45.52 million in cap space to fulfill their roster needs, per Spotrac. Maccagnan should be able to sign a handful of less than stellar names on the free-agent market that are poised to make an impact.
Who should he target?
Brandian Ross: Safety
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Gang Green could be cutting ties with 32-year-old safety Dawan Landry in favor of a younger starter. Jaiquawn Jarrett made an impact in the latter portion of the 2014 season with most of his damage inflicted upon the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 10.
Brandian Ross replaced Tyvon Branch for the Oakland Raiders and played adequately. He caught two interceptions and had six passes defensed.
At 25, with only two solid years as a starter he’ll come with a low price tag and so much to prove. He’s still a young talent but played well in 27 starts in Oakland.
Patrick Robinson: Cornerback
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Patrick Robinson is a former first-round pick that hasn’t been able to hold onto a starting position in New Orleans, partially due to injury. Nonetheless, he has significant experience with 33 starts in five seasons.
The Saints are notorious for giving up points in chunks, which hurts the perception of all their defensive backs.
Last season, Robinson only allowed one touchdown and caught two interceptions in 360 snaps, per Pro Football Focus.
After a major knee injury in 2013, per Christopher Dabe of NOLA.com, the recovery was rigorous and likely curbed his 2014 campaign. When healthy, Robinson can be a serviceable No. 2 cornerback.
The Jets should take a flier on Robinson, if his contract value is relatively low compared to other cornerbacks on the market.
Kareem Jackson: Cornerback
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Maccagnan had a close look at Kareem Jackson as the director of college scouting with the Houston Texans from 2011-2014.
Jackson was a consistent starter with the Texans for all five years of his career.
He was a first-round pick, selected 12 spots before Robinson in 2010. He’s not on Revis’ or Antonio Cromartie's level, but he’s still a developing player. Jackson is a second-tier cornerback that will hit the market at a reasonable price for the Jets.
Last season, he recorded three of his 10 career interceptions and nine passes defensed as a starter with the Texans. Much like Robinson, he has underwhelmed as a first-round draft pick, but he's a suitable No. 2 cornerback with some upside left.
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Eddie Royal: Wide Receiver
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Percy Harvin was supposed to add explosive playmaking ability to the Jets offense. Instead, he was inconsistent and plagued with injury, much like his entire six-year career.
Eddie Royal is very similar to Harvin minus the durability concerns, character issues and steep price tag. Royal is also known for his big-play capabilities, allowing offenses to use his talents to stretch the field and keep the safeties away from the line of scrimmage.
In his last two seasons with the San Diego Chargers, Royal has racked up 15 touchdowns. He’s not a 1000-yard receiver who garners double coverage, but he can be effective when paired with a quarterback who can throw an accurate deep ball.
Austin Davis: Quarterback
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Austin Davis has been in the league since 2012, but he didn’t get a chance to showcase his skills until 2014 with the St. Louis Rams.
Davis went 3-5 as a starter with a 63.4 pass completion percentage throwing 12 touchdown passes and nine interceptions.
One of his best attributes is his fearlessness to throw the deep ball. He completed 16 out of 39 passes when throwing 20 yards or more, four of them for touchdowns.
Davis’ best attribute is throwing well under pressure. The Rams’ pass protection was atrocious in 2014, ranked 24th in the league with a minus-55.1 rating, per PFF.
Davis managed to complete 65.2 percent of his passes under pressure, six of those passes resulted in touchdowns.
Davis isn’t the most experienced choice, but when given the opportunity, he conducted the Rams offense adequately enough to keep the team competitive in a defensively strong NFC West division.
Ryan Mallett: Quarterback
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According to Kristian Dyer of metro.us, Ryan Mallett is getting strong consideration from the Jets’ front office despite his very short NFL tenure as a starter:
"Mallett is intriguing to Maccagnan and the Jets because of his prototypical size but he comes with some risk. He's far from established as a quarterback as he has a very brief resume in the NFL and is coming off a season-ending pectoral injury.
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Maccagnan is still drinking the Texans' kool-aid or he may be onto something in giving the 6’6” big-arm QB a full opportunity to finally make an impact on the league. Mallett spent some time with the New England Patriots before his opportunities in Houston.
Mallett's canvas is nearly blank as an unproven talent with two career starts. Nonetheless, he could also have some untapped upside capable of running Chan Gailey’s offense in New York.
Advanced statistics provided by Pro-Football-Reference.com and Pro Football Focus.
NFL free agents provided by spotrac.com
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