Grading the New York Jets Free-Agency Moves so Far
Fewer teams have been as active or as splashy as the New York Jets this offseason, and it all starts with one man: Darrelle Revis.
The Jets strengthened their own defensive backfield and weakened their division rival New England Patriots in one fell swoop, and they didn't stop there. With multiple moves on offense (trades for quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick and wide receiver Brandon Marshall, signing guard James Carpenter and re-signing guard Willie Colon), the Jets have also begun their attempt to pull themselves out of the gutter on that side of the ball (bottom five in scoring for the past three seasons).
Here, we'll be focusing on the free-agent signings the Jets have made so far. There are plenty of them to go over, but volume doesn't always equal value. So, here's a look at each of the signings, with grades for each.
Jets Sign Darrelle Revis to 5-Year, $70 Million Contract
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Break out the Brink's truck. The Jets ponied up for the prize pony of the 2015 free-agency class, setting the stage for a reunion tour that both sides hope will help bring a Super Bowl back to New York for the first time in 47 years.
According to Darrelle Revis' agents, Jonathan Feinsod and Neil Schwartz, the race for Revis' services is over, and he has chosen to return to the Jets. The Jets are in the hole $39 million in guaranteed money, as reported by Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News, but it's worth the price of admission for the All-Pro cornerback.
Revis allowed 51.8 percent completions on passes thrown into his coverage, with four touchdowns, three interceptions and 12 pass breakups, according to stats website ProFootballFocus.com. His ratio of one completion per 14.8 snaps in pass coverage ranked as the third-best ratio in the league.
Revis' presence completely changes the look of the Jets secondary. They go from a unit lacking in talent and surefire starters to one that is much closer to complete—and arguably is complete after the additions of Buster Skrine and Antonio Cromartie.
Grade: A+
Jets Sign Antonio Cromartie to 4-Year, $32 Million Contract
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Batman and Robin are back together again.
The Jets signed Antonio Cromartie to a four-year, $32 million contract, according to Mike Garafolo of Fox Sports. Now, with Cromartie and Revis reunited in New York, head coach Todd Bowles has a duo of shutdown cornerbacks to help him execute the defensive scheme he implemented as defensive coordinator of the Arizona Cardinals.
Cromartie turns 31 in April, and was a salary-cap casualty in 2014 after an injury-riddled 2013 campaign. He was given a one-year prove-it deal to play in Arizona, and fortunately for both he and Bowles, Cromartie "proved it" by allowing completions on 54 of 91 throws into his coverage (59.3 percent) with two touchdowns, four interceptions and seven passes defensed, according to ProFootballFocus.com.
The four-time Pro Bowl selection has a chance to continue to rejuvenate his career in New York under a coordinator who helped him begin that process last year. Meanwhile, the Jets have fully addressed their cornerback problems of yesteryear. That being said, four years for a 31-year-old corner may prove to be too much.
Grade: A-
Jets Place 2nd-Round Tender on Damon Harrison
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The Jets were able to retain one of their most important young free agents, and it barely registered a blip on the radar. That's par for the course with restricted free agents, who often find themselves remaining with their original team thanks to the steep price it will often take to pry them away to a new team.
With a second-round tender for defensive tackle Damon "Snacks" Harrison, the Jets will pay their nose tackle $2.356 million, according to ESPN's Rich Cimini; if a team wants to sign him to an offer sheet, the Jets can either take a second-round pick as compensation for his departure or they can match the offer sheet to keep Harrison in the fold.
With $19.66 million in cap space, it's obvious that the Jets would be able to match it.
Harrison is not a dominant pass-rusher up the middle, but when it comes to plugging those gaps in the running game, Harrison's abilities are on par with any of the NFL's best nose tackles. The Jets' three-man line of Harrison, Muhammad Wilkerson and Sheldon Richardson is arguably the best in the NFL.
Grade: A+
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Jets Sign Buster Skrine to 4-Year, $25 Million Contract
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Last year, former Jets general manager John Idzik was criticized for a lack of activity at the cornerback position. This year, new GM Mike Maccagnan flipped the script harder than the final swerve in Gone Girl.
The Jets signed cornerback Buster Skrine to a four-year, $25 million contract with $13 million guaranteed, according to Bob Glauber of Newsday. The 5'9", 186-pound Skrine is not the ideal-sized candidate for Bowles' defensive scheme, but he doesn't play small. He allowed completions on only 56.9 percent of the throws into his coverage, according to ProFootballFocus.com, but according to Brian Costello of the New York Post, Skrine drew 15 penalties (11 accepted) in 2014.
There could be a battle between Skrine and young cornerbacks Dee Milliner, Dexter McDougle, Darrin Walls and others for who will play in the slot, but Skrine's skill set may be the best suited, and the money certainly suggests the Jets have some faith in his ability to win the starting job.
Revis, Cromartie and Skrine all are instant starters in the Jets secondary, meaning the Jets have now completely revamped the cornerback position from last year.
Grade: B+
Jets Sign James Carpenter to 4-Year Contract Worth Roughly $5 Million Per Year
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Despite the heavy focus on the quarterback position in the discussion of how to improve the Jets offense, their needs span beyond simply finding a competent signal-caller. In particular, their needs also lie on the line.
The Jets took a step toward improving that group when they signed former Seattle Seahawks guard James Carpenter to a four-year deal worth roughly $5 million per year, according to NFL Media's Ian Rapoport. Carpenter will probably compete with young guards Brian Winters and Oday Aboushi for starting responsibilities at left guard.
According to Mike Garafolo of Fox Sports, the Jets were also interested in guards Mike Iupati (who signed with the Arizona Cardinals, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter) and Orlando Franklin (who signed with the San Diego Chargers, also according to Schefter).
Carpenter is a better pass-blocker than run-blocker, earning higher grades in pass protection than in the running game each of the past two years, according to ProFootballFocus. The Jets may be hoping Carpenter can improve in that area and bring some of the Seahawks' productivity in the running game along with him (4,950 team rushing yards on 1,034 carries, 4.8 YPA).
He's not as well-rounded as Iupati or Franklin, but he is still a potential upgrade over the Jets' current options.
Grade: B+
Jets Re-Sign G Willie Colon to 1-Year, $870,000 Contract
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The Jets made two moves to help address their issues up front on offense: One move to bring in an outsider, and another to keep an insider.
According to ESPN's Rich Cimini, the Jets re-signed Colon to a one-year, $870,000 contract to keep the 31-year-old guard in the fold for one more year. Colon has dealt with knee injuries throughout his career, but he's started all 16 games at guard in each of the past two seasons.
The question is will he continue to start? At such a low price tag, the Jets could easily cut bait with Colon if they have confidence in guards Oday Aboushi or Brian Winters. That being said, with changes all over the offense, they may see some value in maintaining some measure of consistency on offense to help smooth the transition.
At some point, the Jets will have to address the need for guards on a more long-term basis, but for now, they at least have a competition up front for those starting spots.
Grade: B-
Jets Re-Sign Bilal Powell to 1-Year Contract
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The Jets have relied on the running game for years without a capable quarterback, and one of those backs will remain with the team as they continue to search for the franchise-saving signal-caller.
According to Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News, the Jets have agreed to a one-year deal with running back Bilal Powell. The 5'10", 204-pound back has been a key player in the Jets backfield in the past, with 286 rush attempts from 2012-2013, but he earned only 33 carries in 2014, with Chris Ivory and Chris Johnson entrenched as the top two backs on the depth chart.
The Jets are building in a new direction with a new head coach and new general manager, but they are showing a willingness to hang onto some players from the old regime. This one, however, is important. He has a similar running style to Ivory, and could therefore spell Ivory when the primary back is worn down. If they can add a talented scatback to round out the group, their backfield could be complete.
Grade: B+
Jets Sign Marcus Gilchrist to 4-Year Contract
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The Jets had depth and talent issues all over their secondary, and they aggressively addressed nearly all of them. One of the surprise moves was the signing of strong safety Marcus Gilchrist to a four-year contract, as reported by Ian Rapoport of NFL Media.
The Jets already have a strong safety in Calvin Pryor, and although he was drafted by the previous regime, he didn't get much of a fair shake to prove himself last year, as he spent most of the year lined up at strong safety—not his natural position. Now, with Gilchrist in the fold, the Jets have two talented strong safeties, meaning that one of them will be either playing out of position or not playing at all.
When it comes to coverage, Gilchrist is about as efficient as using gas heat in the Arctic, having allowed completions on 68.4 percent of throws into his coverage with five touchdowns in 2014, according to ProFootballFocus.com. The Jets will have to find some answers to how their coverage unit will break down in 2015.
Grade: C+
Overall Grade: A-
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The Jets took an aggressive approach to free agency, but we'll have to wait to see how it pays off.
They have set the table with all the tools they need except for one—a franchise quarterback. Find one, and the Jets' offseason plan will be complete. Don't find one, and they will be stuck with a lot of players and a lot of cap money allocated without the results to show for it.
Fortunately, with the No. 6 pick in the 2015 draft, the Jets could land Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota to be the future of their franchise. In fact, if they want to continue their aggressive approach to the offseason, they could trade up to nab Florida State's Jameis Winston.
Either way, the Jets have an opportunity to cap off a wild offseason in a huge way in April's draft.
Grade: A-
Unless otherwise noted, all salary-cap and contract information provided by OverTheCap.com. All advanced statistics provided by ProFootballFocus.com.
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