Ranking the 2015 Impact of the New York Jets' Free-Agent Signings So Far

You really can go home again. 

The New York Jets and Darrelle Revis proved it with their reunion at the opening of free agency, and while the surroundings have changed a bit from the last time Revis was in the Big Apple, his job description remains the same: help the Jets win the Super Bowl for the first time since the 1968 season, also known as the last year Lyndon Johnson was president.

But Revis isn't the only one trying to get the Jets back to the promised land. There are six other free-agent signings who have joined the fold and could be part of a bigger picture, the missing pieces to a championship puzzle.

But which players will have the biggest impact in 2015? Here's a look at the Jets' signings, and we'll rank them in order of the importance they'll have to the team this season from a talent and positional perspective. 

5. Marcus Gilchrist

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For better or worse, new general manager Mike Maccagnan and head coach Todd Bowles made former San Diego Chargers safety Marcus Gilchrist a New York Jet.

Now, the question becomes, what do they do with 2014 first-round pick Calvin Pryor? Do they move him to free safety, where he played last year and underperformed? Do they allow him to lower the boom at strong safety and force Gilchrist to play the deep half, where he's less comfortable?

Who knows what happens from here, but whoever is lined up in whichever spots, they can feel comfortable that their front line of defense at cornerback will hold up in whatever responsibilities they need.

Gilchrist's coverage abilities leave a little to be desired, and he's allowed at least 68 percent completions in each of his four years in the league, according to Pro Football Focus, but he's also the league's fifth-most efficient tackler at safety. 

The Jets know what they're getting in Gilchrist; the question is whether they can use him in the right ways.

4. James Carpenter

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A heavy amount of focus has been placed on the quarterback position as the one most needing an upgrade on offense. That doesn't mean that the Jets were entering the offseason all set at every other position. Granted, they are much closer to that now thanks to the acquisitions of Brandon Marshall and James Carpenter.

A former first-round pick, Carpenter has been in the league for four years and played right tackle, right guard and left guard for the Seattle Seahawks. The 6'4", 313-pound behemoth was drafted as a tackle, but he has been much better as an interior blocker thanks to his lack of functional quickness. 

Even with that in mind, Carpenter has been a better pass-blocker than run-blocker, and he has earned a higher grade in pass protection than in the running game each of the past two seasons, according to Pro Football Focus. Regardless, his presence is an immediate upgrade of young guards Oday Aboushi and Brian Winters.

3. Buster Skrine

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Before Darrelle Revis, before Antonio Cromartie, there was Buster Skrine. Granted, Skrine was only on the roster four hours before Revis, but he has bragging rights forever, as far as I'm concerned.

That being said, Skrine is not without reproach. He was the league's most penalized cornerback in 2014, with 17 flags on the season, according to Pro Football Focus, and he allowed 22 touchdowns into his coverage over the past three seasons (eight in 2014, nine in 2013, five in 2012). He's a bit smaller than Todd Bowles might prefer his cornerbacks at only 5'9" and 185 pounds.

None of that means anything in this new scheme, though, where his aggressive tendencies can be put to full use—just as long as he can limit the flags he draws, he'll be a nice fit for the Jets defense.

2. Antonio Cromartie

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Batman and Robin are back together again. The Jets have reunited with both Darrelle Revis and Antonio Cromartie, and in turn, they have reunited a cornerback duo that helped them field one of the most fearsome pass defenses in 2010 and 2011. 

The Jets released Cromartie last offseason as a salary-cap casualty, shedding $10.5 million in cap space in the process. He had been bothered by nagging hip injuries the year before, and his performance had dipped.

But in 2014, he had a career renaissance under Todd Bowles with the Arizona Cardinals, and he allowed only 59.3 percent completions and only two touchdowns while intercepting four passes and breaking up another seven passes.

Cromartie is a perfect fit as a press-man cornerback in Bowles' scheme, and Bowles' move to New York signaled a perfect fit for Cromartie in New York once again. 

Now, thanks to the additions of both Revis and Cromartie, the Jets won't have to worry about the likes of Dee Milliner, Darrin Walls and Dexter McDougle earning a high number of snaps as starters in 2015. 

1. Darrelle Revis

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A year after the Jets secondary was in the headlines for all the wrong reasons, with John Idzik failing to make any improvements at Rex Ryan's favorite position, that unit has been completely overhauled into one of the most fearsome in the league.

As was the case from 2007 to 2012, Darrelle Revis is the one spearheading that movement. After a down year in 2013 in a bad scheme and coming off an ACL injury, the All-World shutdown cornerback reclaimed his old form in 2014, allowing only 51.8 percent completions and four touchdowns while netting three interceptions and 12 pass breakups for a passer rating of 74.7, according to Pro Football Focus. 

Revis would be the biggest impact free-agent signing for the Jets regardless of who he played for in 2014, but the fact that the Jets snatched him away from the New England Patriots makes the move that much more impactful. Now, not only do the Patriots have to face him twice a year, but they also do not have one of the key ingredients to their Super Bowl run from last season.