Is Conklin worth it?
Looking at Gang Green’s interest in free-agent tackle
The latest edition of the Jets Mailbag explains the Patriots are smarter than most teams during free agency, the under-the-radar offensive linemen to keep an eye on, a Rex Ryan-inspired tradition that must be revived and more.
What are you hearing about Jack Conklin? Initial report was he was signing with the Jets. Then, hours later he’s not expected to. -@HenryHill74
Here’s what I’ll say about free agency rumblings at this stage of the game: There are few absolutes. A player like Conklin, who will command $16-$18 million annually thanks to supply and demand at tackle this offseason, would be foolish to limit his options two weeks before free agency. He likely has an idea of which teams are serious suitors in the wake of the league’s unofficial tampering period in Indianapolis last week, but nothing is guaranteed.
Here’s how these meetings between team officials and agents go: Some teams go on a fishing expedition to gauge market value for a particular position. It helps them find a range for a player(s) that they truly covet. With free agency relatively far off in the future, it’s rare that teams and agents discuss contract parameters. Teams are on a fact-finding mission in Indy. Then they huddle up back home to formulate a concrete plan of attack with their true targets.
The Patriots take a slightly different approach. They meet with agents to find out the asking price. They’ve already done most of their legwork. So, they’re not recruiting anyone. Instead, they come to these discussions with their valuation (or a narrow range) already set. Frankly, they’re one of the more forthright teams in the league during this process. If an agent says that he believes his client will fetch $15 million/year, the Patriots will respond with something like this: “That’s too rich for our blood, but if the player’s market value dips to $12 million, we want in.”
I love how New England attacks it that way. It’s efficient, smart and doesn’t waste anyone’s time. Some teams caste such a wide net that agents come away from meetings not knowing where the club actually stands. The teams that are more streamlined and definitive in their evaluations of the player benefit the most.
When the legal tampering period begins on March 16, the most organized teams with a clear understanding of who they want and how much they want to pay typically hit on their wish list. The others are left on curb wondering why they didn’t get a chance to get in the mix during the fastest, most free-flowing period on the NFL calendar.
Would the Jets actually spend big money on two Tier 1 offensive linemen or will they instead go for a Tier 1 and then a Tier 2 kind of guy? - @Connorx28
Public vs. NFL perception in the run-up to free agency aren’t necessarily the same. Case in point: Conklin is on the free-agent marquee — the Jets expressed interest in him more than a month ago — but is he worth the money that he will get? Sure, free agents usually get overpaid, but how good is the Titans right tackle? Remember, Tennessee declined to pick up Conklin’s fifth-year option for a reason. Teams don’t make a habit of giving up contractual control of stud tackles.
Conklin, the No. 8 overall pick in 2016, started off his career on fire. He earned first-team All-Pro honors as a rookie before his play steadily declined. Two knee injuries and a concussion derailed half of his 2018 campaign.
Some NFL talent evaluators openly questioned how good he actually is at the moment. I don’t think Conklin, who will turn 26 this summer, is a top-five player at his position. However, he’s still a quality option for Gang Green, who struggled badly at that spot last season. Conklin is a clear upgrade, but will he be worth the sizeable investment?
The Giants have buyer’s remorse one year after forking over a truckload of loot for left tackle Nate Solder. Although Conklin is younger, some executives that I touched base with believe that breaking the bank for him might engender a similar feeling one year from now.
That’s a roundabout way of saying that you shouldn’t fall in love with tiers. For example, how many people outside of Detroit heard of interior lineman Graham Glasgow before a couple months ago? He lived in anonymity for the better part of four seasons. Now, he’s expected to be a coveted center/ guard in free agency. Jets fans should keep an eye on him.
In the almost inevitable event that the Jets finish with a losing record next season, will/can Joe Douglas outlast Gase? (If ) Gase gets fired, is there a scenario where Douglas does not? - @Andrein16705270
Remember when the prevailing sentiment was that Mike Maccagnan’s successor would be nothing more than Gase’s errand boy? After all, Gase was complicit in Maccagnan’s ouster. However, Douglas leveraged his position as the best candidate on the market to the hilt before scoring a monstrous deal that makes him one of the Top 5 paid GMs in the league.
So, he now has more job security than the head coach. If the Jets fail to meet expectations in 2020, the most likely scenario will be that Douglas will have an opportunity to hire his own head coach. And that might be precisely what the organization needs to become a consistent winner.
However, CEO Christopher Johnson continues to tell people that he remains firmly in Gase’s corner amid the groundswell of criticism.