FILL IN THE BLANKS
Douglas’ Jets still have holes at LT, WR
JOE Douglas has not had a splashy week to start free agency but he has filled some holes and done it without handing out any crazy contracts, unlike some of his fellow general managers.
The moves have left the Jets with two big holes remaining on the roster — a No. 2 wide receiver and a starting offensive lineman, probably at left tackle.
Douglas needs to fill one of those two holes with a solid player who can be a major contributor to the 2024 Jets and then he can plug the other hole with a depth signing now and find a starter in the first round of the NFL draft.
If Douglas can pull that off, the 2024 Jets offense should be much improved from the 2023 version. That is also counting on Aaron Rodgers being healthy and not campaigning in Kalamazoo when the Jets are playing in Buffalo.
The free-agent market at tackle has been very quiet and the one at wide receiver has been pricey at the top, with Calvin Ridley landing $23 million per year from the Titans, but the second tier should have some bargains.
Douglas also could go the trade route like he did to land Morgan Moses as the team’s new right tackle. Trades are hard to predict and I don’t see the Jets making a major move like trading for Tee Higgins, but Douglas might be able to find someone to solidify his line or be the complement to Garrett Wilson in the receivers room.
At receiver, Mike Williams is the top free agent after the Chargers cut him loose on Wednesday. Williams is going to turn 30 in October and is coming off an ACL tear. Those factors might make him affordable. At 6-foot-4 and with the ability to make contested catches, he feels like a good fit if his contract demands are not crazy.
The other top free-agent receivers are Odell Beckham Jr. and Tyler Boyd. The Jets tried to sign Beckham last April before he signed with the Ravens and they could revisit that. Boyd seems to be popular with Jets fans but he would be more of a No. 3 than a No. 2 receiver.
The Jets could go for a No. 3 receiver in free agency and then draft someone to be the No. 2. There was also news Thursday that Corey Davis has applied for reinstatement after surprisingly retiring last year. The Jets will release him, but they could re-sign him on a cheaper deal.
If the Jets do go with Davis or Boyd, I think those are more depth signings than splash signings, and then they better firm up the offensive line so they can draft a top receiver with the No. 10 pick.
At tackle, Tyron Smith, who was considered the top tackle available at the start of free agency, remains on the market. He is 33 years old, which may scare off the Jets after they lived with the Duane Brown injury issues of the last two years. But Smith played 13 games for the Cowboys last year and his prices must be dropping with each passing day.
If the Jets make the splash at receiver, then they should sign a depth player at tackle before drafting a starter next month.
If the Jets have learned anything from the past few years, it is you can’t have enough offensive linemen. So, the Jets can add a tackle now and still draft one next month.
The mission for Douglas this offseason was to fix the offense. We won’t know if he has accomplished that mission until games are played, but his moves this week have been low risk and do have potential upside.
Now, he has to finish it off by fixing one of those two glaring holes on the roster.