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Some thoughts on the Jets’ early free-agent work.
The signing of Justin Fields was a little surprising considering his body of work in the NFL, but according to Fox NFL Insider, the Jets “believe his best football is ahead of him.”
We shall see.
He has some things to work on for his “best football to be ahead of him,” like not holding on to the ball for too long, which leads to pressure and sacks, and also going through his progressions better and not getting locked on his first read.
We will see if he can do it.
Clearly Aaron Glenn is a believer in this player.
It’s hard to argue with the two free agents they added to their secondary: cornerback Brandon Stephens and safety Andre Cisco.
Stephens is the perfect #2 cornerback to complement #1 cornerback Sauce Gardner.
He was a running back for most of his college career, moving to cornerback as a senior, and he has moved up the growth curve quite a bit over his four years in Baltimore, one the NFL’s best organizations at developing players.
He’s a big physical cornerback who is willing against the run. We don’t know much yet about Glenn evaluating quarterbacks, but we know darn well he can evaluate cornerbacks on a high level, and he targeted this guy in free agency. Enough said.
Cisco is exactly what they need at safety – a ball hawk with good ball skills. At Syracuse, he had 13 picks in his first two years, and then in Jacksonville, he had 7 picks over the two seasons before the last one.
The Jets’ defense needs to turn the ball over more and the Long Island-native, who grew up a Jets fan, can help them do it.
Glenn, a brilliant secondary coach, is going to be great for Stephens and Cisco.
“He taught me how to be a pro, the in’s and out’s of it – I’m very grateful I got to have somebody like that,” said Detriot Lions cornerback Terrion Arnold.
“He really made me who I am in this league – he has the tools and knowledge to make me great,” said Lions safety Kerby Joseph.
The signing of center Josh Myers is interesting and makes you wonder if the Jets plan on moving Joe Tippman to guard, considering his snapping issues.
At the very least, Myers gives them a solid backup swing interior player.
But one thing you have to wonder about is why Green Bay, an organization big on drafting, developing and re-signing their picks, let him walk without much of a fight, and he didn’t get great money from the Jets (1-year, $3.5 million). Don’t you think they’d want to bring back a second-round center? This could be a nothing burger, but I’m going to sniff around and see why he and the Packers went their separate ways.
Linebacker Jamin Davis, is a size-speed guy who needs to diagnose faster, and linebacker/edge Rashad Weaver has a great motor, but isn’t a twitchy athlete, so he gets by with effort and toughness.
We will have more free-agent analysis on Friday.
The Jets still haven’t addressed their biggest need, which is a massive run-stuffing defensive tackle. Their run defense up the middle was atrocious the last couple of years, and they need to fix that. Expect them to add somebody in free agency, but definitely in the draft.
March 13, 2025
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