As first reported by Aaron Wilson (@RavenInsider), the Jets have agreed to terms with their final 2012 draft pick, Western Michigan wide receiver Jordan White.

According to Wilson, White has agreed to a four-year deal worth $2.145 million, including a $45,896 signing bonus. Wilson cites a “a league source” on the details.

The team announced the signing via their Twitter account this morning, verifying reports from late last night.

White is presently sidelined due to a broken foot (fifth metatarsal) he suffered in OTAs. He had surgery in May and is expected to fully recover in time for training camp.

I am no doctor, but I’ve had enough sports related injuries to know that breaks are far better than sprains and strains. I’m looking forward to seeing what White can do in training camp and what he can contribute this year.

In case you are interested, my early thoughts on White on draft day:

In 2011, he led the nation with 140 catches and 1,911 receiving yards and scored 17 touchdowns. He is Western Michigan’s career and season leader in receptions, receiving yards and 100-yard games.

White has average size and speed, but he is noted for being an “NFL-ready route runner.” His athleticism allows him to play bigger and faster than he is and scouting reports indicate that he will adapt very well at the next level. He has the potential to be one of those “diamond in the rough” type players and though I see him competing for the 4/5 WR spot this year, he could very well sneak his way into a #3 receiver type of a role in the future.

You can follow Jordan on Twitter, @_JordanWhite.

The NFL draft is just a few days away, but that hasn’t kept the Jets from continuing to explore their options in free agency.

According to ESPN, the Jets are hosting former Raiders cornerback Chris Johnson at the facility today. Johnson was released by the Raiders in March after playing in Oakland for 5 seasons. His time on the field has decreased in the past few years, but his contributions while in games were still considered positive.

Why cornerback, when the Jets have so many other needs?

With the Jets running so many dime packages, they are looking for a more depth at the position. They also need to fill the role vacated by Marquice Cole, who played on special teams. (On a draft related note: Don’t be surprised to see them add more corners with their picks).

Johnson has been compared to Donald Strickland, who remains a free agent.

According to Pro Football Talk, former Miami Dolphins safety Yeremiah Bell is also visiting the Jets today. PFT sites a league source on their Twitter. No other details are available, though it’s worth nothing that several weeks ago, Bell’s agent, the super obnoxious Drew Rosenhaus, told a Miami radio station that the Jets were one of several teams interested in Bell.

Bell is a very good strong safety, but there is some question about exactly where would fit into the equation. The Jets currently have LaRon Landry and Eric Smith on the roster, and both safeties have their struggles with coverage. Bell’s coverage is similarly suspect, and he is best suited for a role similar to that of Landry.

Perhaps this means the team is considering cutting Eric Smith and using his $2 million salary towards Bell? Or maybe the team is looking to put Bell into a back-up role (pretty unlikely)? I would imagine the Jets ARE planning to draft a safety this weekend, though it remains to be seen what kind of player they would add and what kind of a role he would play. So where would Bell potentially fit into that scenario? There are a lot of question marks here, including whether or not they can even afford Bell to begin with.

At the end of the day, we don’t need 3 safeties who can’t cover on the roster. I would definitely closely monitor the safety position this weekend; we could see a lot of movement there next week.

Bell was released by the Miami Dolphins last month while they were on their “get ready of everyone and clear up cap space for something” spree. He has been a a solid part of their secondary for years, and made the Pro Bowl in 2009.

With the NFL draft rapidly approaching, we continue to gain bits and pieces of information about the Jets plans for this year’s draft. The team is hosting more than 50 player meetings and private workouts, making it nearly impossible to know what exactly will happen on April 26th, but these little tidbits do make it easier to speculate on a direction.

There has been a lot of discussion about the Jets possibly targeting WR Michael Floyd with this year’s first round pick, and most of the speculation was fueled by a series of recent mock drafts that had the Jets taking the Notre Dame wide receiver at #16.

Now, according to Adam Schefter, Floyd will meet with the Jets, Bengals, Titans, Rams this week and the 49ers, Dolphins, Cardinals and Vikings next week. Floyd revealed his plans to visit teams yesterday on Sirius/XM Radio.

While Floyd certainly has elite talent, it is my belief that drafting a receiver in the first round would not be the best idea.

It is certainly true that the Jets need to upgrade their offense, including adding a tall and fast deep threat to make their run-first approach successful, but this year’s receiver draft class is very deep  (in fact, it’s the deepest position in the draft) and the team would be better served attending to other needs in the first round, like an OLB or S (more on that in a second). Meanwhile, the Jets can find an talented, pro-ready receiver in the 2nd or 3rd round for great value.

That said, it would be foolish to not take a look at Floyd and do due diligence on the receiver that is quickly rising up draft boards. Let’s also not forget that teams don’t just bring in players they plan to draft themselves. These meetings are a also a way for them to gather intel on the players they will be facing over the years or that they may be interested in should they become available in free agency down the road.

The list of team’s interested in Floyd confirms my suspicions that the receiver will likely not even be available when it comes time for the Jets to draft at #16 anyway.  Almost all of the teams on this list pick before the Jets, and the Rams, Dolphins, and Vikings all have big need at WR. I wouldn’t put to much money on the Jets grabbing Floyd, but as you know, anything can happen.

Speaking of defensive players, according to Evan Silva, the Jets are “smitten” with DE/OLB Melvin Ingram after seeing him work out as his S.Carolina Pro Day last month. Silva also added that the Jaguars interest in Ingram is “posturing,” though there are still several other teams that would stand between the Jets and Ingram at #16, namely the Seattle Seahawks. According to ESPN, Rex Ryan “absolutely wants to add a blue-chip rusher” in this year’s draft, and Ingram is definitely that guy. It was previously believed that the team would go after either Ingram on Alabama OLB Courtney Upshaw, but a recent report from Sports Tony Pauline explains that the Jets aren’t likely to draft Courtney Upshaw even if he is available at #16 (saying there is an 85% they will not draft him). » Continue reading “More Clarity on Jets Plans for First Round Pick”

In today’s NFL, rushing the passer is an essential part of any stout defensive unit. Unfortunately, the Jets have been seriously longing for a decent rusher since John Abraham left town, and somehow they have failed to address the need in the years since.

Jets can't ask Maybin to do everything.

True, Aaron Maybin did provide some semblance of a pass rush last season, but Maybin is best used as a situational rusher and is not an every down player. Additionally, veteran LB Bryan Thomas is a free agent and recovering from an Achilles injury he suffered last season. While several sources close to the team have indicated that they’d like to keep Thomas, the Jets still need help.

Further complicating matters in the search for a pass rusher is the recent news regarding LB Bart Scott. Reports indicate that Scott has been “granted permission to seek a trade,” leading many to believe that Bart’s time as a Jets is coming to a close. I would imagine that shopping for a future replacement for Scott was on the off-season homework list (likely through last round in the draft), but now the search has grown a little more time sensitive. I still believe that a pass-rushing OLB/DE should remain at the top of the list of priorities, but the Jets will no doubt also be looking for other versatile linebackers to add to the roster.

For now, I am just going to concentrate on the specific need at outside linebacker.

The first option is that the team can try to acquire a free agent to fill the position. I have put together a short list of guys that have been discussed, reportedly been targeted or should be targeted. I have included some defensive ends on the list, mostly because they have been mentioned, but I sincerely doubt they go this route. The team drafted Muhammed Wilkerson at the position last year and furthermore, Rex’s scheme generally generates a pass rush from the OLB position. Given that there is a lack of really elite FA 3-4 OLB’s, the Jets are going to be targeting players that can move around; guys that can rush the passer, effectively stop the run and also drop back into coverage.

DE/OLB Mario Williams (HOU): Williams is not only at the top of the list of FA pass rushers, he is at the top of the list of free agents. The Jets have indicated that they will not go after Williams, likely because he will command a very hefty salary. In fact, by the end of free agency, Williams may ultimately end up as the highest paid defensive player in the NFL.

Sorry Jets fans, but this is nothing more than a pipe dream.

DE John Abraham (ATL): The aforementioned Abraham is seeking a hefty payday in free agency (reports indicate he is asking in the $12 million range). We can argue about Abraham’s productivity but fact is, he is getting older and he wants too much money. It’s just not going to happen at that price.

DE Robert Mathis (IND): For years, Mathias has been one of the top pass rushers in the league. While he is starting to creep up there in age, his ability to get after the quarterback is still top tier.

Update: The Cots have now franchised Mathis, though the two sides will continue to work together on a long-term deal.

LB Anthony Spencer (DAL): Jason LaCanfora is reporting that the Cowboys have franchised Spencer. Will have to cross him off the list for this year. Seems like a lot of money to give to Spencer, but I’m not Jerry Jones. Thank goodness.

LB Jarret Johnson (BAL)- Various reports have indicated that the Jets have interest in acquiring the Raven LB through free agency, and it’s easy to see why. Johnson has a lot of versatility as a player, the price is reasonable and he was also a favorite of Rex’s from his days in Baltimore.

Problem is, Johson isn’t really the guy to consistently go after the QB. It seems to me that Johnson would be more of a replacement for Bryan Thomas above anything else, and some argue that in that case, it’s more of a lateral move and less of an upgrade.

Ravens free agent LB Jameel McClain has also been linked to the Jets. McClain has played at both inside and outside linebacker in Baltimore. I see him more as a replacement to Bart Scott than anything else but it’s at least worth noting.

» Continue reading “Position of Need: Pass Rusher”

Free Agency begins in a few weeks (new league year kicks off March 13th) and the Jets have a lot of difficult decisions to make, especially when you consider they are very tight on cap space.

There have been a variety of reports explaining just how much cap room the Jets have, and Rich Cimini of ESPN (who was relaying information from John Clayton) explains that even with the $8.3 million carryover, the Jets are just $464,000 under the projected cap. This assessment differs from reports that had the Jets much further under (somewhere in the 8-12 mill range), but until we get a clear indication about what the cap will be for the new league year, we can only speculate about what the team will have to spend.

For the sake of conversation, let’s go with the the current belief that 2012 cap will come in around $121-125 mill (with ability to borrow $2 mill), which will leave the Jets will somewhere around $10 mill to spend without restructuring.

Here’s a quick rundown of the free agents from last year’s roster that need to be looked at:

Restricted : TE Matt Mulliganm LB Aaron Maybin, LB Jamaal Westerman, CB Marquice Cole

Unrestricted : QB Mark Brunell, QB Kevin O’Connell, RB LaDainian Tomlinson, WR Plaxico Burress, OL Robert Turner, DT Sione Pouha, LB Bryan Thomas, CB Donald Strictland, S Jim Leonhard, S Brodney Pool, K Nick Folk

In addition to addressing the future of all these free agents with the team, the Jets must also consider how they will handle  the other team needs. The overwhelming areas that need improvement are LB (pass rush), Safety, RT, WR and back-up QB (or, depending on who you ask, QB). You could also add RB and TE to the list, among other things.

How the Jets handle the list of current free agents will further impact these priorities. Obviously.

I offered a close examination of the free agent wide receiver landscape last week, and later this week I will take a closer look at the safety position.

Here’s some newsworthy items regarding the Jets off-season homework and the countdown to free agency:

Jets May Add Safety on Draft Weekend 

The New York Jets official website brought us this piece of obvious news.

It’s easy to see the Jets need help at the safety position. Both Jim Leonhard and Brodney Pool are free agents and Eric Smith is well, Eric Smith. Then there is the simple fact the the position, on the whole, has been a bit of a weak spot and could use stand to be upgraded. That is, if the Jets  plan to keep up with the Aaron Hernandez’s and Rob Gronkowski’s of the league.

Alabama’s Mark Barron is a name that has been toseed around a lot as an option for the Jets to select on draft day. It will be interesting to see where Barron lands, particularily in light of his recent injury, but there are several other prospects at the safety position that the Jets could consider, including Antonio Allen and Markelle Martin.

The Jets may very well have to address the need via the draft and free agency. I will offer a closer examination of the FA safeties in the next few days.

Sione Pouha will be a priority in free agency

A really good nose tackle is extremely hard to come by and Pouha is an essential part of the team’s run defense.

Pouha should absolutely be the Jets number one priority in terms of free agents and according to Len Pasquarelli of the Sports XChange, the Jets will “make a big push” to sign Pouha before free agency begins.

So now that we have determined that the Jets want to keep Pouha, the next question is,  how much will Pouha command and what kind of an impact will his deal have on the cap? I would guess the Jets will offer him a longer deal (2-3 years) in an effort to lesson the blow against the cap. It also seems unlikely they would franchise him, given that the franchise tag is around $8 million for nose tacklees. » Continue reading “Countdown to Free Agency”

Alabama's Mark Barron

ESPN draft analyst Todd McShay released his lastest mock draft late last week. McShay had the Jets taking Alabama safety Mark Barron.

Here’s what AFC East Blogger James Walker had to say about McShay’s pick for the Jets:

I also agree with this pick for the Jets. New York has several needs, but perhaps no need is bigger than safety. The Jets may need to replace both safeties next season. Jim Leonhard is a free agent coming off a season-ending knee injury and Eric Smith had a terrible year. Opponents often avoided New York’s corners and had a field day throwing over the middle against the safeties. Barron could help stop that trend.

Several other draft analysts have had the Jets taking Barron with the 16th pick, including the guys at SI and SBNation.

Unfortunately, Joe Everett of RookieDraft.com is now reporting via his Twitter that Barron, “has a double sports hernia & will be out until at least July/August.”

This will no doubt cause Barron’s draft stock to fall out of the first round, BUT it does not necessary mean bad things for the Jets on draft day, as Barron could theoretically fall far enough for the Jets to move up into the second round to take him.

Frankly, many other believed that Barron was a bit of a reach at 16, while others did not feel his was even a first round pick.

Obviously this is rather unfortunate for Barron and let’s not let that get lot here. I wish him happy healing.