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Every year there is one NFL team that spends huge in free agency. Every year that team is cautioned that games aren’t won in March, with statistics produced to back them up. And every year, it seems that we reflect on one team that spent way too much money for not enough results.
The New York Jets are hoping they will be the exception to the rule this season after make huge moves in free agency and the trade market. New general manager Mike Maccagnan did exactly what Jets fans wanted by attacking free agency and taking major steps to improve the team, a huge contrast to the last two offseasons. Maccagnan has won the offseason and a ton of fans with his moves, but will they translate into winning games?
Let’s look at what the Jets have done. The big headline is the obviously the completely rebuilt secondary, with the signings of cornerbacks Darrelle Revis, Antonio Cromartie, and Buster Skrine as well as safety Marcus Gilchrist. The secondary was arguably the Jets’ biggest weakness last season, but when those players are added to incumbent first round picks Calvin Pryor and Dee Milliner, it’s not hard to imagine the Jets having one of the top secondaries in the league.
Of course, that wasn’t all Maccagnan did. He also acquired Brandon Marshall and Ryan Fitzpatrick for late round picks, signed James Carpenter, re-signed David Harris and Bilal Powell, and placed second round tenders on Damon Harrison and Jaiquawn Jarrett.
All in all, there’s not much fault to find in any of these transactions. In a vacuum, Harris and Skrine are probably overpaid. But the Jets value Harris’ intangibles, while Skrine was signed before the team knew they could get Revis and Cromartie. The Fitzpatrick trade drew quite a bit of negative attention, but if you think he’s anything other than a significant upgrade over Geno Smith then you haven’t been paying attention.
On paper, the Jets are a massively improved team from last season as we head towards the draft. They still need a quality edge rusher, but this years class is very deep at that position and finding a quality pass rusher in the first two rounds of the draft shouldn’t be too difficult. A few positions need depth, namely inside linebacker and left tackle, but that shouldn’t be too hard to fix either.
That just leaves the quarterback question, and the major story line is obviously whether or not the Jets will end up with Marcus Mariota come late April. However, don’t be surprised if the team moves forward with Fitzpatrick and Smith in competition for the starting job.
There have been plenty of teams that made the playoffs with a strong roster and a game manager at quarterback, which is what the Jets should try to do with Fitzpatrick. The rest of the roster is clearly playoff caliber, especially in the weak AFC. If Fitzpatrick can play reasonably turnover free, there’s no reason the Jets can’t win 9 or 10 games and get a Wild Card spot.
Games are not won in March, nor have they ever been. But there is no doubt that the Jets are a much better team because of what has happened in the last month. Whether or not this is the first step of long term success remains to be seen, but as of now the Jets must be considered a legitimate playoff contender for next season.
Greg Sulik is a New York Jets writer for Rant Sports. Follow him on Twitter @GregSulik or add him to your network on Google
