How the New York Jets are absolutely crushing it in free agency

New York Jets general manager Joe Douglas was asked a common question at the scouting combine: How aggressive will his team be in free agency?

“I would say, there’s a lot of different avenues, a lot of different tools to improve your roster,” Douglas said earlier this month. “Free agency is one of those tools. And so, I think we have a good opportunity. We have assets that we’ve acquired and we have financial flexibility. So again, there’s a lot of conversations that need to be had in the next coming days and weeks before this kicks off. But we’re gonna get this team better, any avenue we can.”

So far, the Jets have had hit after hit, at least when projecting these players to their new homes. In the comprehensive list of free agents put together by myself and Mark Schofield, Gang Green’s five signings to date — tight end C.J. Uzomah, guard Laken Tomlinson, cornerback D.J. Reed, safety Jordan Whitehead, and edge-rusher Jacob Martin — all got grades of at least A-, and there are three A+ marks on the list, which is the most for any team so far.

It’s obviously important for a team that hasn’t had a winning season since 2015, and hasn’t made the playoffs since 2010 — back in the Rex Ryan days.

Let’s take a look at each of these new Jets players, why they’re such great signings, and how they fit into what Douglas and head coach Robert Saleh and his staff wish to achieve in 2022…. and beyond.

TE C.J. Uzomah: A-

(Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports)

In their question to make life easier for young quarterback Zach Wilson, Joe Douglas gave Wilson a component to the tean’s offense that was missing last season.

A tight end.

The Jets agreed to terms with free agent tight end C.J. Uzomah, adding him on a three-year deal worth $24 million. The tight end is coming off perhaps his best season as a professional, as he caught 49 passes for 493 yards and five touchdowns, all of which were career-high marks. Uzomah is also considered a strong, positive presence in the locker room.

But the reason this signing is ideal for the Jets has more to do than production and presence. It has to do with his fit in the offense the Jets are trying to assemble schematically. Offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur is looking to construct an offense similar to what we see in San Francisco, Green Bay and Los Angeles, based on play-action, outside zone run concepts, and giving the quarterback easy reads and throws.

How Uzomah fits into that system was evident on film last season, particularly on plays like this one:

Then, when you add in the vertical element he brings to the table, attacking the middle of the field like this:

Which is a critical component to dealing with the deluge of two-deep coverages teams are seeing today, you can see why this is a great signing for not just the Jets, but their young quarterback. And after all, if the Jets can find a way to get the most out of Wilson — aided by signings like this one — that is an ideal scenario for New York.

Guard Laken Tomlinson: A

(Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports)

The Jets selected USC offensive lineman Alijah Vera-Tucker with the 14th overall pick in the 2021 draft and inserted him at the left guard position. Vera-Tucker showed development in his rookie campaign, but the Jets doubled down at that position in free agency with the acquisition of former Lions and 49ers guard Laken Tomlinson to a three-year, $40 million contract with $27 million guaranteed. It’s not known how that will shake up the offensive line, but Tomlinson is a great addition both in the pass and run games.

Along the way to their appearance in the NFC Championship game, the 2021 49ers assembled a diverse running game relying on a variety of different concepts and ball-carriers. A critical element to that rushing attack was the performance of their offensive line, including Tomlinson.

Tomlinson started all 17 regular season games for the San Francisco 49ers, allowing just two sacks in pass protection but serving as a road grader in the run game. Kyle Shanahan and offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel liked to get Tomlinson moving, pulling him on traps or having him lead backs to the edge. On this run against the Cincinnati Bengals, it is Tomlinson who helps spring the ball-carrier with his pull to the right edge:

Tomlinson gave up three sacks and 33 total pressures on 681 pass-blocking reps in 2021, so maybe it’ll be that Tomlinson and Vera-Tucker become a much-needed guard tandem with all kinds of upside.

EDGE Jacob Martin: A+

(George Walker IV / Tennessean.com-USA TODAY NETWORK)

The Jets needed to augment their edge presence after a 2021 season in which former pass-rusher Carl Lawson was signed to a three-year, $45 million contract, and then missed the entire season due to an Achilles tendon injury.

Now, Lawson is scheduled to be back, and to add to that edge presence, the Jets signed former Texans and Seahawks pass-rusher Jacob Martin to a three-year, $13.5 million contract with just $6 million guaranteed. That’s chump change for a player who was anything but in 2021 — Martin had four sacks and a career-high 38 pressures for Houston in 2021, and the tape shows all kinds of attributes that Saleh and his staff can exploit.

What makes Martin such a bargain? Let’s start with this pressure of Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill, in which Martin (No. 54) turned left tackle Taylor Lewan inside out on the way to a near-sack.

Then, there’s this sack of Jets quarterback Zach Wilson, which you’d imagine Saleh and Douglas would remember. This is pure effort after Martin gets stymied in the middle of the line on a stunt, and it turns into a footrace to the sideline.

To get a pass-rusher of this caliber (certainly rotational, and possibly starter-quality; he played 700 snaps last season) is yet another indicator that the 2022 Jets are owning the space when it comes to undervalued free agents who fit what they want to do.

CB D.J. Reed: A+

(AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

Last season, the Jets’ cornerbacks had just two interceptions (both by Brandin Echols)… and allowed 11 touchdowns. That won’t do for any head coach, much less a defensive-minded head coach like Saleh. So, Saleh and the Jets absolutely stole former Seattle cornerback D.J. Reed on a three-year, $33 million contract. That’s silly money for a guy who can come in and be the team’s top cornerback right away, and Saleh is familiar with Reed from his San Francisco days.

Seattle similarly stole Reed off waivers from the 49ers in August, 2020. When Quinton Dunbar was unable to take the field that season due to injury, Reed found his way into the starting rotation and never looked back. As a slot and outside defender in 2020, he allowed 36 catches on 57 targets for 414 yards, 138 yards after the catch, one touchdown, two interceptions, and an opponent passer rating of 76.2.

And in 2021, as an established starter, Reed gave up 35 catches on 68 targets for 383 yards, 114 yards after the catch, two touchdowns, two interceptions, and an opponent passer rating of 66.0.

Safety Jordan Whitehead: A+

(Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports)

Between the D.J. Reed signing and this absolute bit of larceny, we’re going to see a lot more of the concepts Saleh would like to run successfully in 2022 than we did in 2021, because Saleh will actually have the personnel to do it. Whitehead, the former Bucs safety and slot defender, signed a two-year, $14.5 million deal with the Jets, and if you watched Whitehead play in 2021, you might wonder what you’re missing from a price/value standpoint.

While Whitehead isn’t an ideal all-the-time deep-third safety, he makes up for that by playing with his proverbial hair on fire all over the field. Whitehead (No. 33) is more than adept when it’s time to blitz and hurry the quarterback…

And as ESPN’s Jenna Laine pointed out after the Jets deal happened, Whitehead is also perfectly capable of playing the run destructively as a smaller linebacker would.

The way he crashed through on this play against the Rams proves that theory.

The Bucs aren’t exactly flush with cap space right now, but methinks they’ll regret letting Whitehead get away — especially at that lowball price. As for the Jets? Yes, it’s another big win.

1

1