QB:

:

Mark Sanchez 12.9

Greg McElroy .6

(Matt Scott) .4

13.9 mil

Sanchez has a contract that is too big to cut. We need to put him back as a game manager until we can afford to dump him or somehow the lights come on and he becomes something better. That being said, instead of Jets West again he needs to work exclusively on mechanics, shorting his release, getting better depth on dropping back, and holding on to the ball with two hands. Drafting Matt Scott in the draft late would at least bring some versatility to the position. The kid is extremely tough. Trade Tebow and get whatever you can for him, guessing a 6th round pick. He was a gamble that certainly did not pay off

RB:

Steven Jackson 3

Bilal Powell .7

Jonathan Franklin .5

4.2 mil

First we start with a vet like Steven Jackson. He is passed his prime but still could be strong for us almost like a Thomas Jones or Ladanian Tomlinson idea. We try to get every last drop of his ability and who knows maybe we get 2 solid years from him but more likely at least 1 year. He would be 30 next season and 31 the season after. There are other backs going to be available such as Mendenhall, MJD (via trade), Deangelo Williams, and possibly Chris Johnson that we could possibly look at. What we need to do is look to pay no more than 3 mil for that back in order to help secure our salary outlook for the future. Look to trade McKnight as an add value with Antonio Cromartie to Detroit for a 2nd round pick. Cromartie alone may be worth a 2nd or 3rd but this should be able to secure that 2nd round pick. The Lions need explosiveness at the RB position in the form of a third down back that can catch because they pass non stop and Javid Best is always injured also they certainly need a corner as Cromartie proved this year he can be a number 1 corner in the league and is better than Chris Houston. This takes a good amount of salary off our books. As for the draft, Franklin runs way harder than you think, he never stops churning his legs and hardly ever goes down on first contact. He is supremely underated and is a big reason UCLA who is terrible wasn’t completely awful this year. Franklin does have the potential to be a solid starter and has solid character

FB:

Brian Leonard 1.3

1.3 Mil

He is an unselfish player that could wind up being a really good fit. He may need to put on an extra 5 to 10 pounds but has soft hands and is way better than Lex Hilliard. If we are going to get back to running then he could contribute as a ball carrier too. Also, in passing situations he can provide a solid check down option in the mold of Darryl Johnston. How many times have we seen or backs drop check downs? Now we can actually catch some

WR:

Braylon Edwards 1

Stephen Hill 1

Jeremy Kerley .6

Clyde Gates .5

Jordan White .2

3.3 Mil

This receiving corp looks terrible, but we need to manage it. First Santonio is missing from the list. He needs to be cut. It will save us 1 million and possibly more if he is picked up, which he will be. If we can trade him, that would be great. A team to look at would be Houston, even if we can get a 5th round or beyond (as in anything for the 2014 draft) that would be well worth it. Now with what we have, we need to be smart. Braylon’s best attribute is down field blocking and if we are going to be more conservative that trait will pay dividends. As for Hill, we need to work hard to develop him. Kerley is getting better all the time and becoming a strong slot receiver, having him lined up against a nickel corner or a safety is becoming a battle he can win almost every time. As for Gates and White, we need to work to develop them and besides we need to end the revolving door at receiver for continuity. Plugging in new receivers all the time leads to no one running the right routes or being familiar with the offense.

TE:

Zac Ertz .9

Jordan Reed .9

Hayden Smith .5

Konrad Rueland .5

2.8 Mil

Let Keller walk. Injuries and lack of production are the main reason. He will not be worth the money to resign unless he gives a huge hometown discount. Ertz is huge and having him, Braylon, and Hill in the redzone means that if we need to throw down there we have some really big targets. Ertz can also help stay in and block due to his size unlike Keller he is a strictly receiving tight end. Reed is a lot like Keller but is a former QB so will already know how to read coverage’s and settle into soft spots helping Sanchez. Reed also possesses tremendous athletic ability and has tremendous upside. Keep developing Smith and if he is still not ready you have Rueland

LT:

D’Brickashaw Ferguson 10.7

10.7 mil

LG:

Vlad Duccase .8

Spencer Long .4

1.2 mil

We draft Spencer Long deep in the draft. He was a walk on at Nebraska and beat the odds to become draftable meaning he has heart and determination. This pick is addressing character and he has talent as a big 10 lineman that was consistent

C:

Nick Mangold 9.1

Caleb Schlauderaff .5

9.6 mil

We need to look at trading Mangold if it brings us huge value. He is solid but as the leader of the O line has been disappointing

RG:

Brandon Moore 2.5

2.5 mil

We have to keep Moore for the time being, we don’t have that many options here. Hopefully, we can resign him for less money. If not we need to find a way to keep this position under 3 mil

RT:

Will Beatty 3.5

Austin Howard .8

4.1 mil

Adding Beatty could be good. He is an improving player and addresses our right tackle situation

Overall Offensive Analysis: We are forced to run at least 60 percent of the time which is a good thing, we will also have the ability to break longer runs with our larger receivers and better second level backs in Jackson and Franklin. These backs may be able to get to the outside as well at the second level as opposed to Shonn Greene who just was not able to do so because of a lack of speed. As for passing, we can pick safe passes and try to create mismatches through play action because opponents will be putting more in the box. If we get in the redzone we have big targets in Edwards, Hill, and Ertz. Also we have added better check downs (Leonard, Reed, Jackson, Franklin) for Sanchez that can actually catch giving us a chance for consistent positive yardage. So if we wind up in second and long we can at least get to third and short upping our chances to convert first downs. If we can get one or two first downs on each drive our defense should be much better. We lack true explosive down field weapons, but try to pin point match ups such as Kerley on a Safety or get one of our new young tight ends on the seam. Also, we can attack the outside a bit with curls and outs with our size advantage at the receiver position.

DE:

Muhammad Wilkerson 1.9

Quentin Coples 2

Mike Devito 2.5

Margus Hunt .6

7 mil

Margus Hunt is an intriguing prospect, we have the ends of the future but is always good to rotate people in. Hunt is discuss champ from Estonia that started playing football three years ago so he is an athletic freak and has shown by becoming a world class athlete in another arena that he has a good amount of determination. On top of that he blocked 17 kicks in college and immediately can be used on special teams while he learns but can immediately be used on the goal line too. As for Devito, we need to try to work him for a hometown discount. Having a working man player like him is always an advantage and he can rotate all over the line if needed as well as help stop the run.

DT:

Kenrick Ellis .7

Damon Harrison .5

1.2 mil

It is what it is with this position. Cutting Pouha is what needs to be done to help with the cap and his injuries have caught up with him as well. This is not our strongest position but can help be masked by Wilkerson and Coples continued progress on the line

OLB:

Dion Jordan 2

Garrett McIntyre .6

Bryan Thomas 1

3.6 mil

Bryan Thomas is strictly there for depth, and we need to look at camp cuts to upgrade this position but Rex is a defensive coach and needs to get production out of these players. Also if a free agent at good price is available we can look at that too. Dion Jordan should be our first pick. If you watch him his motor is non stop. He is so athletic that Oregon actually had him cover slot receivers some times. He really can be something special and has an array of pass rush moves already. All he needs to do is get a bit stronger but he is still growing into his frame. With the 10th pick it should be him without question. This guy never gives up on a play and is athletic as they come. He is an immediate starter from day one and will give us some serious pass rush on top of that he is not a specialist and will not have to leave the field on running downs

MLB:

David Harris 13

Demario Davis .7

Josh Mauga .6

Nick Bellore .5

14.8 mil

Try to restructure Harris’s contract. We overpaid him so it is what it is but we need him to help free up some more room so we can aquire more role players

CB:

Darrelle Revis 9

Kyle Wilson 2

Tyrann Mathieu .4

Aaron Berry .6

Ellis Lankster .7

Issaih Trufant .5

13.2 mil

Cromartie was great this year, and it is time to sell high. This year we proved we can go with one stud corner instead of two. Also, drafting Mathieu is risk but he has extreme talent and can step in on special teams right away and possibly in passing situations. As for Revis, he may want to hold out but he lost bargaining power with his injury so we may be able to push that contract off for a year.

FS:

Josh Bush .5

Jordan Kovacs .3

.8

We have to play who we drafted, Landry would be great to have back but we need to think more long term. Trial by fire for Bush, as for Kovacs he should be our last pick. He is a complete overachiever but plays with his head and may become a starter some day but until that day we keep stocking up on special teams

SS:

Yeremiah Bell 1.4

Antonio Allen .4

1.8 mil

Another position of weakness, we have to resign Bell until we are in a better position

Overall defensive analysis:

We need to watch the waiver wire for camp cuts for the safety and OLB position, but overall we have a top notch d line solidifying currently and the top cover corner coming back. We should be way more athletic and less plodding with this makeover and actually should be able to get to the passer with guys like Davis and Jordan and even to a lesser extent our defensive backs in some situations. Rex Ryan made his name as a defensive mind and will need to develop these guys quickly. McIntyre should not start, but at this point I’d take him over Calvin Pace. Also, by getting back to ball control offense our defense should be able to stay fresh and since we are much younger we will be way more active.

K/P/LS:

Nick Folk .7

Robert Malone .6

Tanner Pardum .6

1.9 mil

Overall Special Teams Analysis: They weren’t awful and weren’t great but we can’t afford to spend money on these positions. Our special teams used to be one of our biggest strengths especially returns. We have suffered all around on this because of a huge drop off in talent with our backups. Now we can have Kerley and Mathieu for returns, extreme height to block kicks in Wilkerson, Jordan, Hunt, and Ertz, along with Mathieu in the mix for blocking punts. With the talent we have now we can look to become a top special teams squad again.

97.9 mil + .2 already dead money + 21.3 for cuts and trades (Tim Tebow, Bart Scott, Calvin Pace, Antonio Cromartie, Santonio Holmes, Sione Pouha)

With this we are 119.4 million, and we should be able to restructure to get more money and the money we get from teams signing our cut players to fill the 2 remaining roster spots (could look at more line help, possibly resigning Landry, or incentive laden contracts for possible OLB such as Connor Barwin, or Antwan Barnes)

Draft:

Dion Jordan (Round 1) – Motor is relentless just watch him

Comparison: Jason Taylor

Zach Ertz (Round 2, Cromartie/McKnight trade) - Size and Smarts and will be a position of need

Comparison: Jason Whitten

Jordan Reed (Round 2)- another smart tight end with great athletic ability

Comparison: Aaron Hernandez

Margus Hunt (Round 3) – Could be a steal and will be able to contribute immediately on special teams

Comparison: JJ Watt

Jonathan Franklin (Round 4) – Never gives up on a play, always trying to break tackles and usually does unlike our current backfield

Comparison: Ray Rice

Spencer Long (Round 5) – solid Big 10 lineman that would add depth and will be given time to develop

Tyrann Mathieu (Round 6, Tebow trade) – if we still had Holmes/Cro/Plax/Scott and other guys with character issues then no way, but with this scenario we eliminated that so we can take a calculated risk. His upside is unreal and he is one explosive athlete

Matt Scott (Round 6) – Has heart and showed it time and again. Could wind up being a solid back up. The kind of back up that just doesn’t hold the clipboard. The kind of back up where the starter goes down and he can get them a win or two until the starter comes back. His game looks a lot like Ray Lucas’s

Jordan Kovacs (Round 7) – Another walk on who showed he belonged by earning a scholarship at Michigan. Not overly physical but extremely intelligent and instinctive. If he gets on the field he won’t make mental errors and should be able to help people get in the right positions

Compensatory Picks: being that we would not be resigning Greene, Landry, Keller, and Slauson and only signing 1 or 2 free agents we should have a compensatory pick or two. These can be used on some line help or a guy like Zac Stacy who is an underated back at Vanderbilt that ran for 1200 yards in the SEC with Vandy’s line

GM: Tom Gamble

HC: Rex Ryan – He gets one more year to get this moving, he needs to really work and develop this defense. He was brought here from Baltimore because of his defense and needs to coach these players up. The Jets D needs to create turnovers. Also, they need to put and emphasis on special teams again. With a top D and top Special teams unit, they may have hope of getting this offense into positions where it can succeed. For Rex, if no playoffs in 2013, then no job in 2014

OC: Bruce Arians – stay away from Norv Turner, Norv has zero energy and is way too relaxed. His players are never accountable, the only reason he won in Dallas was because Jimmy Johnson made sure that they were held accountable. I like Rex but Jimmy Johnson he is not. With Arians he always wins, and does have a good thing going now in Indy and probably will be in line for a HC job, but he knows if he makes the Jets O respectable then he gets a HC no matter what the next season

DC: Dennis Thurman – why not? Rex is going to really oversee this but Thurman has been in charge for a strong secondary unit for a few years now and should get a shot.

ST: Mike Westoff – The special teams was a disaster this year. Westoff was given a lot less to work with in previous years but give him some players and they will be great again.

The future beyond 2013: The only person we have after 2013 that we can’t cut without taking too much of a cap hit is Ferguson. Sanchez and if we kept Holmes can be cut without taking a huge hit. If we got rid of Holmes this year then we should be rolling into 2014 with a good amount of space. The Jets need to stop the short term thinking, and right now that thinking has put us in a really bad spot with Sanchez. Until 2014 there should be no more big contracts that can hamper us in the future unless that player is truly worth it.