The Jets are looking at three free agent safeties, LaRon Landry of Washington, Reggie Nelson of Cincinnati, and Brandon Meriweather of Chicago.
If you like Eric Smith, you will love Meriweather. He is pretty much a faster version of Smith. He hits hard but is undisciplined, takes bad angles, is poor in coverage, and has poor instincts. He gets way too much hype due to a pair of undeserved Pro Bowl appearances. He pretty much gets publicity because the Patriots took him in the first round. The cherry on top is that he was reportedly cut from the Pats last year for freelancing instead of doing his assignment.
I would like Nelson and Landry better. If the Jets could land both, they would have the makings of a really good safety combo with a pair of rangy guys. That might be a bit much to ask relative to the salary cap, though. Landry scares me because he reportedly has defied doctors' orders by not getting surgery on a chronic Achilles injury.
I think Nelson paired with Jim Leonhard would be passable if the Jets went in that direction.