Priority Five

Edition #1027: Before we get to free agency, it's time we look at the players we need to prioritise before the new league year even begins.

Good Morning ☕

24, that’s how many unrestricted free agents the Jets have this off-season. In comparison New England have just 6. When you add the 3 restricted rights free agents and the 3 exclusive rights free agents, it gives you a nice round number of 30 players who could potentially be playing elsewhere next season.

That’s a very high number, bad if you’re a 13-4 team but good if like the Jets you’re a 3-14 team.

When Mougey took over last year, his first foray into free agency was a measured one. He had some hits (Brandon Stephens) and some misses (Justin Fields). But of the 16 free agents that were signed, they were the only two to receive more than one year on their deal.

In total Mougey handed out around $73 million in total guarantees across all the free agents he signed. In short, it was a reset year, we knew it, he knew it and the deals reflected that. Consider that Milton Williams received $51 million in guarantees from the Patriots, a good benchmark.

He will have to pay for his predecessors sins by carrying the biggest dead cap hit in the NFL next season ($75.6 million), but the Jets have room to manoeuvre.

Before we get to the deep dives in potential targets, the first call of business is deciding who to prioritise keeping.

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NEWS & NOTES

• The Jets are hiring Bill Musgrave as their QB coach. We’ll have a lot more on Bill tomorrow, but for today it’s good to know that he has nearly 30 years of coaching experience, mainly with QBs. So between him and Frank Reich, we certainly won’t be lacking for experience in the offensive coaches room. He does also have a very good history with Derek Carr as I mentioned yesterday and I can see that possibility picking up steam over the coming weeks with Kirk Cousins looking likely to return to Minnesota.

• PFF believe the best landing spot for George Pickens is here with the Jets. Despite rumours that the Cowboys will tag him if they can’t sign him: “Not many teams have both the necessary cap space and draft capital to make the potential move. However, one team that does fit the bill is the New York Jets, who possess nine combined draft picks in Rounds 1-3 over the next two drafts and hold the fourth-most cap space ($83.2 million) entering the offseason. Not to mention, the two franchises have a working relationship following the trade that sent Quinnen Williams from New York to Dallas at the deadline. While there isn’t yet clarity on the Jets’ plans at quarterback, the notion of combining Pickens with Garrett Wilson is enticing.”

• ESPN’s Ben Solak believes the Jets could run things back with Justin Fields and Tyrod Taylor: “I don’t think it would be egregious for the Jets to enter next season with a QB room of Justin Fields, Tyrod Taylor and (insert middle-round rookie here). Fields was frustratingly cautious for the Jets last season, but most of the free agent options aren’t much better than him or Taylor. The Jets do have plenty of money to acquire either Tua Tagovailoa or Kyler Murray. Given the Jets’ intradivisional familiarity with Tagovailoa’s game, I’d be surprised if they go that direction (though, with Frank Reich calling the offense, the RPO game would work well). Murray seems like a more realistic option. GM Darren Mougey is a patient team manager, but he was also present for the Russell Wilson fiasco in Denver, and he knows how badly the Cardinals want to get out of the Murray contract. The Jets have a ton of first-round picks incoming and don’t need to hold on to their third- or fourth-rounders as preciously as other teams.”

  If I had to guess where Murray ends up next season, this would be my spot.

• The Athletic released their latest mock draft, this time a three round one. Here’s how it looks for the Jets:

  • #2 Arvell Reese: The Jets need to be in “best player available” mode until further notice. In no way is this team ready to put the franchise on the back of a rookie quarterback, at least not without first providing him more help. New York could take a QB this year, just perhaps not this early.

  • #16 Caleb Lomu: Utah’s other big, athletic tackle prospect, Lomu plays with extremely quick hands and feet. Like Fano, he can be an asset in the stretch or screen games. He’s also athletic enough to play multiple spots up front, if need be.

    • EN: I would absolutely hate this pick

  • #33 Trinidad Chambliss: Plenty have asked why Chambliss, a legit NFL Draft prospect for 2026, fought the NCAA so hard for another year of college eligibility. Part of the answer: because he’s good enough that he potentially could have been in the 2027 draft’s QB1 mix. He might not be ready just yet, but the team that takes him will be hoping he becomes this year’s Jaxson Dart.

  • #44 - Keith Abney II

• Zack Rosenblatt - “From what I’ve been told, they are going to actively try to bring in guys who know what Aaron Glenn is about.”

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PRIORITY FIVE

Here’s a short breakdown of the pending free agents. For the sake of today I’m not going to touch the RFA and EFRA players because those are more controllable

Unrestricted Free Agents

Offense: Tyrod Taylor (QB), John Simpson (OG), Alijah Vera-Tucker (OG), Josh Reynolds (WR), Breece Hall (RB), Kene Nwangwu (KR), Stone Smartt (TE), Jelani Woods (TE), Chukwuma Okorafor (OT), Andrew Beck (FB), Tyler Johnson (WR), Khalil Herbert (RB), Max Mitchell (OT)

Defense: Andre Cisco (S), Quincy Williams (LB) Tony Adams (S), Isaiah Oliver (DB), Kris Boyd (CB), Khalen Saunders (DT), Jay Tufele (DT), Michael Clemons (DE), Ja’sir Taylor (CB), Mykal Walker (LB),

Special Teams: Nick Folk (K)

Restricted Free Agents

John Metchie (WR), Cam Jones (LB), Xavier Newman-Johnson (OG)

Exclusive Rights Free Agents

Hendon Hooker (QB), Marcelino McCrary-Ball (LB), Jowon Briggs (DT)

That’s a lot of names, but when you really filter through them all, there aren’t that many that you’d be sad to say goodbye to. It’s what happens when you’ve just struggled through a 3-14 season where you looked overmatched consistently. But there is talent in there.

So here are the five names that I would prioritise from that UDFA list if I were Darren Mougey.