Stealing from the AFC East

Edition #646

Good morning! ☕

Welcome to the weekend. I’m off to London town on Sunday to watch the resurging Mets. Can I say they’re resurging if they’re 27-35 but have won 5 of 7? Who knows, but I’m going to enjoy the occasion. It’ll be the first time I’ve seen the Mets live and I better see some runs.

I saw a comment on Twitter yesterday asking Jets fans who they would select if they could take one player from each AFC East side to join the team, and I thought that would be a good discussion point for an off-season Friday edition of TJW.

🟢 PFF outlined the best defensive linemen by alignment and while Quinnen didn’t come out on top in any of them, he did make an appearance as an honourable mention in both the 2-tech, 2I-tech, 3-tech list and the 4-tech, 4I-tech and 5-tech. Jalen Carter in Philadelphia was top of the first list and Aaron Donald was top of the 2nd list. Here is a diagram they shared to explain those techniques and where they align.

⚪ They also ran an article around the best draft picks at each selection over the last decade and Sauce Gardner was named the best #4 pick since 2015, and I’m sure you can probably go back a lot further than that when all is said and done. “Though Gardner hasn't been in the NFL for long, it’s hard to argue with his success. In just two seasons, he is already recognized as one of the best cornerbacks in the league, if not the best. His unique movement skills at his size have allowed him to record back-to-back elite coverage grades of 90.0 and 90.8. Lane Johnson would have been the pick here, but he was outside the parameters as a 2013 draftee.” Garrett Wilson didn’t have a shot considering he was picked 10th, the same slot as Patrick Mahomes.

🟢 They also listed the 32 best guards heading into the 2024 season, and neither Simpson or Alijah Vera-Tucker made the list. Chris Lindstrom with the Falcons came in at #1 with Joe Thuney at #2 (remember we tried to sign Thuney). The highest rated guard in the AFC East was Connor McGovern (the other one) over in Buffalo who came in at #25. Cole Strange in New England was the only other AFC East guard to make the cut.

⚪ Man PFF pump out the content. They also listed the 10 best quarterback-wide receiver pairings in football heading into the new season and Aaron Rodgers to Garrett Wilson came in at #10, which is interesting considering he’s never completed an NFL pass to Garrett “This connection is still very much theoretical, with Aaron Rodgers lasting just four snaps last season before his Achilles tendon ruptured and ended any hopes we had of seeing what the duo could produce. Despite that, Rodgers and Wilson seem to have been able to develop an instant rapport in training camp and preseason in a way Rodgers hasn’t always been able to, even with elite receivers. Wilson is a complete player who is not only a great route runner or outstanding after the catch, but he also understands leverage and coverages and so can be on the same page as Rodgers to earn his trust. We could construct a similar theoretical case for several new teammates, but this one we at least have glimpses of training camp and preseason to work from.

🟢 Olu Fashanu took the time to visit the Atlantic Health Systems Goryeb Children’s hospital in Morristown, taking the time to spend time with the kids, sign autographs and take some pictures. You can’t underestimate how much this means to those kids and how much of an impact it can have on their day. This is awesome to see from the Jets first round pick.

⚪ Tyler Conklin had a good year last year, but he’s looking to take the next step with #8 behind centre: "I really can take another big step in my career," Conklin said. "Having Aaron [Rodgers] obviously is going to be helpful. That's the fun part about the offseason. It's my favorite part of the year besides actually playing the games. To go in there and be able to craft and become the best me possible when nobody is looking, I'm excited to do that. After we get through OTA's and get our little break, then we come back and show you guys what's getting crafted."

🟢 Keith Carter has been talking about the impact Tyron Smith is making: "The leadership you get from him, just how hard he works for somebody who's been doing it at his level for so long is invaluable," Carter said of Smith. "And then you take these young tackles we have and he can teach them things I can't, honestly. It is an unbelievable opportunity for those young tackles to learn from him."

⚪ Carter is not the only one impressed with Smith, Brian Baldinger had this to say "Two things about Tyron, ever since he came out of USC, is he has no clock in his head about how long the quarterback was holding the ball," Baldinger told Eric Allen on an OTA edition of "The Official Jets Podcast." "He'll block. He'll never give up. And once he gets his grip on you – he never lets go, his ability to grip, grab, he doesn't get a lot of holding calls. He doesn't lose. Once he gets his grip on you, the play's over and he'll hold that for as long as it takes the quarterback to get rid of the ball. Those are the staples in Tyron's game and always have been.

🟢 Tony Adams will be going into his second year as a starter (presumed) and he thinks the Jets defence can be special: "We definitely think we're special, I think we know that," he said. "I think we're jelling, and when the right time comes we're going to be hitting on all cylinders. We're like a big old family. This is our third year together, the fourth year this defense has been here, so I think everything is going to be hitting on the right cylinders at the right time. So I'm looking forward to it."

⚪ Rich Eisen has some bold and positive predictions for the Jets this season: "Aaron Rodgers becomes the first player in NFL history to win Comeback of the Year, Most Valuable Player of the regular season and Most Valuable Player of the Super Bowl in the same season. And just to put the cherry on top: Breece Hall is Offensive Player of the Year to boot. He shows and shows out and he becomes the Christian McCaffrey, if you will, of the Jets. And nobody gets fired."

🟢 The Jets officially released Edge Tyreek Johnson yesterday, a UDFA out of South Carolina who signed with the team in May. Johnson had limited production in college managing just 2.5 sacks over his entire career and played just 486 snaps according to PFF. Wish him the best of luck, it seems the Jets took a chance on his athletic traits as he tested very highly for speed and explosion, but have decided to move on.

Who in the AFC East could arrive in NY and make the team significantly better? That was the question yesterday as I starting thinking about today’s newsletter.

If we are just talking football talent and not having to deal with all the BS then an obvious choice for me would be to take Tyreek Hill from the Dolphins, not only because his speed paired with the class of Garrett and physicality of Mike Williams would make this team near impossible to defend, but also because without Tyreek I just don’t find the Dolphins a scary proposition under Tua.

But I just can’t bring myself to add Tyreek considering his multiple legal issues. I mean I avoid him in fantasy football which I don’t really care about, so I certainly would find it hard to root for him on the field. So while his talent is undeniable, I’ve avoided him like the plague.

So here are my three picks for the players in the AFC East I’d bring over to NY.