Will the Saints go marching into NY?
With the news Sean Payton is stepping away, what does that mean for the New Orleans?
Good morning Jets fans and welcome to Wednesday’s edition of TJW. I’ve not been feeling too sharp over the last few days, so instead of a detailed breakdown of one topic, I thought I’d just quick-fire my thoughts on a few things doing the rounds on Jets Twitter at the moment.
Payton is out!
It had been rumored for a while, but today the news came that Sean Payton is stepping away from the Saints. First Brees retired and now Payton, things are going to look very different for New Orleans next year.
What does this have to do with the Jets?
Well on the face of it, not a lot. But what the Saints do next could impact the Jets. If New Orleans decides to go into rebuild mode, it’s unlikely they’ll be looking to pay a safety like Marcus Williams the $14+ million per year to go through said rebuild. The Jets certainly could have some interest. Maybe Marshon Lattimore becomes available? Maybe the Jets take a swing at defensive end Marcus Davenport? Maybe the Jets gamble on Michael Thomas returning to full health?
We all know the Jets need help at safety and Williams is set to be one of the best if not the best safety on the market when the new league year rolls around in March. The Jets have an abundance of draft picks, so maybe they test the water to see what New Orleans would take for Davenport, a man coming off a 9 sack season who’s about to head into the final year of his rookie contract.
All of this needs to be seen in the context of the Saints cap situation. New Orleans is currently projected to be $70 million over the cap next season, so whether they like it or not they will need to make tough decisions on some of their personnel. I’d be willing to bet that guys like Williams and Lattimore may not return.
Keep an eye on this situation, the Saints could believe they’re just a QB away and keep their core intact, or they could blow it up and start from scratch. Nobody knows, but the Jets should and probably would have interest in a couple of Saints.
Jevon Cottoy
The Jets are searching hard for some answers and leaving no stone unturned in that quest. Cottoy wasn’t a name I was familiar with, but I did some research and found an interesting nugget.
During the COVID pandemic, the CFL canceled their 2020 season and as a result, Cottoy decided to terminate his contract with the BC Lions. He attended a workout with the San Francisco 49’ers before opting back into the BC Lions for the 2021 season.
Now that tryout was in June 2021, so after Robert Saleh and Mike LaFleur left San Francisco for New York, but considering the ties we hold with them I’m not surprised to see him flash up as an off-season workout with the Jets.
As Tom Pelissero mentioned, Cottey had 39 catches for 519 yards and 3 TD’s last season, which was an improvement on his rookie campaign where he caught 38 balls for 386 yards and 1 TD.
Cottey had 39 catches for 657 yards and eight touchdowns for the Langley Rams in the 2018 regular season before adding 25 catches for 645 yards in just 4 playoff games. Now the Junior Canadian Football League which the Rams are a part of is a long way from NFL competition, but that’s impressive.
As of writing, there was no mention of him signing.
Senior Bowl Changes
The senior bowl rosters were distributed to the media yesterday and there were a few key names missing. Utah linebacker Devin Lloyd, Penn State receiver Jahan Dotson, Michigan running back Hassan Haskins and Iowa State linebacker Mike Rose were all missing.
Unfortunately, this does happen nearly every year. Players accept their invitations and then either suffer injuries that prevent them from competing or get advice that it’s in their best interest to not perform and protect their draft status and protect against a possible injury.
I don’t think we’ll know for sure what happened with these players until Jim Nagy gives his press conference to kick off senior bowl week.
It’s a shame for the Jets to miss out on coaching two big names there in Lloyd and Dotson, but maybe that opens up an opportunity for someone else to steal the limelight. Remember Mark Gastineau was only added to the 1979 Senior Bowl as a late injury replacement, the Jets fell in love with him there and the rest is history.
Will Kayvon be in play?
For a long time it was largely accepted in draft circles that Kayvon Thibodeaux was the #1 overall pick in the 2022 draft. I don’t think his buzz is as strong as Alabama’s Will Anderson for next year, but go back 12 months, and most thought Kayvon would go #1.
Jacksonville hold that #1 pick and the accepted wisdom is that when you have a rookie QB you do your best to protect him. The Jets took Becton in 2020 before taking Wilson, but then followed that selection with AVT.
Detroit then holds the #2 pick and Hutchinson is appealing for a team looking for an identity, who better than the local hero from Michigan. Then it all comes down to Houston.
Daniel Jeremiah in his latest mock draft has the Texans taking Kyle Hamilton and I wouldn’t be shocked if they did that, which means Kayvon would be there for the taking if the Jets were inclined.
The thought of Carl Lawson and Kayvon Thibodeaux coming off the edge for the Jets is mouthwatering. If the Oregon man is there when you’re on the clock, you take him no questions asked.
Should the Jets Trade for D.K Metcalf?
Trading for a wide receiver seems to be a very popular topic of conversation with Jets fans so far this January. First, it was the Falcons Calvin Ridley, then the Cowboys Amari Cooper, and now Seattle’s D.K Metcalf.
On the face of it, D.K Metcalf would be a fine addition. He’s had at least 900 yards and 7 touchdowns in each of his three seasons in the league, topping out at 1303 yards in 2020 and 12 touchdowns in 2021. He’s a big 6’4 and 235lb receiver on the outside, and he’s only just turned 24.
Before we get into the positives of a trade, there are a couple of things worth mentioning. Metcalf is not a contested-catch receiver. He’s come down with 48.1% of his contested catches over his career, which means he loses more than he wins. He was also at 36.4% in 2021, which was 29th in the league out of 34 receivers who qualified (50% minimum target requirement).
While he improved his drop rate down to 5.1% this year, he has been over 10% for his two other years in the league. He’s also not a premier yards after the catch receiver, his 4.3 yards after the catch per reception is 17th in the league (50% minimum target requirements), and as you now the Mike LaFleur system loves yards after catch.
But…D.K Metcalf would actually make sense for the Jets because he’s a better and younger version of Corey Davis.
If you trade for Metcalf it’s going to cost a 1st round pick, plus some, but if you’re going to spend that first-round pick on a receiver anyway, you may as well get the proven NFL commodity over a risky rookie, but if you do that you need to be willing to pay the money to keep Metcalf long term and as he’s coming into his 4th year, any trade that involves a first-round pick would be predicated on him signing an extension with his new team.
The Jets gave Corey Davis a 3 year $37.5 million deal, but only guaranteed the first two, meaning the Jets can get out of that contract at the end of 2022 with minimum dead cap space.
At the end of the day I think Seattle would be silly to deal Metcalf, the only reason they should consider it is if they don’t want to pay him the $20+ million/year it’s going to take to keep him on the roster, but why wouldn’t you? I don’t think Seattle deal Metcalf.