For Jets general manager Mike Maccagnan, offering speedy wide receiver Robby Anderson the second-round tender as was reported on Thursday was the easy call.
Anderson is a restricted free agent, which means the Jets are only on the hook for $3.1 million should he accept. If Anderson opts to sign an offer sheet from another team, the Jets will have the right to either match or receive a second-round draft pick as compensation.
I must be missing something because the consensus among football experts in the media indicates that such a competing offer sheet is unlikely. I get that Anderson has maturity issues, on and off the field. He is prone to tantrums, a lousy look in a team sport. The more serious transgressions, of course, arose from his two arrests less than a year apart starting with a May 2017 incident with a police officer. Those charges were dismissed, while the reckless driving charges from a January 2018 arrest were downgraded to a misdemeanor.
Of course, this is the NFL, where executives can forgive running back Kareem Hunt for far more serious conduct in a few months because of what he can do with the ball in his hands, the same hands that got him in trouble in the first place.
Jets Apply Second-Round Tender To Robby Anderson
His behavior notwithstanding, Anderson's ability to get behind defenses could easily make him a desirable target for many teams in an offseason where the receiver free agent pool isn't very deep. Per ProFootballFocus.com, Anderson's 267 deep receiving yards last season ranked 25th in the league. And that was while he was battling ankle woes for a good part of the season and going through the arduous process of developing a bond with a rookie quarterback, Sam Darnold. In the season's final four games with a better-prepared Darnold under center, Anderson caught 23 passes for 336 yards and three touchdowns. Extrapolate that over a full season. A similar pattern occurred in 2017, when Anderson was a dominant deep threat in the first 12 games with veteran Josh McCown at quarterback but a limited player when Bryce Petty took over.
I'd make the case that Anderson is currently the Jets' second-most important offensive player, after Darnold. In the two games Anderson missed, the Jets' attack was anemic, producing a combined 20 points. There's just no one else on this roster with the ability to beat coverages by simply running into the open.
The Jets likely won't find another one in the free agent market either. The most prominent free agent receiver associated with the Jets by a respected media member (depending on how you feel about the Daily News' Manish Mehta) is Jacksonville's Donte Moncrief, who caught 48 passes in 16 games last season. He would make a fine addition--heck, the Jets just need bodies who can catch the ball at this point--but not as a substitute for Anderson.
Maybe Anderson is just more valuable to the Jets than he would be in other programs, but giving up only a second-round pick for him, particularly if it's a late one from a good team, seems like a steal. Think about the last two Jets receivers taken in second rounds--Devin Smith (2015) and Stephen Hill (2012). Anderson, an undrafted free agent, turned out to be the far superior player.
The Jets do have the salary cap space--nearly $100 million--to match a major offer. The question then will be whether Maccagnan has the stomach for it.
Citak: Nick Foles, Teddy Bridgewater Lead Free Agent QB Class
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The most intriguing news to me that emanated from the Jets press conferences at the NFL Scouting Combine was the confirmation from new head coach Adam Gase that the team will not be altering its 3-4 defensive alignment.
I'm not a fan of that decision.
I get that many of the incumbents have become acclimated to the 3-4 under previous coach Todd Bowles. But--and this would ideally be written in all caps--they really weren't all that good at it. Maybe if the Jets had a top-ten defense, you go with the "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" plan. However, Gang Green surrendered 441 points last season, the fourth-most in the league.
Defensive coordinator Gregg Williams was supposedly brought in to change the mentality. I'm sure the plan was also to change a lot of the personnel. If someone like defensive end Henry Anderson, who had a fine season, has to be sacrificed, so be it. Would Leonard Williams really be less impactful as a 4-3 defensive tackle than he's been as a 3-4 end? Which of the Jets lousy linebackers has been so dominant that a scheme switch would drastically reduce their productivity?
Jets GM Maccagnan Open To Trading Down In Draft
The few times I've seen New England quarterback Tom Brady have difficulties, it was usually when he faced four-man rushes, with big pushes up the middle, and disguised coverages from the deep seven. Teams with 3-4 zone blitzes like Pittsburgh have generally been far less successful.
Normally, it's considered good coaching when you design a system around your players. In the Jets' case, I would rather they change the bad players to fit a better system.
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