The Jets currently have Brian Winters as their starting right guard, but Joe Douglas could easily look for his replacement this offseason following another injury-plagued year. Cutting Winters would save the Jets $7.28 million this offseason, money that could be used at multiple positions or for a more consistent and durable lineman.
The market for right guards is incredibly top-heavy this offseason. There are really only two players who will command big contracts, and they’re really the only ones worth the money to upgrade over Winters. If the Jets aren’t willing to grab either of the top two right guards, they can keep Winters, downgrade for a cheaper player, trade for a replacement or look to the draft.
Here are the top five right guards in free agency the Jets should consider.
Brandon Scherff
The Jets need a mauler up front and Scherff provides that both in run-blocking and pass protection. He finished 28th in pass-blocking and was top-six in run-blocking in gap and zone protections. Scherff is consistent with his ability, grading out between 75.0 and 81.4 in four out of five of his NFL seasons and at least 70.0 in all five.
When’s he’s healthy, Scherff is one of the best right guards in the league. That’s a big “if,” though, as Scherff hasn’t played a full season since 2016 and missed 13 games over the past two seasons with various injuries. Despite his injury history, his age and size – 28, 6-foot-5, 351 pounds – as well as his production make him arguably the best right guard on the market. His value is around $12.4 million per year, according to Spotrac.
Graham Glasgow
Glasgow isn’t far behind Scherff in terms of ability after his first year at right guard with the Lions in 2019. He finished with the eighth-best PFF grade among 28 guards and didn’t allow a single sack at the age of 27.
The beauty of Glasgow is in his versatility. The Lions drafted him as a center in 2016, but he’s spent time at both guard positions as well. He has 58 starts under his belt, including 32 at center before taking over as the starting right guard for the entire 2019 season. If the Jets aren’t able to secure a center in free agency or the draft, Glasgow could fill in at his old position and likely won’t cost as much as Scherff might.
B.J. Finney
Finney is backup lineman for the Steelers who’s played both guard positions and center throughout his four-year career in Pittsburgh. He started four games this season, most notably at center after Maurkice Pouncey missed two games following a suspension for fighting Myles Garrett in Week 11, and two at right guard for an injured David DeCastro in 2018.
At 28, Finney isn’t a household name who will command a large payday, but he could be a solid lineman for the Jets if Joe Douglas doesn’t believe his current players are up to snuff.
Michael Schofield III
Schofield is another veteran who would be a solid fallback for the Jets in free agency. The Jets would be signing him for his experience, considering he’s started the last 32 games for the Chargers at right guard and has 66 career starts under his belt.
The Chargers didn’t have the best offensive line in 2019, but they did give Philip Rivers enough time to finish sixth in passing yards and allowed the combination of Melvin Gordon and Austin Ekeler to rush for 1,169 yards. The line also allowed the 10th-fewest sacks, third-fewest blitzes and second-fewest hurries in the league.
Want to read about more potential free agent targets for the Jets? We’ll be breaking them down position by position as we approach free agency:
