After Jets owner Christopher Johnson spoke with the media on Sunday, general manager Mike Maccagnan followed suit on Monday and provided some interesting bits of information.
With the first wave of free agency in the books, most of the conversation centered around New York’s signings. Maccagnan also discussed incumbent personnel and plans for the upcoming NFL draft.
Maccagnan didn’t speak for long, but his words were insightful and provided a glimpse of what could be to come over the next couple of months. With that being said, here are four takeaways from Maccagnan’s comments.
Trading down in the draft a realistic possibility
Currently in possession of the No. 3 overall pick in the 2019 NFL draft, the Jets are in a position to land an instant-impact player. That hasn’t stopped Maccagnan from exploring from moving down in the pecking order, though.
Although no concrete offers have been presented to date, Maccagnan said the Jets are “very open” to trading back in the draft. Doing this would allow the Jets to stockpile picks in a year New York is thin on draft capital and possibly recover the second-round selection that it sent to the Indianapolis Colts in the trade to move up from No. 6 to No. 3 a year ago. Maccagnan also ruled out the possibility of trading up in this year’s draft.
As draft season begins to heat up, it’s safe to assume the Jets will field a handful of offers for their first-round pick. Should Maccagnan find an offer to his liking, Trader Mike will be back in action.
Darron Lee’s future with the Jets uncertain
When the Jets signed C.J. Mosley to a massive five-year, $85 million contract on the second day of free agency, Darron Lee’s future with New York was thrown into flux.
With Mosley in the mix, there is no longer a need for the former first-round pick. When asked about Lee on Monday, Maccagnan was non-committal to his future with the organization and declined to say if he will try to trade the Ohio State product.
“I think that will work itself out over time,” Maccagnan said. “Right now, we feel very good about our inside linebacker position. It just gives us a lot of pieces there right now and we’ll figure it out as we go forward.”
At this point, it seems like it is only a matter of time before Lee is out the door. Maccagnan’s comments did nothing to show otherwise.
Maccagnan confident in Jonotthan Harrison
After the Jets released Spencer Long in February, it was assumed that New York would go out and sign one of the top players at the position in free agency.
That wound up not being the case, as Matt Paradis signed with the Carolina Panthers and Mitch Morse signed with the Buffalo Bills. As it turns out, a free agent acquisition was not necessary in Maccagnan’s eyes. He believes the answer could already be on the roster in Jonotthan Harrison.
Harrison’s play at the end of last season was impressive, but he has spent the duration of his career primarily as a backup and it remains to be seen how he would fare as a full-time starter. Assuming Maccagnan stands pat and rolls with Harrison, that question will be answered sooner rather than later.
Maccagnan makes the right call backing out of Za’Darius Smith sweepstakes
For years, New York has lacked an elite pass rusher on its roster. This offseason, the Jets came close to landing one, but Maccagnan made the smart decision to back out when the asking price became too high.
Fresh off a breakout season with the Baltimore Ravens, Za’Darius Smith was seeking top dollar. The Jets were initially involved in the bidding, but Maccagnan ended his pursuit once he determined the price wasn’t right.
Smith is a good player, but not worth the four-year, $66 million deal he got from the Green Bay Packers after only one standout season. New York still has a need coming off the edge, but Maccagnan made the right call by not overpaying for one here.
