The Jets’ secondary could get a major facelift this offseason.
Not only could Joe Douglas find two new starting safeties, but multiple reports indicate the Jets want a true No. 1 cornerback.
The Daily News’ D.J. Bien-Aime II recently told the Badlands podcast that the team wants to acquire a lockdown cornerback this offseason, either in free agency, the draft or via the trade block. Bien-Aime added that teams targeted second-year CB Bryce Hall, New York’s No. 1 corner in 2021, because of his lacking ball skills.
Hall’s lone career interception came in 2020.
That aligns with what The Athletic’s Connor Hughes reported as well. Hughes said the Jets like the trio of Hall, Brandin Echols and Isaiah Dunn on the outside but don’t view any of them as ball-hawking, No. 1 cornerbacks. Echols finished the 2021 campaign with two interceptions, but he and Dunn were both suspect in coverage at times during their rookie seasons.
There are a lot of different avenues the Jets could go down if they truly want to add a shutdown cornerback. A few big names will likely hit the open market – some of which the Jets should and shouldn’t target – as well as some intriguing options early in the draft. The Jets could easily use the fourth or 10th pick on a cornerback such as LSU’s Derek Stingley Jr., Cincinnati’s Ahmad Gardner or Washington’s Trent McDuffie. They could also throw a lot of money at veterans like J.C. Jackson or Stephon Gilmore.
Either way, there’s no shortage of options for Douglas and Robert Saleh as they try to bolster one of the weakest units on the Jets’ defense. New York allowed the fourth-highest completion percentage, the third-most passing yards and tied for the second-fewest interceptions in 2021.
