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As a fan, you’re naturally going to want to hear all the top free-agent names linked to your team as the offseason begins but the fact of the matter is, no franchise is going to go big with every signing in a cap sport.
In the NFL, it’s those bargain additions that turn bad organizations into good ones and good organizations into great ones. The New York Jets will probably make at least one or two splashy acquisitions this spring but they’ll make far more under-the-radar moves.
If GM Joe Douglas can hit on these smaller transactions, Gang Green can make a bit of a leap in 2022.
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Replacing Mims With Sims?
In a recent article on Fan Nation’s “Jets Country,” Sports Illustrated contributor Blake Pace suggested this type of signing at wide receiver with Washington Commanders vertical threat Cam Sims. He wrote:
[Los Angeles] Chargers’ receiver Mike Williams will get all the love this offseason as the No. 1 option for a target of this stature but, given his price tag and shaky injury history, the Jets would probably feel more comfortable trying to mold someone into a smaller version of his role at a fraction of the cost.
The 6-foot-5 Alabama product went undrafted out of college in 2018 but really burst onto the scene in 2020 with 477 receiving yards and a touchdown in a rotational role. He did not get on the field as much in 2021 and has not benefited from great quarterback play in Washington, but Sims still has three career touchdowns and 30 career first downs.
The closest receiver the Jets currently have to Sims — or Williams if they go the expensive route — is probably Denzel Mims, whose prestige diminishes by the day in New York.
Pace described Sims as a wide-out that “can high point the football over small defenders and still has the speed to burn the occasional defender down the field.” Watch him “Moss” Pro Bowl cornerback Trevon Diggs in 2021.
Over the Cap projected the Commanders free agent at a $2.133 million average per year [APY] on the open market, which is the exact amount he made last year to remain with Washington.
The Jets could easily stick with Mims and scrap this idea altogether but if the coaching staff does decide to part ways with the 2020 second-round pick, Sims would be an affordable replacement that can back up Corey Davis. I mean, the names even rhyme with one another.
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Why Not Target Mike Williams?
You might be thinking — the Jets have the money, why not go after the big fish in Williams?
I’m not saying it won’t happen, but there are a few reasons why a Williams signing is improbable. For starters, the Chargers might extend or franchise tag him before the start of free agency.
LAC quarterback Justin Herbert publicly supported bringing Williams back in an exclusive interview with Jeff Kerr of CBS Sports. It’s not groundbreaking for a signal-caller to want one of his top wide receivers to re-sign but I get the feeling that’s much more likely than him ending up in New York.
Two — fans have speculated on whether offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur is targeting a player with the skill set of Williams or rookie Treylon Burks out of Arkansas. We’ve heard many times that Mims’ game doesn’t fit LaFleur’s system and while that is still up for debate, the offense definitely relies on lateral speed and route-running more than vertical threats.
If you can get a Sims-type on the cheap, it might be worth it to add that sort of diversity to this WR room but would Douglas really sacrifice a pricey sort of cap space or draft capital on a guy that ‘might’ fit the system?
That’s a question for LaFleur and the answer is probably outside of all of our pay grades. The final reason was mentioned by Pace — “shaky injury history.”
If NFL achievement was based on injuries, not Super Bowls, the Jets would be the New England Patriots of unavailability. This deterrent is somewhat overblown for Williams though. The Chargers wide-out has not suffered a major injury since his rookie campaign in 2017 but he does have a history of minor ailments that he’s had to fight through over the years.
Those battle scars could be leading to another larger injury down the line and knowing the Jets’ luck, why take the chance when there are other options out there that are better fits?
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