New York Jets: 5 offseason needs in 2020

3. Edge Rusher

One of the most underrated aspects of Gregg Williams’ job with the Jets last year was his ability to produce a pass rush without any true elite talent in the front seven. The Jets’ best front seven player, inside linebacker C.J. Mosley, played just six quarters while Leonard Williams offered little production before being traded to the Giants.

Williams put together a unit featuring the likes of Kyle Phillips, Foley Fatukasi, and Tarell Basham, and it was capable of generating a decent push on opposing quarterbacks. The best pass rusher the Jets had, however, was Jordan Jenkins, who put up eight sacks last season.

Jenkins has a tremendous motor and can make plays in the Jets’ system, but he is best served as a complementary piece on the pass rush. The Jets haven’t had a true marquee threat off the edge since trading John Abraham to the Atlanta Falcons 14 years ago.

Finding a truly dominant pass-rusher would make things so much easier for the rest of the defense, which has talent that can thrive in more secondary roles. The Jets could opt to go for a mega-bucks signing like Jadeveon Clowney, but a more prudent course of action may be to try and dive into the secondary free-agent market.

The Green Bay Packers took this approach last year, signing Preston Smith and Za’Darius Smith to bolster their pass rush, with their combined guaranteed money coming in less than what the Jets guaranteed Mosley. Finding that value isn’t always easy, but Douglas is a proven talent evaluator, so he should be better in that regard than Maccagnan was.