Pro Football Focus annually takes a forecasted look at every NFL team’s salary cap during the offseason. The football analytics outlet will rank teams head-to-head in terms of how their salary cap could look over the next three years.
The New York Jets and general manager Joe Douglas are sitting pretty. Overall, PFF has Gang Green in the sixth spot.
A lot of that has to come down to youth.
While the Jets have spent in free agency, PFF says they’ve done so smartly. New York hands out money, but spreads it out.
And the Jets have a bit of a salary cap’s “best friend” going for them: Plenty of rookie contracts. Such deals are not heavy on a cap, which always helps.
Check out PFF’s full analysis on the Jets’ salary cap healthy below:
The Jets trail only their co-tenant (Giants) when it comes to active draft capital, making three first-round selections in this year’s draft after adding two first-rounders in 2021. Over the last two drafts, they’ve made seven selections in the top 36 picks — a good way to add premium talent.
General manager Joe Douglas was once again active in free agency without splurging on one particular player, solidifying the offensive line with the addition of guard Laken Tomlinson — who is familiar with the coaching staff from their time together in San Francisco. The Jets also turned a major weakness at the tight end spot into a formidable trio of C.J. Uzomah, Tyler Conklin and rookie Jeremy Ruckert. On defense, the additions of cornerback D.J. Reed and safety Jordan Whitehead were calculated expenditures that should dramatically improve a poor secondary.
We’ve praised the roster construction approach on a macro- and micro-level the last few years, and for good reason, but even in a vaunted AFC conference, it’s time for this Jets team to legitimately expect to be in every game it plays, even if it doesn’t win a ton of them.
