The Jets struggled at multiple positions in 2019, but no unit was worse than New York’s cornerbacks.
Aside from Brian Poole, who is set to hit free agency, the Jets got little to no production out of their corners throughout the season. Trumaine Johnson and Darryl Roberts were downright awful. Bless Austin showed some flashes of potential in his rookie year, but found himself benched by season’s end. Arthur Maulet and Maurice Canady had their moments, but are not exactly proven starters that New York can rely on entering 2020.
Fortunately for Joe Douglas and the Jets, there are plenty of solid free agent cornerbacks available this offseason. Which ones should New York target? Let’s take a look.
Chris Harris
Although he is getting up there in age, Harris remains one of football’s upper echelon cornerbacks. Opposing quarterbacks seldom threw at the 31-year-old in 2019 as Harris anchored a Broncos secondary that ranked just outside the top 20 in passing yards allowed per game.
Harris is by far the best cornerback on this year’s free agent market. However, he is on the wrong side of 30 and will be worth around $11 million per year, according to Spotrac. The Jets have been burned handing out large contracts to aging corners in recent years, which could give the front office pause on pursuing the four-time Pro Bowler.
Will Douglas and company go all-in and take a shot at bringing Harris to the Big Apple? If New York deems the veteran worth his price tag, it will be firmly in the race for his services.