To say Adam Gase’s offense didn’t perform well in 2019 would be an insult to mediocrity.

The Jets didn’t just underperform this past season, they outright stunk. New York finished 31st in points and 32nd in yards, and the only reason they won seven games was thanks to Gregg Williams’ defense. Now, some of these failures can be attributed to Sam Darnold’s three-game absence and Mike Maccagnan’s decision to neglect the offensive line and overspend in free agency, but Gase still couldn’t put together a good offense and the Jets suffered mightily because of it.

Now that Maccagnan is gone, Darnold literally can’t get mono again and the Jets should have close to $80 million to play with his offseason, Gase and GM Joe Douglas could add some great players to the offense that fit in Gase’s scheme and give Darnold more weapons to work with for the 2020 season. The Jets leaned heavily on short passes in 2019 and will likely do so again with Jamison Crowder and Le’Veon Bell (for now) still on the team. Those two accounted for 200 of the 521 passing attempts in 2019 and should be in line for even more work if Darnold stays healthy. 

There are some solid possible players in free agency for Gase and Douglas to target that fit that offense, though. Here are five of the top options for the Jets and Gase’s scheme.

WR Emmanuel Sanders

Sanders will be 33 in March but would still thrive in Gase’s offense. He’s one of the best tacticians anywhere he lines up on the field and rarely drops passes. When Gase coached Sanders on the Broncos in 2014, Sanders finished the season with 101 receptions on 141 targets for 1,404 yards and nine touchdowns, all career-highs.

Those days are long gone for Sanders, but he still proved to be one of the 25 most valuable wide receivers in 2019. He caught 66 balls for 869 yards and five touchdowns for two teams in and only dropped one pass. The Jets had the seventh-highest drop rate in the NFL and could use a player with hands like Sanders.

Despite his age, Sanders fits the bill as the quintessential Gase player because he thrives out wide and in the slot. He’d be a great veteran leader for the Jets offense and would likely come cheaper than a lot of the other riskier wide receivers on the market.