Before Joe Douglas can focus on who he plans to target in free agency come March, he’ll have a handful of in-house decisions to make.

The Jets have 32 players set to hit the open market this offseason. Some don’t figure to factor into New York’s plans for 2020, while it’s safe to assume the Jets would like to keep others around for a while. Either way, Douglas has a lot of work to do in his first offseason on the job.

After a relatively pedestrian start to his career, outside linebacker Jordan Jenkins finally broke through and delivered the production New York expected when it took him in the third round of the 2016 NFL draft. The Georgia product recorded a career-high eight sacks, nine tackles for loss and 13 quarterback hits. He wasn’t an elite pass rusher, but he provided New York with solid play coming off the edge. Was it enough to warrant a contract extension with the Jets? Let’s evaluate the situation in Jets Wire’s latest free agent profile.

Pros of keeping him

Jenkins has been trending upwards recently, recording seven sacks in 2018 and eight sacks last season. Not elite production, but solid play considering New York’s struggles finding consistent pass rushers for the past decade.

Jenkins turns 26 in July and still has a lot of good football left ahead of him. It’s not unreasonable to think he can continue to trend up and register double-digit sacks at some point in his career. It’s clear that he’s a fit in Gregg Williams’ defense. Why let him walk when he can potentially be a solution to the Jets’ pass-rushing woes?

Cons of bringing him back

Despite all signs pointing towards Jenkins’ development trending in the right direction, his production hasn’t been anything special.

Yes, eight sacks are solid, but the Jets need an elite pass rusher. Instead of re-signing Jenkins, Douglas could opt to throw money at an established free agent edge rusher such as Jadaveon Clowney, Dante Fowler, Bud Dupree and Matthew Judon.

The verdict

Jenkins’ return is contingent on Douglas’ approach to free agency. Would he take a page out of Mike Maccagnan’s book and throw big-money at an edge rusher to come to the Big Apple? Or, would he hand out a bunch of middle-level deals and opt to build through the draft?

Jenkins won’t come on the cheap, but he won’t be overly expensive on the open market either. Considering the way he played in 2019, expect Jenkins back in the green and white for 2020 and beyond.