Ravens expected to have 2 compensatory picks in 2020 NFL Draft

The Baltimore Ravens lost key players last offseason but might have been hurt by the compensatory pick formula they’ve utilized so much

The Baltimore Ravens saw a good number of high-profile players leave the organization in free agency last offseason. Outside linebackers Za’Darius Smith and C.J. Mosley signed huge deals with other teams while the Ravens also lost legend Terrell Suggs, wide receiver John Brown. Baltimore seemed to be willing to let those guys go, both because they couldn’t reasonably match the offers handed out and because they’d get rewarded with compensatory picks.

According to Over The Cap, the Ravens will indeed get some comp picks in return, but maybe not at the levels they had been hoping. Thanks to the NFL’s compensatory-pick formula, Baltimore is set to get two fourth-round picks back.

The Ravens signed running back Mark Ingram and safety Earl Thomas in free agency, helping to negate the loss of Smith and Suggs in the formula. And with both Mosley missing games due to injury, it lowered his value from what many expected to be a third-round comp pick to the fourth round.

If Over The Cap’s valuations hold true, it’ll be a big blow to Baltimore in the 2020 NFL draft. The Ravens have loved to game the comp-pick system in previous years, factoring it into decisions on a player’s value to them. But in the case of Smith, Mosley and Suggs, Baltimore could have really used their presence in 2019 as they went on a 14-2 tear but failed to win in the postseason. Both inside and outside linebacker was a point of frustration for the Ravens, with injuries and poor play plaguing the team, forcing them to find free-agent help in the middle of the season.

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Ravens 2020 Free Agency Preview: ILB Patrick Onwuasor

Baltimore Ravens ILB Patrick Onwuasor got demoted in 2019 but how does that affect his free-agent value in the 2020 offseason?

The Baltimore Ravens got so close to the Super Bowl and will look to improve themselves this offseason to make another run in 2020. But before we get to free agency and the draft, the Ravens will need to handle their own pending free agents.

We continue our look at Baltimore’s pending free agents with a preview of inside linebacker Patrick Onwuasor. Make sure to check out our other Ravens free-agent previews for 2020.

Credit: Mitchell Layton-USA TODAY Sports

Patrick Onwuasor – 2019 review:

Onwuasor started 25 of the 32 games the Ravens played in 2017 and 2018. But despite being on the field for the first few snaps, he only played on 59% and 42% snaps of the total defensive snaps. It appeared that Baltimore was confident he could become an every-down replacement for C.J. Mosley when the 2019 season began.

Onwuasor started the first five games and played at least 90% of the snaps in each contest. But his role diminished after struggles in communication and production. With Baltimore signing L.J. Fort and Josh Bynes prior to Week 5, Onwuasor went on to start one more game all season and never played on more than 53% of the snaps.

This decrease in playing time led to his production dipping. In 2018, Onwuasor registered 5.5 sacks and eight tackles for loss, along with two forced fumbles. In 2019, he managed 3.0 sacks, five tackles for loss and one forced fumble.

Onwuasor was not exactly an asset to the Ravens when it came to pass defense last year. He was targeted on 7.2% of his defensive snaps, seeing 34 targets throughout the year. He allowed 30 of these (88.2%) to be converted into 424 yards, including 283 of these yards coming after the catch.

Review / Potential / Value / Chance to re-sign

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Jets Free Agent Profile: What to do with OLB Brandon Copeland?

Jets Wire evaluates if New York should re-sign impending free agent outside linebacker Brandon Copeland this offseason.

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.

Brandon Copeland’s 2019 season got off to a fortuitous start, but he proved to be a relatively productive rotational linebacker as the year progressed. Will he be back with New York in 2020? Let’s evaluate the situation in Jets Wire’s latest free agent profile.

Pros of keeping him

After returning to the field in October following a four-game suspension to begin the season, Copeland made an instant impact by recording 28 tackles in his first five games. That might not seem like a big number, but considering the banged up state of New York’s linebacker room upon his return, Copeland’s production was much-needed.

Copeland also offers positional versatility. He is predominantly an edge rusher, but can also line up on the inside and make plays in the run game.

Cons of keeping him

Copeland didn’t contribute much following his strong five-game stretch, registering only seven tackles over New York’s final six games.

The fact that Copeland didn’t see much playing time down the stretch speaks volumes when it comes to his future with the team. Yes, teams who are not making the playoffs use the end of the season to give younger players an extended run, but the Jets didn’t have many linebackers in the mix due to injury.

Copeland couldn’t crack a thin linebacker core at the end of the season. With that in mind, it’s hard to see him having a spot when C.J. Mosley, Avery Williamson and Blake Cashman come back healthy next season. Factor in young edge rushers such as Jordan Jenkins and Frankie Luvu likely returning and Copeland’s future with the team becomes even grimmer.

The verdict

All signs point towards Copeland not returning next season. He is at the bottom of the pecking order in New York’s outside linebacker rotation and it’s hard to see him rising past any of Gang Green’s younger pass rushers.

Copeland had a fruitful stay at One Jets Drive, but odds are his time in Florham Park is up.

Jets LB C.J. Mosley expects to participate in spring football

C.J. Mosley expects to be ready for spring football after undergoing groin surgery.

Jets linebacker C.J. Mosley is on pace to return from his groin injury soon.

Mosley suffered the injury in Week 1 of the regular season and pretty much missed the remainder of the 2019 campaign. He underwent surgery in December but said he’s been jogging “a little bit” and expects to participate in “spring football,” according to ESPN’s Rich Cimini.

Additionally, Mosley is changing up his eating habits. He has now switched over to a vegan diet.

“Anything to give me the edge to get myself on the field and stay on the field as long as I can,” Mosley told SNY on Saturday.

Mosley was extremely frustrated last season not being able to be on the field with his teammates. So, this switch-up in diet could be in response to that.

The Jets signed Mosley to a five-year, $85 million deal in free agency last offseason and expected him to be a huge part of their defense. However, the groin injury he went down with in Week 1 took his season off course. Mosley tried to come back in Week 7 against the Patriots, but still didn’t look right. The Jets placed him on injured reserve in December after he opted to get surgery.

All the Jets can hope for is that Mosley can stay on the field in year two after an injury-plagued debut season in New York.

Jets’ 4 least concerning positions entering the offseason

Here are the Jets’ least areas of concern entering the offseason.

While the Jets have their work cut out for them entering the offseason, there are a few positions they have locked down for next season.

The Jets are far from a finished product, but there is some hope with some parts of the roster. Safety, defensive line, inside linebackers and running back are areas where the Jets are perfectly fine at.

Here are the Jets’ least concerning positions entering this offseason.

Safety

The Jets are locked into both their starting safeties for the next couple of years, so they don’t need to address that position.

Both Jamal Adams and Marcus Maye are entering their fourth year in the league and are two years away from being free agents. Adams and Maye are one of the best safety duos in the NFL, with Adams being arguably the top safety in the league.

New York should do whatever it takes to sign Adams to an extension as soon as possible. As for Maye, he had a strong year last season, but the Jets can wait a little bit before extending him.

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Jets Free Agent Profile: What to do with LB James Burgess?

Jets Wire takes a look at whether or not New York should bring back cornerback and impending free-agent linebacker James Burgess.

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.

After spending the first month and a half of 2019 on the practice squad, James Burgess came on strong in the middle of the Jets defense in the second half of the season. With C.J. Mosley, Avery Williamson and Blake Cashman sidelined, Burgess helped solidify New York’s middle linebacker position and provided some standout performances down the stretch. Was his surprising play in the latter half of 2019 enough to warrant a return in 2020? Let’s evaluate the situation in Jets Wire’s latest free agent profile.

Pros of keeping him

Burgess was dominant in the second half, recording 69 tackles and an interception in New York’s final eight games. He finished the season with a career-high 80 tackles and was a consistent contributor in the middle of the defense.

Burgess’ play down the stretch certainly won him some fans within the organization. He was solid in both run support and pass coverage, making him a player defensive coordinator Gregg Williams could rely on in all personnel packages.

Cons of bringing him back

Avery Williamson — pending a cap cut — C.J. Mosley and Blake Cashman all return with clean bills of health in 2020. The Jets also have a decision to make on fellow impending free agent linebacker Neville Hewitt, which puts Burgess’ return to the organization in 2020 up in the air.

Considering how well Hewitt played last season, Douglas is going to have a tough call to make. If Hewitt wasn’t in the mix, Burgess would undoubtedly be back next season.

The verdict

This one is a true toss-up, as Douglas’ decision could go either way. Both Hewitt and Burgess were outstanding for the Jets in 2019, making matters even more complicated for the first-year general manager.

Working in Burgess’ favor is the fact that he will likely come cheaper than Hewitt. He also outplayed Hewitt in the second half of the season and left a lasting impact that could sway Douglas’ decision-making process. We’re going to go out on a limb and say Douglas opts to re-sign Burgess and let Hewitt walk, but this one could go either way.

Jets Free Agent Profile: What to do with LB Neville Hewitt?

Jets Wire takes a look at whether or not New York should bring back cornerback and impending free-agent linebacker Neville Hewitt.

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.

Neville Hewitt stepped up when the Jets needed him the most last season. With Avery Williamson, C.J. Mosley and Blake Cashman all sidelined due to injury, Hewitt filled a major void in the middle of New York’s defense with a career year. Was his 2019 campaign enough to warrant a return next season? Let’s evaluate the situation in Jets Wire’s latest free agent profile.

Pros of keeping him

Hewitt is coming off a career year in which he recorded 72 tackles, six tackles for loss, three sacks and eight quarterback hits. Not bad for a player who spent most of his time on special teams and only recorded a combined 40 tackles over the previous two seasons.

As the Jets learned in 2019, it never hurts to have quality depth on the roster. If one of New York’s middle linebacker trio succumbs to injury again next season, defensive coordinator Gregg Williams wouldn’t have to worry about inserting an inexperienced player into the middle of his defense. Hewitt is also only 26 and has plenty of good football ahead of him.

With Hewitt in the mix, the Jets have a veteran linebacker they can rely on. Even if he doesn’t get a lot of playing time on defense, he’s a key special teams player at the very least.

Cons of bringing him back

Mosley and Cashman are all going to be back with clean bills of health in 2020. Williamson is under contract, but his future is less certain. Anyway, Hewitt made only $1 million last season and earned himself a few extra bucks with the way he performed. According to overthecap.com, Hewitt could be worth as much as $3 million on the open market. Is Hewitt worth paying when the Jets can get a backup linebacker like fellow free agent James Burgess at a cheaper price? That question is going to loom large when it comes to Hewitt’s future with the organization.

There’s also Hewitt’s deficiencies in pass coverage. New York could opt to target a reserve linebacker it can slot in on passing downs as opposed to a player who profiles similarly to Mosley and Cashman.

The verdict

Whether or not to keep Hewitt is one of the toughest decisions Douglas has to make this offseason. There are just as many reasons to keep him as there are to let him go. At the end of the day, Douglas will have to decide what he wants out of his inside linebackers.

If he wants a linebacker with a nose for the ball in run support, odds are he’ll make every effort to ensure Hewitt returns in 2020. If he prefers a linebacker who is better in pass coverage, Hewitt will likely be out the door. When taking everything into account, we’re going to predict he’s back in the green and white next season.

The biggest disappointments from the Jets’ 2019 season

Here are the most disappointing players and coaches for the Jets in 2019.

After much anticipation heading into the 2019 season, it ended in typical Jets fashion: a losing record and another year without making the playoffs.

The Jets signed multiple marquee free agents in the offseason and drafted some highly-touted rookies to add to their core of players. However, it all never came to fruition as the Jets put themselves in a deep hole with a 1-7 record. They finished the year at 7-9.

Let’s take a look at some of the biggest disappointments the Jets had in 2019.

Le’Veon Bell

The Jets signed Le’Veon Bell to a massive four-year $52.5 million deal with the expectation that he would be one of the best running backs in football. Instead, he had the worst season of his pro career.

Bell rushed for 789 yards this season, his lowest since 2015. It was also the fewest rushing attempts (245) Bell had in a full season’s worth of work since his rookie year. In the passing game, Bell was expected to be a safety net for Sam Darnold, but that wasn’t the case. He only had 461 receiving yards, which was his lowest dating back to his rookie season.

Now the question remains if Bell will be back next season. His name swirled around during the trade deadline, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if he is dealt in the offseason. If 2019 was Bell’s only season with Gang Green, it will go down as another bad free agent signing for the Jets.

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How did the Jets’ top free agent signings perform in 2019?

Here’s how the Jets’ top free agent signing did in their first year with the team.

The Jets were one of the league leaders in available cap space last offseason and they used that money to acquire a ton of big-name free agents.

During free agency last spring, the Jets spent $205.5 million on 12 players, including $119.6 million in guaranteed money. At the time, the Jets looked like they were upgrading their team, but some of those moves didn’t pan out in 2019. The top free agents the Jets signed last offseason included C.J. Mosley, Le’Veon Bell, Jamison Crowder, Ty Montgomery and Brian Poole.

Let’s take a look at how each of these five players fared in their first season with Gang Green.

C.J. Mosley

The Jets paid C.J. Mosley the largest contract ever for an inside linebacker (five-years, $85 million), but they didn’t get their money’s worth in the first year.

Mosley suited up for all of two games the entire season. He hit the ground running in Week 1 against the Bills with four total tackles, two pass defenses, an interception, a fumble recovery and a touchdown. However, Mosley pulled his groin halfway through the game and missed the next four games. He returned in Week 7 against the Patriots and managed to play the whole game, but didn’t look like himself.

The Jets ended up placing Mosley on injured reserve, which ended his season. He is having surgery on his groin and the hope is to have him back in time for the team’s offseason program. While the Jets can still get valuable play out of Mosley in the coming years, his first year was pretty much over before it ever started.

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The Jets are just as good as the Patriots… at one thing, anyway

The Jets are tied with the Patriots in non-offensive touchdowns.

When you put the New York Jets and New England Patriots on the field together, the latter almost always dominate. But there’s one statistical category in which the Jets are just as good as their superior division rivals.

In Thursday night’s 42-21 loss to the Ravens, the Jets scored their sixth non-offensive touchdown of the season when a blocked punt that was recovered by B.J. Bello for a touchdown. That score tied New York with the Patriots for the most non-offensive touchdowns in the NFL this season.

Three of Gang Green’s six non-offensive touchdowns have come on interceptions that have been returned for touchdowns. Jamal Adams, Brian Poole and C.J. Mosley each have one. Adams also has a fumble that he returned for a touchdown against the Giants. Lastly, Arthur Maulet recovered a muffed punt against the Patriots in the end zone.

It’s a good sign that the Jets are creating different ways to score touchdowns because their offense hasn’t scored many this season. For a stretch early in the season, the Jets had more non-offensive touchdowns than offensive touchdowns.

However, if the Jets want to be a respected football team, they can’t only be as good as the Patriots in one small category. The offense has been inconsistent all season long even, while the defense has done what it can given the number of injuries New York has suffered. These are all areas in which the Jets can drastically improve.

It has been an underwhelming season that has been filled with too many injuries, bad coaching and inconsistent play. While the Jets should be thrilled that they’re even in the same discussion as the Patriots in one category, the bigger picture is that the Jets are lightyears away from being nearly as good as their division rival.