Free agency in 2023 hasn’t exactly been kind to the Jets this season. They’re hoping for much better luck in 2024 as they push to make a Super Bowl run. That includes trying to re-sign some of their own free agents of which the Jets have some good ones set to hit the open market.
Brad Spielberger of Pro Football Focus recently unveiled his top 50 free agents for 2024 and the Jets have a pair of players cracking the list, one making it into the top 20.
That top-20 player is defensive end Bryce Huff at No. 18. The Jets gave Huff a second-round tender this past offseason as he was a restricted free agent. They can’t do that this offseason. They’ll need to pony up if they want to keep Huff, who is leading the team with seven sacks.
Huff set out to prove that his absurd pass-rushing efficiency in 2022 wasn’t an aberration, and he’s done just that in 2023 with a crazy high pass-rush win rate once again. Still, there’s a reason the team that developed the former undrafted free agent and sees him every day doesn’t like to deploy him against the run and hasn’t made much of an effort on an extension. This will be a nuanced negotiation for a designated pass rusher type — fortunately, that’s the richest facet to excel in for an edge defender.
Former Baltimore Raven and Chicago Bears pass-rush specialist Pernell McPhee comes to mind as a comparable player, as does Huff’s current teammate Carl Lawson.
Also making the top 50 from the Jets is offensive tackle Mekhi Becton, who worked his way back into the starting lineup in training camp in what became a prove-it season after the Jets declined his fifth-year option. It will be interesting to see if the Jets decide to keep Becton or start fresh at the left tackle position.
The former No. 11 overall pick of the 2020 draft has always had the athletic ability to play at a high level in this league — injuries have just destroyed a promising young career.
More importantly than anything else, Becton is on pace to play more snaps in 2023 than he did over his first three seasons combined. The 6-foot-7, 363-pound dancing bear looked leaner in training camp and has performed admirably as a pass protector despite the revolving door of quarterbacks operating behind him. He has the ability to be the lead blocker to the play side but has gotten caught up in the muck this season when pull-blocking across the formation, getting his feet tangled and ending up on the ground.