This is the sixth installment of our position-by-position breakdown for the New York Jets as we head to the April 30 draft:
Position: Secondary
Current personnel: Cornerbacks -- Darrelle Revis (signed through 2019), Antonio Cromartie (2018), Dee Milliner (2016), Buster Skrine (2018), Darrin Walls (2015), Dexter McDougle (2017), Curtis Brown (2015), Marcus Williams (2016), Dashaun Phillips (2017). Safeties -- Marcus Gilchrist (2018), Calvin Pryor (2017), Jaiquawn Jarrett (2015), Antonio Allen (2015), Rontez Miles (2016).
Projected starters: CB Revis, CB Cromartie, FS Gilchrist, SS Pryor, NB Skrine.
Departures: S Dawan Landry (free agent), CB Kyle Wilson (free agent/New Orleans Saints), CB Phillip Adams (free agent/Atlanta Falcons).
Total cap charge: Cornerback -- $32.56 million (Ranking: 1st); Safety -- $8.59 million (16th).
Scouting report: New GM Mike Maccagnan attacked the weakest unit on the team and turned it into a strength. Oh, it was costly. They spent $62 million in guaranteed money for Revis, Cromartie, Skrine and Gilchrist. It had to be done. By any metric, the secondary was lousy in 2014, thanks to injuries (Milliner and McDougle) and poor personnel decisions. Things were so bad that former coach Rex Ryan, a lifetime proponent of man-to-man coverage and single-high safety looks, used more zone and two-safety alignments than ever before. It didn't help that they had to face a Murderer's Row of elite quarterbacks. In the end, their touchdown-interception ratio was 31-6. Loosely translated, it means they turned almost every quarterback into Tom Brady.
Okay, enough about the past. With Revis and Cromartie, the Jets should have one of the better cornerback tandems in the league. Their man-to-man ability will allow Todd Bowles to run his blitz schemes -- and we all know he loves to blitz. He also likes to use a lot of defensive backs in the game plan, so depth is important. The addition of Gilchrist, whom they envision as a free safety (not his natural position), will allow Pryor to play strong safety. That should allow him to make strides after an underwhelming rookie year. Skrine has experience in the slot, but he has to cut down on penalties. One of the subplots is Milliner, recovering from Achilles' tendon surgery. The former first-round pick could be the No. 4 cornerback, if healthy.
The last defensive back drafted: They picked three last year -- Pryor (first round), McDougle (third) and Brandon Dixon (sixth). McDougle spent the year on injured reserve and Dixon was released in the preseason, landing with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Potential targets: After investing so much in free agency, it would be a surprise if they pick a cornerback or safety on the first two days of the draft. Interestingly, cornerback Marcus Peters (Washington) was one of the Jets' pre-draft visitors. He's "as good a pure press corner as there is in the draft," NFL Network analyst Mike Mayock said, but Peters has a long list of character issues. He clashed with coaches, missed meetings, reportedly flunked a drug test (2011) and was thrown off the team last November. Chances are, it was simply a due-diligence visit for the Jets. If they decide to draft a defensive back, it could be a late-round pick, based on Jarrett and Allen entering the final year of their contracts.
Need rating (scale of 1 to 10): Cornerback -- 2. Safety -- 3.
