The Jets have signed 24-year old cornerback Ahmad Carroll to help them with depth in the defensive backfield.  Carroll is 5′10″, 190 pounds and he was a former first round pick of the Packers who hasn’t lived up to the hype surrounding him.  Carroll has played in 34 games in his NFL career and he has made 104 tackles, defensed 21 passes, has 3 sacks and 3 interceptions.  This was a nice low risk move for the Jets as they can just cut Carroll if they don’t like the way he looks.

26-year old Mike Nugent has a big leg to hit long field goals and he might need to hit a lot of them due to the offense of the Jets.  He played in all 16 games for the Jets last season and he converted 29 of 36 field goals (80.6%) and 23 of 24 extra points (95.8%)…he had one blocked.  The Jets used a high pick on Nugent three years ago feeling that he would be one of the best kickers in the NFL but he hasn’t made it near that level yet.  Nugent has now played in 48 games in his NFL career and he has converted 75 of 91 field goals (82.4%) and 81 of 83 extra points (97.6%).

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON:  B

The Jets have brought in some new blood (Dustin Keller, Bubba Franks) to compete with Chris Baker to light a fire under him.  Baker has never lived up to his potential for the Jets.  He played in 15 games (all starts) for the Jets last season and he caught 41 passes for 409 yards (10.0 avg) with 3 TD grabs.  It will be hard for Baker to put up better numbers than he did last season as there will be more competition for playing time at tight end.  Baker has now played in 83 games (38 starts) in his NFL career and he has caught 124 passes for 1,311 yards (10.6 avg) with 12 TD grabs.

6′2″, 248 pound Dustin Keller was a first round pick this past April for the Jets and he will compete for the starting job in training camp.  He played in 13 games (all starts) for Purdue last season and he caught 68 passes for 881 yards (13.0 avg) with 7 TD grabs.  Keller has soft hands and enough speed to make teams pay if he’s left in single coverage with either a safety or a linebacker.  Keller played in 46 games (26 starts) in his career at Purdue and he caught 142 passes for 1,882 yards (13.3 avg) with 16 TD grabs. 

30-year old veteran Bubba Franks had the worst season of his NFL career for the Packers last season.  He played in only 8 games (1 start) for the Packers last season and he caught 18 passes for 132 yards (7.3 avg) with 3 TD grabs.  Look for Franks to possibly be a go to guy near the end zone as he was with Brett Favre in Green Bay.  Franks has now played in 114 games (94 starts) in his NFL career and he has caught 256 passes for 2,300 yards (9.0 avg) with 32 TD grabs.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON:  B

The Jets have a solid pair of starting WRs but they don’t have much depth.  26-year old Jerricho Cotchery had a breakout season for the Jets in 2007.  He played in 15 games (all starts) and he caught 82 passes for 1,130 yards (13.8 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  He also carried the ball 5 times for 38 yards (7.6 ypc) last season.  Look for Cotchery to possibly have an even better season in 2008 if the Jets get improved play out of the QB position.  Cotchery has now played in 59 games (32 starts) in his NFL career and he has caught 189 passes for 2,402 yards (12.7 avg) with 8 TD grabs.  He also has carried the ball 11 times for 67 yards (6.1 ypc) in his career.

Laveranues Coles took a beating last season and it’s looking like his odometer has a lot of hard miles on it.  Coles played in 12 games (10 starts) last season for the Jets and he caught 55 passes for 646 yards (11.7 avg) with 6 TD grabs.  Look for Coles to have problems this season if he can’t stay healthy from all of the shots he has taken over the last few seasons.  Coles has now played in 121 games (109 starts) in his NFL career and he has caught 561 passes for 7,245 yards (12.9 avg) with 37 TD grabs.  He has also carried the ball 33 times for 212 yards (6.4 ypc) in his NFL career.

24-year old Brad Smith will likely be the #3 WR for the Jets this season.  The converted QB is starting to look comfortable at WR.  Smith played in 16 games (9 starts) for the Jets last season and he caught 32 passes for 325 yards (10.2 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  He also carried the ball 12 times for 45 yards (3.8 ypc) last season for the Jets.  Look for Smith to possibly double his career totals this season for the Jets.  He has played in 32 games (12 starts) in his NFL career and he has caught 41 passes for 386 yards (9.4 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  He has also carried the football 30 times for 148 yards (4.9 ypc) in his career.

Chansi Stuckey could also battle for the #3 WR job on the Jets if he can stay healthy.  He did not play as a rookie last season after injuring his foot in the pre-season.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON:  C-

The Jets wanted to improve their running game for the 2008 season and with that in mind they brought in 36-year old fullback Tony Richardson.  Richardson is a bit on the small side at 6′1″, 236 pounds but he is a solid blocker, a decent runner and a good receiver.  Richardson played in 14 games (3 starts) for the Vikings last season and he carried the ball 7 times for 13 yards (1.9 ypc).  He also caught 11 passes for 89 yards (8.1 avg) last season.  Richardson opened a lot of holes for the potent running game of the Vikings last season and the Jets hope he does the same for Jets’ running backs in 2008.  Richardson has now played in 186 games (106 starts) in his NFL career and he has carried the ball 407 times for 1,601 yards (3.9 ypc) with 15 TD carries.  He has also caught 201 passes for 1,498 yards (7.5 avg) with 9 TD grabs.  Richardson will do a good job for the Jets in 2008 and it was money well spent bringing him in. 

Converted linebacker A.J. Schable is currently the #2 fullback on the Jets’ depth chart.  Schable is a big guy at 6′3″, 281 so he should have no problem with the blocking part of the job.  He played in 11 games (0 starts) for the Cardinals last season and he made 10 tackles.  It will be interesting to see if he can handle the position switch.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON:  B