4 NY Jets who robbed the team blind in 2023

1. Allen Lazard, WR, NY Jets

The Jets completely bungled the wide receiver position this offseason in every possible way. Everything from the Elijah Moore trade to their lack of interest in DeAndre Hopkins to whatever happened with Mecole Hardman was an utter disaster for the organization.

But no move exemplifies the Jets' incompetency this offseason more than the Allen Lazard signing.

Lazard struggled in his role as Green Bay's No. 1 wide receiver in 2022, but the hope was that he could still be a reliable complementary piece when the Jets signed him to a hefty four-year, $44 million contract this offseason.

Of course, Lazard had his issues with the Packers. He was among the league leaders in drop percentage and struggled to consistently separate from defenders. The Jets ignored the red flags and signed him anyway, perhaps in an attempt to reunite him with Aaron Rodgers.

Instead of the reliable No. 2 wide receiver the Jets hoped to have landed, they've received just 23 catches out of Lazard this season. That's his lowest total since his 2018 rookie campaign when he appeared in just one game.

It got so bad that the Jets opted to make Lazard a healthy scratch, activating three undrafted rookies over him. Jets head coach Robert Saleh even publicly suggested that the team already plans to release him the first chance they get after 2024.

The Jets gave Lazard more guaranteed money than any wide receiver in football this offseason, only to bench him for three undrafted rookies in one of the worst wide receiver rooms in the NFL. It doesn't get much worse than that.

The Lazard signing has a chance to go down as one of the worst in franchise history. Much like with Cook, the Jets simply ignored all the red flags.