Grading every move the NY Jets made in the first wave of free agency
![NY Jets, Tyler Conklin NY Jets, Tyler Conklin](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_2667,h_1500,x_0,y_597/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/30/01fysxbg6r61fzj0qx76.jpg)
Jacob Martin, DE, NY Jets: 3 years, $13.5 million
This is a curious signing by the Jets. The team is banking on Jacob Martin's limited body of work and upside to produce as an edge rusher on passing downs, and the Jets gave Martin a good chunk of change to fill that role.
Martin had a career-high four sacks last season playing for the Houston Texans. The Jets brass obviously liked what they saw on film when they did their homework in free agency. Otherwise, they wouldn't have paid him above market value.
It's a questionable signing by the team because there were other more established veteran pass rushers that the Jets could have signed, like perhaps a Dante Fowler, for example.
Still, the Jets are betting on Martin's upside instead. $13 million over three years seems excessive for a player who could be fourth on the depth chart at defensive end when the season starts.
The Martin signing makes you wonder if he was a fallback option rather than a preferred choice — a common occurrence every year in free agency that goes unpublicized.
Grade: C-