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The upcoming free agency of nose tackle Damon Harrison is an interesting situation to study. You could make the argument this is a tough decision or perhaps not a tough decision at all.
I’m of the opinion it’s not a tough decision.
Harrison is a terrific player, and it would certainly be a positive for the Jets to keep him.
And I hope for his sake, after all he’s overcome in his life, he gets a huge contract somewhere.
But I don’t think the Jets need to give him a huge contract.
As I’ve pointed out many times, playing nose tackle between ends like Mo Wilkerson, Leonard Williams and Sheldon Richardson is a nose tackle’s dream – not as many double teams with so much focus on the ends.
Not looking to take anything away from Harrison’s effort, which is always good, but it’s great to have ends like that surrounding you.
The last few weeks I’ve doing a tremendous amount of free agent research for our upcoming free agent preview issue of the magazine coming out at the end of the month.
I worked on nose tackles yesterday, and this further confirmed my take that the Jets don’t need to go crazy with Harrison’s contract.
Here are some reasonably priced 3-4 nose tackles who can come in and do a good job for the Jets probably on a one-year deal . . .
B.J. Raji – 6-2, 327 – 29 – Green Bay Packers
Packers recently re-signed nose tackle Leroy Guion, so they are likely going to move on from Raji. When healthy, he’s a good 3-4 nose tackle who is hard to move.
Terrance Knighton – 6-3, 354 – 29 – Washington Redskins
Massive nose tackle who makes it tough to run up the middle. Ideal for teams playing the 3-4 defense because he’s so good at taking up blockers, allowing others to make plays. You need to stay on him about his weight, but when in shape, a terrific football player.
Sammie Lee Hill – 6-4, 328 – 29 – Tennessee Titans
Massive nose tackle with decent foot quickness and long arms. Was banged up last year, so started just five games. Had a good year in 2014 with three sacks and six defensed passes. Versatile, with experience in both the 3-4 and 4-3 fronts.
Ahtyba Rubin – 6-3, 330 – 29 – Seattle Seahawks
Huge, powerful nose tackle who lifted 225, 35 times at the combine. Moves pretty well for his size, and actually has two career picks. Good run-stuffer who had 165 tackles in 2010-11 with Cleveland. Not just a run-stuffer – has 13 career sacks.
There are others to consider, but I wanted to bring up these four to show you there will likely be cheaper options who can get the job done.
Hey, if the Jets can get Harrison back on a reasonable deal, of course they should do that.
But if another team blows him away with a lucrative offer, they should let him walk.
I think he’s a good, not great player.
And with Mo Wilkerson’s huge contract still in the offing, and Leonard Williams and Sheldon Richardson’s a couple of years away, that has to be considered as well. How much money can you spend on one unit?
December 19, 2016
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