Jets' Maccagnan Wants To Fill Most Needs In Free Agency, Draft Best Players On Board
INDIANAPOLIS (CBSNewYork) – Jets general manager Mike Maccagnan and coach Todd Bowles spoke to reporters at the NFL Scouting Combine on Wednesday but did not divulge many details about their plans for free agency and the draft.
Maccagnan did say he hopes to address much of the team's needs in free agency so that he can feel comfortable selecting the best player available in the April draft.
"You don't really want to let need factor into your draft decisions," Maccagnan said, adding that teams that do draft for need sometimes reach for less talented athletes.
Despite the fact that the Jets finished 10-6 and narrowly missed the playoffs in 2015, Bowles said the team needs help "everywhere."
"We had a lot of chances and we had a lot of positions that played well, but we need to upgrade at the same time," he said. "We're an older team. We want to get younger at almost every position."
As for free agency, Maccagnan said he has a plan for retaining defensive end Muhammad Wilkerson but didn't want to discuss how, saying he didn't want to show his hand to other teams. He said he knows the franchise tag is one option he could use to keep Wilkerson in New York, but he didn't rule out using the tag on nose tackle Damon Harrison, either.
"We like both Mo and Damon, and we're going to try to figure out a way to ideally keep both of them."
Maccagnan also didn't want to discuss where negotiations are at with free agent quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick.
"We like Ryan," he said. "I think we have a good situation for Ryan. We just have to come to an agreement on obviously a cost."
