AFC East Notes: Jets, Talib, Patriots, Belichick

Should the Jets trade for Broncos cornerback Aqib Talib? He’s rumored to be on the block, but there are pros and cons to acquiring the veteran, as Darryl Slater of NJ.com writes.

Talib has made the Pro Bowl in each of the past five seasons and has been a part of two very successful teams (Patriots and Broncos). However, he turns 32 in February and has two years left on his expensive contract. Talib stands to make $11MM in 2018 and $8MM in 2019, so the Jets might not want to sacrifice serious draft capital to acquire him. There are also off-the-field concerns with Talib, given his past arrest for beating up a taxi driver and 2016 incident in which he shot himself in the leg outside of a Dallas strip club.

Still, there’s no denying that Talib would represent a major upgrade for the Jets’ secondary. Last year, Talib graded out as Pro Football Focus’ No. 15 ranked cornerback. The highest-ranked Jets CB was Darryl Roberts, who placed 76th in the NFL.

Here’s more from the AFC East:

• With the No. 6 pick, the Jets may consider moving up in the draft to take a quarterback. However, that doesn’t always work out, as Connor Hughes of NJ.com details. The Rams and Eagles are glad they moved up to take Jared Goff and Carson Wentz in the 2016 draft, but many other teams have struck out. The Broncos moved up to draft Tim Tebow in 2010 (No. 25) and Paxton Lynch in 2016 (No. 22). The Browns moved up to take Brady Quinn in 2007 (No. 22) and Johnny Manziel in 2014 (No. 22). The Jaguars dealt to pick Blaine Gabbert in 2011 (No. 10), the Redskins Robert Griffin III in 2012 (No. 2), and the Vikings Teddy Bridgewater in 2014 (No. 32). The Jets also have first-hand experience in this regard – they traded up to select Mark Sanchez in 2009 (No. 5), the same year the Bucs erred by moving up for Josh Freeman (No. 17).
• The Patriots’ dynasty was built from the ashes of Bill Belichick’s failure with the Browns, Kent Babb of The Washington Post writes. Belichick went 36-44 in his five years as the Browns’ head coach in the 90s and reached the playoffs just once.