New York Jets: Evaluating the remaining free agent edge rushers

Preston  Smith

Preston Smith is another guy featured on the list by Rich Cimini. Smith is a player that has shown some potential but is hard to call a lock.

He was a second round pick of the Redskins back in 2015, the same year as Fowler went number three. Unlike Fowler, however, Smith showed some real potential that rookie season, posting eight sacks though he only started two games.

That is what I call efficient.

However, he hasn’t been able to sustain that potential consistently over his first four years in the league. He followed up that rookie performance the next year with a mere 4.5 sacks. In 2017 he posted eight sacks, and then fell back to four in 2018.

Smith has been durable, playing every game in his four-year career. Durability is not something to overlook in this sport. If you want a player that is going to make a difference, that player has to be healthy in order to make that difference.

However, that difference must also be made consistently. He has had two decent years, but overall, he averages the performance of a Brandon Copeland.

The Jets need someone that can get to the quarterback all the time, not some of the time. They need players that can close games. An average of six sacks per season just isn’t going to cut it.