Cincinnati Bengals Non-Playoff Team Free Agency Targets: New York Jets

We’ve embarked on a series looking at free agents the Cincinnati Bengals should pursue on teams which sat out the 2017 playoffs. Next up: the New York Jets.

After being a perennial playoff team in recent years, the Cincinnati Bengals fell short this past season. Though they spoiled the party for the Baltimore Ravens, Marvin Lewis’ group sat out postseason play. Now they await NFL Free Agency in 2018, which could be key for them getting back in the mix.

Entering the offseason, we started with a series that highlighted players from playoff teams that the Bengals could look at in free agency. Now, the focus has turned to the other teams that weren’t in the postseason.

We’ve previously taken a look at players from the Oakland Raiders, Denver Broncos, Los Angeles Chargers, Indianapolis Colts, Houston Texans, Cleveland Browns, Ravens, and Miami Dolphins. We finish up the AFC East (and the AFC in general) with a player from the New York Jets.

Austin Seferian-Jenkins, TE

Seferian-Jenkins’ career so far has been a story of wasted potential. His huge physical gifts (6-5, 262 pounds, 33.75-inch arm length) made him the sort of massive target who towers over defenders and is a godsend for quarterbacks in tight spaces. With those tools, he picked up 21 touchdowns in three years of collegiate play, with his sophomore season (69 receptions, 852 yards, seven touchdowns) hinting at a monstrous presence waiting to be utilized in the pros.

What has followed can only be called disappointing. His potential would get him drafted high in the second round of the 2014 NFL Draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but it would only show through in fleeting moments. In his first two years, his only standout performance was a five-catch/110-yard/two-touchdown stat line in a season-opening defeat to the Tennessee Titans; beyond that, he had just one five-plus reception outing and two 50+ yard showings.

More from NFL Spin Zone

• Dallas Cowboys made the trade everyone else should have made
• Pittsburgh Steelers rookie sleeper everyone should be talking about
• Anthony Richardson putting jaw-dropping talent on display immediately
• Denver Broncos’ stud wide receiver might be out for a while
• Washington Commanders: Three takeaways from win over Ravens

Too bad this wasn’t the entirety of his issues. Seferian-Jenkins’ drinking problems are well-known by now. He got a DUI in college, and would receive a second not long into his third season. The second one came with a bonus: a pink slip from the Bucs, as well as a two-game suspension eventually levied in that coming offseason. Add in his numerous injury problems (maladies to his foot, ankle, ribs, shoulder, hamstring, and back have helped limit him to being active for just 38 of 64 possible career games)  and it would be easy to dismiss any chance of him turning things around in a meaningful way.

His time with the Jets gives some hope that maybe he’s not a total lost cause yet after all. He  turned that into his best season yet in 2017 (his first full year with New York): 50 receptions, 357 yards, three touchdowns, and 18 first down conversions in a career-high 653 snaps. This was with an offense which was clearly talent-deficient (Josh McCown, Bilal Powell, and Robby Anderson were the QB/RB/WR leaders; that says it all). Even so, Seferian-Jenkins was big for them.

After serving his two-game suspension to open the year, he returned to help the team win three straight and have a winning record in his first seven contests with him available (4-3). Had a couple breaks works in his favor (such as the NFL being consistent with its catch rule — New York could’ve beaten New England with his overturned touchdown catch), that record may have been even better.

Seferian-Jenkins would seem likely to re-sign with their team, but if there is a chance for Cincinnati to get an offer in there first, they should go for it. Tyler Eifert is set for free agency, and while he’s been really good when he plays (13 touchdowns in 2015), he has been completely unable to stay healthy (missed 41 of 80 possible games). While Cincinnati has plenty of room to re-sign him, they shouldn’t give out a big, long-term contract to him — let someone else make that mistake.

Next: NFL Free Agency: Top 50 players, signing predictions

Seferian-Jenkins may have his own injury-plagued history and off-field struggles, but it has to be looked at somewhat differently. Those injury problems he’s had are further in the past, and his were much less severe cases than the ones habitually suffered by Eifert. His off-field troubles seem to be in the past, and Cincinnati has long been willing to look past character concerns when building their roster; it wouldn’t be out of the ordinary to see them take a chance on someone already well on his way to leaving his negative past behind him. Plus, even with a multi-year deal, Seferian-Jenkins will probably end up being a cheaper option.

He won’t come without risk, nor will he change games on his own. Seferian-Jenkins has at least proven to be a useful cog for an offense though, and that’s enough to give him a starting role with who is currently under contract with Cincinnati. If he can actually scratch the surface on his pre-draft expectations (remember, he is just 25)? That would be a major steal for the Bengals, indeed.