Scheme fit is paramount when considering potential additions to an NFL team.

We recently identified five free agents who project as ideal fits in the scheme of New York Jets offensive coordinator Frank Reich. Today, we’ll look at the other side of the coin.

Based on Reich’s historical tendencies as a coach, these five free agents do not project as ideal scheme fits with the Jets.

Jaguars RB Travis Etienne

With Breece Hall’s future up in the air, the Jets could explore cheaper alternatives at the running back position.

According to Spotrac, Hall has a market value of $10.4 million, the highest among free agent running backs. If the Jets place the franchise tag on Hall, he will have a $14.5 million cap hit this year. They can also use an $11.7 million transition tag.

If the Jets are not smitten with Hall, they could save money by opting for a cheaper free agent who they believe can replicate or exceed Hall’s production. Travis Etienne is an option who, on the surface, might seem like a fit for that mold.

The four-year Jaguars starter is a three-time 1,000-yard rusher, as opposed to Hall’s one season hitting the benchmark. Yet, Etienne’s market value is projected at just $6.8 million, per Spotrac, a significant discount compared to Hall’s projection.

The problem for New York is that Etienne does not project as a fit in Frank Reich’s run scheme.

Over his last two seasons as a head coach, Reich’s teams relied heavily on inside zone and man/duo run concepts. He utilized outside zone at a very low rate.

If Reich plans on maintaining these tendencies in New York, Etienne would be a poor fit. The east-west speedster does most of his damage on outside zone plays.

Here are Etienne’s 2025 splits based on run concept:

Outside zone: 64 carries for 402 yards (6.3 yards per carry), 4.6 total EPA (10th among RB)

All other concepts: 175 carries for 618 yards (3.5 yards per carry), -34.9 total EPA (second-worst in NFL)

Unless Reich plans on drastically altering his run scheme, Etienne makes little sense for the Jets.

Javonte Williams of the Cowboys is an example of a starting-caliber free agent running back who would fit better in an offense that primarily runs inside zone and man/duo.

Steelers G Isaac Seumalo

The Jets could be looking for a new left guard, as starter John Simpson is headed for free agency after a 2025 season that saw his production decline.

Isaac Seumalo seems like a great choice at first glance. The 32-year-old has plenty of starting experience (104 career starts) and should fit the Jets’ budget due to his age. He was also drafted by the Eagles in 2016 when Reich was their offensive coordinator. Seumalo spent two seasons under Reich, serving as a backup.

However, to bounce off the run-scheme topic that we opened up with Etienne, Seumalo does not seem like the best fit for Reich’s scheme nowadays.

When the Eagles drafted Seumalo, the offense was spearheaded by head coach Doug Pederson, not Reich. At the time, Philadelphia was one of the league’s top users of outside zone. And as we discussed in the Etienne section, Reich utilized outside zone at a very low rate during his two most recent NFL seasons.

Coming out of Oregon State, Seumalo was better known for his lateral quickness than his size and drive-blocking, and that profile translates to his present-day usage. He spent the last two seasons starting for the Pittsburgh Steelers under offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, who is known for his reliance on outside zone. This past season, Pittsburgh’s top running back, Jaylen Warren, ran outside zone on a whopping 35% of his carries.

According to Pro Football Focus, Seumalo has averaged a 74.5 zone-blocking grade over the past three seasons, compared to a 60.8 gap-blocking grade. Reich runs plenty of man/duo, so Seumalo’s weaker blocking in gap concepts would be a liability in the Jets’ offense, especially in a division where they have to play two games against a Patriots team that rode its interior run defense to the Super Bowl.

Buffalo Bills left guard David Edwards is an example of a better fit for what Reich may be looking for in free agent guards.

Packers QB Malik Willis

We broke down Malik Willis’ potential fit with the Jets in greater depth here, but he’s worth mentioning in this article, as he fits the topic to a T.

Across limited snaps, Willis posted absurdly efficient numbers for the Packers over the last two seasons. On 89 pass attempts, he averaged 10.9 yards per attempt with six touchdowns and no interceptions.

A 26-year-old quarterback with that type of potential should be intriguing for a team like the Jets. However, the things that unlocked Willis in Green Bay are not focal points in Reich’s scheme.

Willis’ route-type distribution over the past two seasons looks drastically different from Reich’s last three teams.

The main issue is that Willis’ success was heavily built upon his prowess on go routes, whereas Reich’s teams have typically avoided throwing many go routes. Over Reich’s last three seasons, the go route was his second-least favorite route relative to the NFL average. His teams targeted it less than half as frequently as Willis did over the last two seasons (6.5% of pass attempts vs. 15.7%).

Meanwhile, Willis targeted in-breaking routes, such as the in/dig and drag, at low rates, whereas Reich’s scheme prioritizes them.

Willis fits best in a vertical passing attack that allows him to focus on chucking bombs and using his legs. Reich’s offense, built around timing in the short-to-intermediate area, does not seem like a fit.

Giants WR Wan’Dale Robinson

The Jets will have plenty of opportunities to add high-ceiling wide receivers in the draft. Before then, they will likely try to raise their floor at the position by pursuing a solid veteran starter.

Wan’Dale Robinson fits into the tier that makes sense for the Jets’ needs and price range. Spotrac estimates his market value at $17.6 million per year, ranking fourth-highest among free agent wide receivers.

With Giants star Malik Nabers sidelined for most of the 2025 season, Robinson was the primary beneficiary of the vacated targets. The fourth-year man finished with 92 receptions on 140 targets for 1,014 yards and four touchdowns.

Robinson made most of his impact on vertical routes. On either go or post routes, Robinson caught 10 of 17 targets for 293 yards and two touchdowns, ranking 10th-best among wide receivers with 24.2 EPA (Expected Points Added). He tied George Pickens in this category.

The problem is that Robinson did little else to help the Giants. That would not bode well in a Reich-led offense that devalues go and post routes.

On any other route type besides go and post routes, Robinson caught 82 of 122 targets for 721 yards, two touchdowns, and -1.7 EPA, a mark that ranked 68th out of 78 qualified wide receivers. Simply put, besides his vertical bombs, Robinson was mostly eating up inefficient checkdowns without making much of a real difference in helping the Giants move the ball and score points.

From 2021-23, the go route (-1.4%) and post route (-2.0%) were Reich’s least favorite routes compared to the 2025 NFL average, based on the percentage of his teams’ pass attempts that went to each route. So, if a receiver can only make a positive impact on those two routes but is a liability otherwise, he probably isn’t going to be on Reich’s radar.

Saints QB Derek Carr (if he unretires)

We still don’t know if Derek Carr is seriously considering a return to the NFL, just one year removed from retiring after the 2024 season.

However, we do know that he’s received inquiries, and that he’s a huge fan of Aaron Glenn, Garrett Wilson, and Jets fans. Plus, the Jets hired one of his old offensive coordinators, Bill Musgrave, as their quarterbacks coach.

The Saints still own Carr’s rights, so if he returns to the league, he would not immediately be a free agent. New Orleans would probably attempt to trade him before cutting ties. Nonetheless, I figured he is worth including in this article since his name has been a hot topic recently.

Despite Carr’s ties to Musgrave and his apparent fondness for Glenn and Wilson, it does not seem like his play style would be the best fit for Reich.

Perhaps Carr would play a different style of ball after returning from a shoulder injury that was severe enough to make him retire. When we last saw him, though, Carr was a vertical gunslinger.

Across 10 starts for New Orleans in 2024, Carr targeted go and post routes on a whopping 15.1% of his pass attempts, well above Reich’s 10% rate from 2021-23. Carr generally avoided in-breakers over the middle, targeting in/dig and drag routes on just 14% of his attempts, significantly below Reich’s 18.5% rate from 2021-23.

To put it more simply, Carr targeted more go or post routes than in/dig or drag routes, whereas Reich targeted in/dig or drag routes nearly twice as often as go or post routes. That is a drastic difference in philosophy.

Would Carr be open to playing more like a game manager if he returned? Could he even be effective in that role after relying on his arm strength throughout his entire NFL career?

This might not be the dream fit that it seems.