When the NFL free agency negotiating period begins in less than two weeks on March 11, the New York Jets need to be front and center looking to fill a myriad of holes on their roster, primarily on offense. With limited salary cap space, the Jets need to sign several sneaky good NFL free agents to fill their holes.

Expect the Jets to be aggressive trying to improve on the offensive line and at wide receiver. They also need a backup quarterback for Aaron Rodgers since the Jets are expected to trade Zach Wilson.

Further down the to-do list for general manager Joe Douglas is a second-string running back behind Breece Hall, perhaps a starting safety to replace Jordan Whitehead and depth on the defensive line.

If the Jets play things right, they will re-sign kicker Greg Zuerlein and punter Thomas Morstead. Those moves make sense and give Douglas two fewer things to worry about.

But let’s focus on two specific areas and three players the Jets should target.

Tyler Boyd – WR – Cincinnati Bengals / Josh Reynolds – WR – Detroit Lions

The Jets have one of the league’s best wide receivers in Garrett Wilson. Somehow, with terrible quarterback play and limited talent around him at the position, Wilson has produced back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons to begin his career. But to truly maximize Wilson’s skill set and give a healthy Rodgers more legit targets, the Jets must add at least one accomplished wide receiver, if not two, this offseason.

Mike Evans, Calvin Ridley and Michael Pittman, Jr. are some of the big-name wide receivers expected to be at the top of the free-agent market. But the Jets should target the mid-tier of wideouts and sign slot receiver Tyler Boyd and deep-ball threat Josh Reynolds.

In other words, get two for the price of one Evans or Ridley. And have them complement Wilson.

Let’s start with Boyd. Beyond his 67 catches for 667 yards with the Bengals last season, he had only three drops on 91 targets. Let that sink in as you envision the void the slot position has been for several seasons in New York, especially in 2023 with Randall Cobb and Mecole Hardman giving them absolutely nothing at the position. Boyd is a reliable receiver, who’s caught 54 or more passes in seven of his eight NFL seasons.

Reynolds could flank Wilson on the other side of the field and create space as a dangerous target. With the Lions last season, Reynolds caught 40 passes on 61 targets and had five touchdowns. He averaged 15.2 yards per reception. Reynolds isn’t a star. But then again, the Jets don’t need a star at the position, they have Wilson. That makes Reynolds a very solid fit.

Robert Hunt – G – Miami Dolphins

Conventional thinking is the Jets will draft an offensive tackle with the No. 10 overall pick in the draft and also sign a big-time free agent tackle as their main moves to revamp the offensive line.

But a sneaky good option could be to slide second-year pro Carter Warren into a starting spot at right tackle and draft a starter for the left side in the first round. Then the Jets can focus on landing a top guard to replace Laken Tomlinson, who reportedly is going to be cut. It’s a sneaky good plan that would save the Jets some money to fill other holes on the roster.

Which brings us to Robert Hunt. He’s a 27-year-old guard, who can be a longtime answer at the position. Signing him would give the Jets an interior threesome of Alijah Vera-Tucker, Joe Tippmann and Hunt. That would work. For now and the future.

Hunt had some injury issues with the Dolphins this past season but he finished with his best run-blocking grade (74.5) and overall grade (77.1) in four NFL seasons, per Pro Football Focus.