Tennessee Titans ideal trade targets from the New York Jets

Steve McClendon, DT

McClendon is one of the weirder case studies in the NFL because he has been consistently good as a rotational defensive tackle, but he has had his best seasons after he turned 30. Just check out his impact plays:

First 6 years 24-29 years old (1,463 snaps):13 TFLs, 5 sacks

Last 4 years  30-33 years old (1,806 snaps): 28 TFLs, 7.5 sacks

That is pretty great from a rotational DT who does most of the dirty work in the trenches and isn’t usually put in a position to be the guy that makes the play.

Another thing that makes him so attractive as a trade target is that he on year two of a two-year deal, and it is smart not to overcommit to a 34-year-old defensive tackle even after he had a career year.

Look at it this way, last year Jurrell Casey had 5 sacks and 5 TFLs in 872 snaps and cost more than $10 million per year. McClendon had 2.5 sacks and 10 TFLs last year in just 465 snaps and he while costs less than $3 million this year.

That seems like a no brainer because you have a 34 year old defensive tackle on a team that isn’t going to be good enough to make use of his talent. Why wouldn’t you try to get something out of him before he leaves next year.