Jets cornerback Brian Poole excited about GM Joe Douglas' roster moves

Brian Poole has been following what general manager Joe Douglas has done to the Jets’ roster during free agency. Now he can’t wait to get back to work.

“It definitely gets you fired up seeing all the moves that we’re making and knowing that the moves that we’re making actually are things that we need,” Poole said during an interview with SiriusXM NFL Radio on Monday. “Knowing we’re going to be a better team this year, I’m definitely excited about that.”

Poole, the Jets’ most reliable and productive cornerback last season, was one of the players Douglas wanted to be part of the team in 2020. He signed a one-year, $5 million contract last week to play slot corner for a second straight season in Gregg Williams’ defense.

There’s no telling when sports will resume amid the coronavirus outbreak, but that uncertainty is one of the reasons Poole decided to remain a Jet. He wanted to return to a team he was comfortable with and to a system he knew well.

“I just feel like it made the most sense,” Poole said. “With everything going on, we’re probably not going to have an offseason, I just felt like it made the most sense to kind of stay put. The market was a bit down this year as well. It just made the most sense to stay with the Jets.”

The Jets went 7-9 last year and went into the offseason needing upgrades at many positions. Douglas said protecting Sam Darnold would be a priority. Staying true to his word, he has bolstered the offensive line in free agency.

Left tackle George Fant, center Connor McGovern, right guard Greg Van Roten (who went to Chaminade High School in Mineola) and lineman Josh Andrews are new additions to the line. The Jets also re-signed left guard Alex Lewis.

Douglas brought in cornerback Pierre Desir and safety Marqui Christian and brought back outside linebacker Jordan Jenkins, inside linebacker Neville Hewitt and cornerback Arthur Maulet.

There still is more to do. The Jets need receiving help, an edge rusher, depth at cornerback and a veteran quarterback to back up Darnold.

But Poole, who was on winning teams in Atlanta and played in Super Bowl LI with the Falcons, believes the Jets are on the rise. With six wins in the last eight games in 2019 and the upgrades to the roster, Poole believes the Jets should keep climbing.

“I think we just got to keep building on what we had last year,” he said. “It obviously wasn’t the outcome that we were looking for, but I definitely think we had something that was going in the right direction. I feel that we had a great group of young core guys. I just feel like we really were going in the right direction. I feel like we just got to continue to build on that and show up for work every day.

“As long as we continue to build on what we got on both sides of the ball, continue to play complementary football in all three phases, I feel like the sky’s the limit for us.”