NFL

Jets eyeing WRs at Combine

INDIANAPOLIS — Teams love to say they will take the “best available player” in the NFL Draft. For the Jets, that will be the “best available playmaker.”

Not surprisingly, the Jets have entered this offseason focused on improving their offense, and that begins with finding upgrades at wide receiver and tight end. The Jets finished 25th in total offense in 2013 and had one of the worst sets of skill players in the NFL.

The Jets have spent plenty of time at the NFL Scouting Combine this week studying the wide receivers available in the draft. This class of wideouts is seen as one of the deepest in years, and the Jets feel it will be through the draft and not free agency that they will be able to find more help for their struggling offense.

According to two team sources, the Jets are not wowed with the top options at wide receiver in free agency. They question whether Broncos receiver Eric Decker will be worth the $9 million he is expected to get in league circles.

They also have concerns about the speed of Eagles free agent-to-be Jeremy Maclin, who is coming off ACL surgery.

The other top receivers are Patriots wideout Julian Edelman, a slot receiver, and Giants receiver Hakeem Nicks, coming off a terrible season.

Though the Jets likely will add a receiver through free agency, it may be one of the second-tier players, and the real improvements may wait until the draft.

Jets insiders expect to draft multiple wide receivers. They met with Clemson’s Sammy Watkins at the combine, but he will be long gone by the time they pick at No. 18 in the first round. They may get a shot at Texas A&M’s Mike Evans or USC’s Marquise Lee, considered the next two in most draft rankings. Lee said he had a meeting scheduled with the Jets. Evans did not.

Another possibility at 18 for the Jets, if the top wide receivers are gone, is North Carolina tight end Eric Ebron, who has drawn comparisons to the 49ers’ Vernon Davis with his ability to be a pass-catching threat. The 6-foot-4, 250-pounder ran a 4.6 40-yard dash on Saturday.