New York Jets season preview: Defense has potential
The New York Jets kick off their 2017 season on Sept. 10 at Buffalo. Here is a preview of their defensive corps.
The New York Jets have a chance to have a pretty sound defense in the 2017 NFL season. They really do. The problem is, they may be on the field so long that their unit may wear down by the time the fourth quarter arrives.
They’ll need help from their offense. That will be a tall order because Gang Green appears to have the worst offense in the NFL. Still, things look promising on the defensive side of the ball for the most part.
Let’s take a look at how New York’s defense shapes up heading into their season opener on Sept. 10 in Buffalo.
Defensive Line: This is still the strength of the overall unit. Tackle Leonard Williams is the best player on the team and will be a perennial Pro Bowl player. Muhammad Wilkerson needs a big bounce-back season after registering only 4.5 sacks last year, the second-fewest of his six-year career. Can we attribute Wilkerson’s poor campaign to the effects of a broken leg suffered in the last game of the 2015 season? Maybe to some degree. However, Wilkerson needs to perform like he did two years ago when he made the Pro Bowl and was the anchor of New York’s dominant line. I expect a strong comeback season from him.
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Now that Sheldon Richardson has been traded to the Seattle Seahawks, someone has to step up and help fill the void. That player could be Kony Ealy. The University of Missouri product was claimed off waivers by Gang Green late last month and the team hopes he can aid their anemic pass rush. Ealy tied a Super Bowl record with three sacks for the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl 50. He added an interception and forced fumble in that contest as well. The Jets feel he can still be a disruptive force by putting intense pressure on opposing quarterbacks.
Veteran Steve McLendon should begin the season as the starting nose tackle. New York recorded just 27 sacks last season, the fourth worst figure in the league. That has to drastically improve this year.
Linebacker: The Jets will miss the leadership qualities of David Harris (now with New England), but they won’t miss his lack of speed. Demario Davis displayed a excellent quickness to the ball during the preseason and will start at inside linebacker along with Darron Lee. Lee finished second on the team with 73 total tackles in his rookie NFL season last year and has added about 10 pounds of muscle since minicamps. That should make him stronger at the point of attack.
Jordan Jenkins will begin the season at one of the outside linebacker slots. The other starting linebacker spot is currently up in the air. Lorenzo Mauldin was the favorite entering training camp, but he has been plagued by a back injury throughout the preseason. Julian Stanford, Josh Martin, Dylan Donahue and Bruce Carter provide depth. The Jets may need to claim another player off the waiver wire to bolster their corps. This is an area of weaknesses as presently constituted.
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Secondary: General manager Mike Maccagnan made it his goal to rebuild New York’s secondary this year. You can certainly see why. The Jets had one of the worst secondaries in the league in 2016. They allowed 30 touchdowns passes, the sixth worst figure in the NFL. Not only that but Gang Green also recorded just eight interceptions. Only the Jaguars had less (seven). Something had to be done.
By drafting safeties Jamal Adams and Marcus Maye in the first two rounds of this year’s NFL Draft, the Jets have fortified the back end of their secondary. There will be growing pains, no doubt. However, Adams and Maye have enormous upside and should be Pro Bowl players in the near future. That’s how talented they are. Adams will start at strong safety and Maye will open the year at free safety. Terrence Brooks and Rontez Miles will serve as their main backups.
The Achilles heel in the secondary is at cornerback. Morris Claiborne signed a one-year, $5 million contract in March and has a lot to prove. The LSU product was the sixth overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft and has essentially been a bust. He has played in only 47 games in five seasons and needs to stay healthy. He is currently dealing with a shoulder injury already. Claiborne has ability — he performed quite well for Dallas last season before suffering an effectively season-ending groin injury midway through the season. This is a critical year for him. He has to stay on the field.
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Buster Skrine should team up with Claiborne in base set alignments while Juston Burris gets the nod over Marcus Williams when the Jets go into the nickel. Skrine needs to produce at a higher level than he did last year. All will counted on for improvement. The same goes for Darryl Roberts, a former seventh round pick of the New England Patriots in 2015.