New York Jets: Trumaine Johnson is most important player to defense

The acquisition of Trumaine Johnson is the biggest one of the offseason for the New York Jets because of the importance of the secondary.

The New York Jets found themselves in the midst of a bad season as a whole on both sides of the ball in 2017. One of the biggest disappointments for the 2017 Jets was their secondary, especially at cornerback.

In 2015, when their defense was rolling, everyone pointed to Muhammad Wilkerson’s sack total. However, it was the secondary’s ability to cover that was key to the pass rush. The Jets had four cornerbacks, out of the six that played, that allowed a passer rating of under 80. Three out of the four were under 70.

Fast forward to 2017 and the script had been flipped. They were ineffective at getting to the quarterback, and they had seven players allow passer ratings of over 80, and four of them were over 100.

Trumaine Johnson was one of the best in the NFL in coverage in 2017. He was 16th in the NFL (among corners that played at least 75 percent of his team’s snaps) in passer rating against (79.8), according to Pro Football Focus Elite. Now he’s a member of the Jets after being signed to a massive five-year deal in free agency.

The Jets back in 2015 were able to attack the quarterback, because their secondary was covering well. So, Johnson will have to be at his best for the Jets to be able to get after the quarterback. His ability to cover will give the Jets defense more flexibility with Jamal Adams. They’d be able to use him is blitz packages, coverage and as an eighth man in the box against the run.

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In the Todd Bowles defense, even going back to his days with the Cardinals, the defense was always at its best when the secondary performed to its peak. In order to come close to matching 2015, Johnson will have to be at his best in 2018.