New York Jets: 3 Players on the hot seat in 2018 season

2. Trumaine Johnson

It may be a bit of an overstatement to say that the seven-year veteran is the key to New York’s success on the defensive side of the ball — but maybe it’s not. General manager Mike Maccagnan inked the 28-year old to a monster free agent contract in March (including $34 million guaranteed) to be a shutdown press cornerback.

Even though he never made the Pro Bowl with the Rams, Johnson is widely considered to be one of the premier corners in the league. The Jets are counting on him to shut down the opposition’s top wide receiver and to be a stout tackler in run support. No one is saying that the University of Montana product has to become Darrelle Revis in his prime. That’s almost impossible to replicate.

However, Johnson has to blanket players this upcoming season like Golden Tate, Davante Adams and DeAndre Hopkins, take away part of the field, throw them off their routes, make receivers uncomfortable. He has to make life difficult for them. It’s a huge key to their defensive game plan.

Johnson needs to come through so that defensive coordinator Kacy Rodgers can deploy a variety of blitz packages. We all know that the Jets are dying for a dynamic edge rusher. They haven’t had one since John Abraham. Since they currently don’t have one, Johnson will have to lock down a top wideout one-on-one. If he can keep that receiver on his own island, to coin an old Revis phrase, then Rodgers would be more apt to call a blitz from anywhere on the field.

There is a lot of pressure on Johnson to perform at a premium level in 2018. He has to live up to the megabucks contract. He needs to become a Pro Bowler for the initial time. If he does, then New York’s defense could catapult into elite status.