Getty New York Jets linebacker Jamien Sherwood making a play in the middle of an NFL game.
New York Jets team reporter Ethan Greenberg asked linebacker Jamien Sherwood where he thinks he is heading into his third season.
The former Auburn product provided a surprisingly candid response during OTAs.
“I’m not going to like rank myself amongst other people, like I said I only had 25 snaps, there is people who play every game, every week,” Sherwood explained. “I’m at the bottom and I’ll just say this, a wolf that is climbing the mountain is always hungrier than the wolf on top of the mountain. When I get my shot this year, it’ll all come to light.”
#Jets team reporter @EGreenbergJets asked Jamien Sherwood (@JamienSherwood) where does he feel like he is as an #NFL LB? He provided a surprisingly candid response, ‘I’m at the bottom’ but ‘a wolf that is climbing the mountain is always hungrier than the wolf on top of the…
Sherwood Is Cut From a Different Cloth
In a society and more specifically a sport that prides itself on macho and being the best of the best, Sherwood’s response was quite refreshing and honest.
The 23-year-old originally entered the NFL as the No. 146 overall pick in the fifth round of the 2021 NFL draft.
In two seasons, Sherwood has played in 22 games and has made four starts during that span.
With such a limited sample size, it’s hard to judge what Sherwood is or isn’t at this stage. He only has 31 career tackles, one tackle for loss, and half a sack.
After being a role player and special teams cog, Sherwood is expected to take a much larger role in 2023.
Sherwood is heading into his third NFL season and has two years left on his rookie contract.
Sherwood Is a Projected Starter at Linebacker in 2023 for Jets
Will the Jets re-sign Kwon Alexander is the pressing question on social media.
If they do, all of the Sherwood hype will die. If they don’t, Sherwood is projected to start in his place when three linebackers are on the field in the Jets’ 4-3 scheme.
Alexander didn’t join the Jets until late in the 2022 offseason signing his contract on July 29. So there is still plenty of time for that potential deal to come to fruition.
However, it seems like the Jets coaching staff has a strong belief that Sherwood can be the guy.
Alexander appeared in all 17 games last season and made 12 starts. All in all the former LSU product appeared in 49 percent of the defensive snaps.
Sherwood on the other hand only appeared in two percent of the defensive snaps.
#Jets LB Jamien Sherwood (@JamienSherwood) told @EGreenbergJets that his biggest takeaway from his second #NFL season was that he can do it + came in as a 212 pound safety, ‘very undersized, don’t know any technique, don’t know anything’ + ‘when the lights aren’t on I’m just…
Sherwood only played 25 snaps across 17 games last season, but he had a major takeaway from his second professional season.
“My biggest takeaway was just that I can do it,” Sherwood told Greenberg.
Coming out of college Sherwood was a safety and the Jets immediately converted him to linebacker after they drafted him.
“Coming into the league as a rookie safety, 212 [pounds], just very undersized, just don’t know any technique, don’t know anything especially the scheme of a linebacker,” Sherwood said.
“Year [No.] two I had that downtime to like sit back and watch. Just soak in all the knowledge and everything I needed to. I was way better. I can just say that when I got my snaps, I think I had 25 snaps out of 17 games. All I can say is that’s just like when preparation meets opportunity. When the lights aren’t on I’m just sitting back studying [and] soaking in everything.”
Sherwood has a chance to be a rotational starter and provide some depth to a position that sorely needs it.