The New York Jets season has stunk, there is no hiding that, but at least one thing has gone right for the team.
Head coach Robert Saleh decided to bet on his guys in-house at cornerback in the offseason, despite public pressure to hire a mercenary from the outside.
He was much maligned in the offseason for this strategy, but it ended up paying off in a major way.
Now it appears he will be doubling down on this philosophy in 2022.
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Discount Double-Check
In Rich Cimini’s Sunday morning ESPN column, he shared that the Jets will likely be linked to a lot of different cornerback options both in the 2022 NFL draft and in free agency, but don’t take the bait.
“It sounds like coach Saleh is content with his current crew” that features Bryce Hall, Michael Carter II, and Brandin Echols.
Hall might not be a true No. 1 cornerback, but he has proven to be the Jets’ top corner.
He has 14 pass deflections on the year that is the most by a Jets defensive back since 2018 when Mo Claiborne had 13 and the most by a Jets rookie since Dee Milliner, per Randy Lange.
In this year’s draft, general manager Joe Douglas took a few day three dart throws in MC2 and Echols and they have paid major dividends.
Echols had a 93.3 coverage grade versus the Miami Dolphins in Week 15, which was the highest grade of any corner in the NFL. That was also the highest grade of any Jets rookie cornerback this season.
While MC2 is the fourth highest rated player on the Jets, according to the latest PFF analytics.
Pride in Pass Rush
The main reason for Saleh’s stubbornness and/or confidence is the expectation of a “better pass rush.” He explained via Inside the Numbers with Randy Lange:
“If we get more rush from the outside and the rush and coverage start tying in together, it can become a bit special. They’ve developed really nicely, and they’ve proven that they’re NFL players and now the next step for them is to prove that they’re NFL difference-makers. And you do that by taking the ball.”
Well, it certainly has to be better than it was in 2021.
- Jets average 2.2 sacks per game (18th in the NFL)
- Only have 32 total sacks through 14 games (update this after Jacksonville contest) which is outside the top-17 in the league
In fairness to the green and white, they weren’t playing with a full deck of cards in 2021. They lost prized free-agent gem Carl Lawson to a ruptured Achilles during the preseason. Additionally, they also lost Vinny Curry to a rare blood disorder that ruled him out for the year.
On Sunday they beat the Jaguars in an exciting contest which brought their overall record to 4-11.
With that victory, they may have won the battle, but lost the war.
Thanks #DaBears ✊🏾 #Jets hold 2 top-7 picks in 2022 #NFLDraft, per @tankathon. #TakeFlight
There are now two teams in front of the Jets (Jaguars at 2-13 and Lions at 2-12-1) with two games left to go in the regular season. On top of that, the Houston Texans are currently in front of the Jets due to strength of schedule tiebreakers.
That means the Jets are likely out of the top EDGE rusher sweepstakes in the 2022 NFL draft. Obviously, a lot can change from the end of December until the end of April, but right now the top two picks appear to be Oregon’s Kayvon Thibodeaux and Michigan’s Aidan Hutchinson.
Gang Green desperately needs more pass rush this offseason, but they’ll likely have to find it in other places outside of the first round.
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