Getty New York Jets defensive end Jermaine Johnson II chases down the QB in 2022.
The New York Jets’ pass rush has been one of the steady consistencies of the summer. Beat reporter Zack Rosenblatt of The Athletic referred to their overall performance as “lethal” on August 22, adding that they’ve “looked dominant” during the preseason without Quinnen Williams, Carl Lawson and John Franklin-Myers on the field.
“On the interior, defensive tackles Quinton Jefferson and Solomon Thomas have both played well,” he continued. “But it’s really about the talent coming off the edge.”
“Jermaine Johnson looks ready to take off,” Rosenblatt stated, “and PFF graded him positively in all areas: run defense, pass rush and tackling. He’s been a star in practice [at] training camp, too.”
The NYJ beat writer also highlighted the play of pass rush specialist Bryce Huff and first-round rookie Will McDonald IV — who has looked the part early on. It’s the well-rounded Johnson who appears ready to push for starter snaps, however.
Carl Lawson’s Back Injury Could Open the Door of Opportunity for Jets’ Jermaine Johnson II
Lawson — who has been injury-prone throughout his career — has missed most of training camp with a back issue that the Jets have been somewhat hush-hush about. On August 22, head coach Robert Saleh told reporters that they want the big-money starter’s back to be “100%” before he retakes the field in practice or a game.
The Jets had originally hoped to get Lawson back this week, so the mysterious setbacks have grown mildly concerning with Week 1 just 19 days away.
Carl Lawson has been out due to his back, & yesterday Coach Saleh said he wasn’t going “to get into details on the stuff he had done”, which was alarming
Coach said they hope to get him back next week, & here he is today at practice, running, working off to the side
A good sign…
Having said that, the ailment also opens the door of opportunity for Johnson, who’s been chomping at the bit for a larger role in this defense.
The forgotten 2022 first rounder had a very solid rookie season. His 9.8 run stop percentage ranked first among Jets defenders with over 50 snaps played according to Pro Football Focus. He also registered 2.5 sacks, three tackles for a loss and five QB hits over 312 defensive snaps.
Having said that, his pass rushing efficiency could have been better at an 11.0% win-rate — which only ranked seventh among Jets defensive linemen. Johnson’s “PRP” (a PFF formula that combines sacks, hits and hurries relative to how many times they rush the passer) ranked sixth among NYJ DLs at a 5.9.
“It didn’t look like [the] Jermaine that I know,” the second-year edge rusher told the producer on the August 21 episode of One Jets Drive while discussing his 2022 tape. “It didn’t look like the [Florida State] Jermaine playing Miami in the rivalry game. It didn’t scream that off the film, so that didn’t sit right with me, and I had to think about why that was.”
Johnson attributed not living up to personal expectations to a “combination of things,” noting that he addressed those things over the offseason. He said this while wearing a T-shirt with a new motto: “Work Must Get Done.”
“More than anything, it’s your mindset… it’s your confidence.” Johnson expressed. “I knew I had to handle what I had to handle to make sure my confidence is unmatched coming back.”
Jets’ Jermaine Johnson II Looks Like a Man Possessed This Summer
According to PFF, Johnson has bumped his pass rush win-rate up to 16.0% during the preseason. Granted, that’s not always against starters, but he’s been beating first-team offensive linemen throughout camp and joint practices too. His PRP score is now up to 10.0 (from 5.9).
On “true pass-rushing sets,” those numbers increase to 25.0% and 16.7 (PRP).
As a run defender, Johnson has also improved. His stop percentage is 11.1% this August, and his average depth of tackle is a slim 1.0 yards per carry (from 3.1 yards per carry AVDT as a rookie).
Analytics aside, it’s the eye test that has been more impressive than anything else when it comes to Johnson’s hot start this summer. Not only does he look “absolutely shredded,” but he’s also been running right through blockers on a weekly basis.
Jermaine Johnson showing that he is H1M this season
Given Lawson’s injury issues early on and Franklin-Myers’ lack of overall production as a pass rusher, it’s completely feasible that Johnson will overtake one of the two as a starting defensive end in year two. Saleh will still rotate everyone in either way, but the snap share should change as time goes on.
“I feel like this is my purpose,” Johnson voiced to the One Jets Drive crew. “I feel like if you know me, or if you know of me — you know my story — it wasn’t easy getting here and I definitely wasn’t going to quit. I’m not gonna come into the NFL to be an average NFL player, that’s not gonna happen. So, just keep watching, it will be very evident.”
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Jets Second-Year Prospect ‘Ready to Take Off’ After Breakout Camp