Getty Ex-San Francisco 49ers pass rusher Dion Jordan attempting a sack on Josh Allen.
The New York Jets’ heart was broken this offseason with several of their defensive stars succumbing to injuries.
They attempted to fill the cracks of the heart via trade by acquiring veteran pass-rusher Shaq Lawson from the Houston Texans.
While it was a savvy move by general manager Joe Douglas, it didn’t completely fill the void on that side of the ball.
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Jets Kick the Tires on an Ex-First Rounder
The Jets brass apparently isn’t satisfied with just one move at edge rusher. On Monday afternoon, August 30, they worked out former No. 3 overall pick Dion Jordan, according to ESPN NFL insider Field Yates.
Jordan was supposed to be the future of the NFL at 6-foot-6, 248 pounds coming out of Oregon. He wasn’t a traditional defensive end or linebacker; instead, Jordan was a former tight end that brought a lot of unique gifts to the field.
He had it all, from athleticism to lankiness to incredible versatility.
Unfortunately, all of those amazing traits didn’t translate to the football field. Jordan only lasted four seasons in Miami and only got to play in two of them because of a violation of the NFL’s substance-abuse policy.
During that span, he registered a grand total of three sacks.
Jordan eventually landed with the Seattle Seahawks and was impressive, notching four sacks in five games back in 2017. He wasn’t able to build on that momentum because of knee surgery and another suspension from the league.
When Jordan signed with the then Oakland Raiders he had to serve the rest of his NFL suspension. Although there was a finally a breakthrough this past season when he joined the San Francisco 49ers.
In 2020 Jordan spent time with current Jets head coach Robert Saleh.
He notched three sacks, a forced fumble, and played in the most games he had since his rookie year back in 2013.
While he never lived up to the hype as the third overall pick, Jordan has found success as a situational pass rusher. It’s no coincidence that Saleh was able to get the most out of him.
What Does Gang Green Have to Lose?
This would be another low-risk vs. high-reward kind of move.
At this point, the Jets have nothing to lose. Desperate times call for desperate measures. They have lost so much star power and depth that they have to bring in warm bodies to fill vacancies on the roster.
Saleh knows the player and obviously he has a history with the scheme.
Expectations are relatively low. Jordan only had three sacks last season, but consider this: that would’ve been third-best on the Jets roster last year. No, I’m not kidding (h/t to Drew from Jersey).
Regardless of how good the green and white coaching staff feels about some of their players in-house like Bryce Huff, John Franklin-Myers and others, it’s going to be a deep rotation.
A lot of bodies are going to be coming through and that’s great because it keeps everyone fresh. The potential signing of Jordan may get some eye rolls on social, but this is a high upside play.
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Jets Work Out Former Top-3 Pick With Robert Saleh Ties: Report