Last year everyone and their grandmother wanted the New York Jets to upgrade the cornerback room.
When the coaching staff chose not to, many of us assumed it was going to be a bloodbath of epic proportions once the season arrived due to their lack of experience and star power.
However, they ended up holding their own and proving a lot of doubters wrong. Despite that general manager Joe Douglas wasn’t satisfied with the success and invested some major assets into the position this offseason.
Now one player that impressed is left without a spot in this game of musical chairs.
ALL the latest Jets news straight to your inbox! Join the Heavy on Jets newsletter here!
Fans Are Chirping
The Jets used the No. 4 overall pick in the 2022 NFL draft on Ahmad ‘Sauce’ Gardner. While head coach Robert Saleh said he will have to “earn his spot” in the starting lineup, let’s be real him landing a starting gig is a formality.
#Jets HC Robert Saleh said he wanted to make something perfectly clear just because Ahmad Gardner (@iamSauceGardner) was the No. 4 overall pick doesn’t guarantee him a starting gig ‘he still has to go earn it’ over Bryce Hall (@BryceHall11): 🎥 @nyjets #TakeFlight #NFL
Prior to that the green and white spent over $33 million in free agency to lure DJ Reed Jr from the west coast to the east coast. Obviously, he will be taking one of the starting gigs on the outside as well.
A holdover from last year, Michael Carter II, is a favorite among the coaching staff and he will be the starter in the slot.
With the music stopped one very impressive player is left looking around for a seat, yet one doesn’t currently exist. Of course, we’re talking about Bryce Hall.
Considering that brutal reality, fans have been speculating about potential options to consider. A very popular one on social media is Hall switching positions from cornerback to safety.
@BoyGreen25 @Connor_J_Hughes Would really make the secondary interesting if Hall is the high safety
DJ Reed – Sauce CB1/CB2 on the outside
MC2, Echols, Dunn Nickle/Backups
Whitehead run stopping box safety
Bryce Hall/Joyner/Another experiment in Jason Pinnock as FS
Pretty nasty versatile secondary…
An interesting thought:
📢NEW: Bryce Hall at safety is just crazy talk right? I’m not so sure… #Jets
🎙️watch here: t.co/8eCwWwUg1X
While this isn’t something the coaches have openly discussed as a possibility you could make a very compelling argument it should be something they consider:
@obermuller_nyj I’ve been advocating all Spring for Bryce Hall to be move to Free Safety, since it’s obvious Gardner and Reed will be the starting corners. Pinnock will be Whitehead’s caddy at SS, Davis will play backup FS and don’t count out Echols beating out Carter for the slot corner spot.
Makes a Lot of Sense
Throughout Douglas’ tenure, he has been an advocate of putting the best players on the field, regardless of position.
While this wasn’t in direct reference to Hall and the possibility of playing safety, this is a perfect example of what he was talking about.
Most pass breakups among second year Cornerbacks this season
🥇 Bryce Hall: 14
🥈 A.J. Terrell: 13
🥉 Kristian Fulton: 11
According to several Pro Football Focus elite ranking categories, Hall showed up when it mattered most:
Most pass breakups in single coverage this season
🥇 Marshon Lattimore: 15
🥈 Bryce Hall: 11
With the overwhelming amount of evidence presented here, it’s hard to deny the possibility:
Bryce Hall: 86.3 tackling grade last season. 2nd highest among all Cornerbacks💪
There is no clear path at cornerback unless someone gets injured which is always something to watch in the NFL. However, the Jets need to be creative here.
Bryce Hall: 6 forced incompletions on red zone passes this season, most among all Cornerbacks
The 24-year-old is an uber-talented player that still has two more years left on his rookie contract. Right now of the five starting positions available in the secondary, four of them are accounted for with the aforementioned cornerbacks and Jordan Whitehead at one of the safety spots.
That leaves just one position seemingly up for grabs heading into training camp at the end of July.
While Hall hasn’t played safety during his football career, Lanze Zierlein of NFL dot com wrote in his pre-draft combine profile that, “Hall is a future starting cornerback but might garner attention at free safety at some point in his career.”
Now seems like a better time than any for that transition.
Hall is just too talented of a player to waste on the bench because you have too many cornerbacks.
He has been described as a “star in the making” by Andrew Golden of Jets X-Factor. Will Parkinson of the TOJ Podcast said something similar suggesting Hall has “star potential.”
The difference between good and great teams is maximizing the talent on your roster and figuring it out.
This is a classic case of just finding a way to get a guy on the field. There may be some early struggles in the transition, but I’d rather have that than throwing some lesser player to fill those shoes in the meantime.
Follow @BoyGreen25 & @obermuller_nyj on Twitter for all the latest New York Jets breaking news, rumors, fresh takes, and more!
READ NEXT: Analyst Calls out ‘Washed up’ Jets Veteran: ‘He Was a Liability’
Comments
Jets Rumors: Fans Think Young ‘Star’ May Be Changing Positions