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As I mentioned yesterday, the Jets probably overpaid at tad . . .
. . . for C.J. Mosley (five-years – $85 million deal – $51 million guaranteed) with the New York Jets, but it’s a good move nonetheless.
They desperately wanted to pry this player out of the grasp of the Baltimore Ravens, and had to perhaps go a little overboard.
But he’s a terrific player, and will help transform their run defense from a weakness to a strength.
He was a little on the slender side when he came out of college at 6-2, 234, but it now plays at 250. At 6-2, 250, with great strength (terrific weight room worker), he’s a stout run defender.
But it’s not just that he’s built to stop the run, and built like a prototypical 3-4 ILB with the body armor to stack and shed, it’s his instincts.
And instincts are such a huge part of being a successful NFL inside linebacker, and this guy is loaded with them. He has very sophisticated eyes which allows him to find the ball fast. And he when he arrives, he’s a big-time hitter and a very secure tackler.
Also, he’s terrific in coverage. And it’s not because he’s a speed merchant. He has good, not great wheels. The biggest reason he’s effective in coverage are, once again, his instincts. As a linebacker in coverage, you take one misstep, and you are in a heap of trouble, because it’s not like most linebackers have the recovery speed to make up for false steps. It’s not like they’re Deion Sanders. There were two glaring examples from last year’s Jets season on what false steps can do to linebackers in coverage – Tarik Cohen’s long TD catch for the Chicago Bears and T.J. Yeldon’s TD reception against Jacksonville.
Not saying Mosley’s perfect in coverage, but he’s really good, evidenced by his seven picks and 20 PD’s over the last three seasons.
He’s also got alpha dog leadership qualities and a great work ethic.
He’s very good at calling the defensive signals and getting his teammates lined up.
Mosley comes from two great defensive cultures – the University of Alabama (where he won two national championships) and the Baltimore Ravens. What he learned at these two strong defensive locales, he can impart on his Jets teammates, as one of their leaders.
The combination of Mosley and Avery Williamson will give the Jets a terrific pair of tackling machines at inside linebacker in their 3-4 defense. If they both stay healthy, expect both of them to go over 100 tackles this year.
So what does this signing mean for Darron Lee?
First off, what Adam Gase said about the Combine about Lee might have been window-dressing.
“He was always getting beat up by you guys [reporters] but he would play a great game against us.” – Adam Gase on Lee.
One of two things can happen here:
They could trade Lee to team that plays a 4-3 defense where he can be a free-flowing weakside linebacker running to the ball and not having to take on as many blocks.
Or he could stay with the Jets and be a role player, in sub-packages, playing in coverage, as a blitzer and on special teams.
But actions speak louder than words. While Gase blamed the negativity about Lee on the press, the Jets clearly felt the same way as the media about this player.
That is why they broke the bank to sign Mosley.
March 15, 2019
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