Ijalana and Lattimore

I know these two moves might be considered nondescript and second-tier, but quite honestly, I really think when you look at them closely, the Jets did some nice things today.

The Jets signed offensive tackle Ben Ijalana and inside linebacker Jabari Lattimore.

I was surprised it took so long for Ijalana to re-sign. Good backup swing tackles are hard to find, and this guy looks like a good one.

The former second-round pick of the Indianapolis Colts out of Villanova, had a really nice camp last summer, and this earned him the backup swing tackle job.

I thought the previous regime, which had a tendency to rush players (see Geno Smith, Dee Milliner, Calvin Pryor and Jace Amaro), did a nice job of bringing Ijalana along slowly.

First they claimed him on waivers at the cutdown to 53 in 2013, and basically red-shirted him that year, making him inactive every week. This was smart. With the Colts he had moved around a lot, and had some knee problems. When he arrived in Florham Park, his head was spinning. In 2013, he was able to develop slowly at tackle, get healthy and get into a better state of mind.

And you saw the end result of this red-shirt year – he really stepped up in camp last summer. He’s not the tallest offensive tackle around at a tad under 6-4, but he makes up for it with really long arms, a really quick kick-slide and top-shelf intelligence.

If you don’t have a decent backup left tackle, it can ruin your season. If you can’t protect your QB’s blindside, it can be an unmitigated disaster for an offense. This guy is good backup left tackle. The Jets had signed offensive tackles James Brewer and Corey Hilliard previously in free agency, but Brewer is a better fit inside, and Hilliard is more comfortable on the right side.

As for Lattimore, I really, really like this move.

First of all, on paper, the Jets are pretty thin at inside linebacker. I say on paper, because two guys they have on board as backups right now, Mario Harvey and Chris Young, have potential, but they haven’t proven anything on the NFL level. It’s a gray area what these guys bring to the table. We will see this summer.

Lattimore is a proven quality backup inside linebacker. The Green Bay Packers had some injuries inside the last couple of years to Brad Jones and Desmond Bishop, and Lattimore did a solid job in their stead.

The University of Middle Tennessee-product is a very good coverage linebacker. The Jets could certainly use another one of those inside. He’s also a good special team’s player, which is important as a backup inside linebacker.

Honestly, in a fair, open competition, I wouldn’t be shocked if he gives DeMario Davis a run for his money. Davis is a very hard worker, and good against the run, but his pass coverage continues to be inconsistent. Sometimes he’s a tick slow in route-recognition. This is something Davis needs to work on.

So while neither of today’s Jets moves were sexy, I think they were both rock solid.

April 1, 2015

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