Content available exclusively for subscribers
This is probably still a problem for the Jets. We will see. But if it’s still a problem, maybe it’s because of too much can-kicking.
I’m talking about the Jets kicking the can, for a number of years now, on getting a dynamic edge-rusher at the OLB position.
I’ve been writing about this as a major need for the Jets for about a decade, and it seems to me, it still hasn’t been addressed adequately.
The Jets have some serviceable edge-rusher, but no game-wreckers.
Just to be clear here, I’m not talking about defensive linemen. The Jets have good pass rushers on their defensive line in Mo Wilkerson, Sheldon Richardson and Leonard Williams.
But those are 300-pound defensive linemen, who mainly rush from the interior. They generally do a good job with that.
But in a 3-4 defense, if you want to have a special one, you need to have a sack-daddy coming off the edge, a great athlete, with loose hips, and a dynamic first-step, who can consistently beat one-on-one blocks.
The Jets picked Jarvis Jenkins last year in the third round. Good football player – super-tough, very good against the run, and great character. He’s the kind of guy you want on your football team. However, he doesn’t have great speed, has some hip stiffness, and never had more than five sacks at Georgia. When you are a five-sack-a-season college pass rusher, do you expect more on the NFL level, when the tackles are better? Probably not. Once again, solid player, but anybody who thought that Jenkins is the panacea for the Jets’ pass rush, is probably being unfair to the kids.
A couple of years ago, the Jets picked Lorenzo Mauldin in the fourth round, to help their pass rush. Great motor and very tough, but a 4.9 forty guy with some hip stiffness. Another guy you want on your team with how hard he plays, his motor, but once again, not a game-wrecking pass rusher.
Jenkins and Mauldin are both good candidates to be your #2 OLB, but the Jets still need to find a number one.
Once again, this year, they probably waited too long in the draft to address this need, when they grabbed West Georgia defensive end Dylan Donahue in the fifth round. Once again, he’s another player who is very tough and has a great motor, but he’s got really short arms and small hands, two major obstacles to being a great NFL pass rusher. Perhaps he can overcome these issues with great technique, but it’s going to be an uphill battle.
So the last three years, the Jets, in my opinion, waited too long to address this pressing need. Three years in a row, they kicked the can too far down the road in the draft process to grab an edge-rusher.
Look, I understand once in a while you will find a special edge-rusher later in the draft, but generally you need to pull the trigger in the first couple of rounds to land a difference-maker.
And the fact that they failed to get one, might have contributed to the man pictured above, Mark Collins, being the former Jets OLB coach.
May 17, 2017
Premium will return by 9:30 pm on Thursday.
