Watching him in the spring, it’s pretty clear that defensive end/OLB Kingsley Enagbare, who signed with the Jets in March, is going to help them fix a big problem they had last year – setting a hard edge against the run.
He was very good at this in Green Bay, and you can see why in practice. While there is no tackling this time of year, you can position yourself to set the edge with technique, and on Wednesday, there was a run that Isaiah Davis cut inside, perhaps because Enagbare set a hard edge. The only reason I say “perhaps” is that I don’t know the offensive play call. It might have been an inside run call. I’m just saying, the way Enagbare positioned himself, it would have been hard to run outside.
When it comes to edge players, the first thing people most people focus on are sacks, and those are important, but if you can’t stop the run in this league, it’s going to limit those third-and-long opportunities to pin your ears back and rush the quarterback. And while Enagbare isn’t a game-wrecking pass rusher, he is excellent at setting the edge, and you could argue that an edge-setting defensive end/OLB was almost as big a need as a dominating pass rusher. The Jets have not been great at setting the edge the last couple of seasons.
And Enagbare should help the Jets do this better. A powerfully built 6-4, 258 pounds with long arms and huge hands, the University of South Carolina product is an excellent run defender.
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