I'll be focused on the LB group... i have BIG expectations for these guys.. maybe not this year but over the course of their time on the team. Lorenzo Mauldin has already been microscoped closely by some of us .. his potential is through the roof and may be the most underrated player on the team. Rookie stand out Jordan Jenkins will be on the opposite side of him causing crazy havoc as well. Both these kids have very high motors and a nact to get to the ballcarrier at will... by next season i think the whole "Jets have no edge rushers" will be completely deaded. Also Darron Lee and that blazing speed in the middle plus play making ability. Watching him zone and roam in the middle will be great to see and will take our defense to another level. Pair him next to Bruce Carter (who i think will be our other starter at MLB as the year progresses) plays awfully similar and has had much success in the middle as a 3-4 LB in Dallas. You can tell he's learned plenty from Sean Lee, dude plays his zone very well.. too bad he was a misfit last season and was released but now he's back in his comfort zone. David Harris will be my odd man out because he's slower and one deminsional. Our line is good enough to stop the run on their own and the other LB's are young and athletic. He'll probably face the d'brickashaw situation at the end of the season...
Charone Peake, is my favorite to watch this pre-season, I expect him to shine. The Jets got a tremendous value in Rd 7 drafting Peake. Honestly, being a long time Jet's fan, I can hardly remember such a great value, we are usually reaching for players or trading up. It may be difficult for Peake to make the 53 with our receiver depth, without question at worst Peake should make the practice squad and we may have to put him on the 53 if another team tries to acquire him. Jordon Jenkins and Peake were my 2 favorite picks this year.
Add Edwards to that list with Jenkins and Peake in terms of great value, and potential immediate impact. Hoping it goes down as the best 7th round in our history! granted that's not saying much , but it's rare I'm ever excited about a 7th rounder, and we got 2 good ones (and maybe even an UDFA in J Marshall). That's a sign of great scouting. If Peake can stay healthy, I think he'll prove to be a steal. If he looks good in preseason, wouldn't even risk the practice squad.
They'd be hard-pressed to do worse. Based on what I've read about Boyer and the young talent they have this season, I feel confident that they will be significantly better.
It's finally gameday. I'd have to say that Jalin Marshall is the player I'm most looking forward to seeing take the field tonight. Not only is this kid undrafted out of Ohio State but he's been the star of our training camp. Kid has a little Santana Moss within him in terms of style of play so I'm hoping for a Victor Cruz like preseason breakout performance out of Jalin. Another player is Charone Peake. Man. This kid plays the WR position like a true #1 and if not for college injuries i believe this kid would've been a 1st or 2nd rounder coming out of Clemson. The talent and skill level is definitely there with this Peake kid. Brandon Marshall, Charone Peake, Eric Decker & Jace Amaro inside the redzone, with all that size and length can become down right scary for opposing defenses. Can't wait to see these two receivers work with the likes of Geno, Petty & Hackenberg starting tonight.
Champ: Agree 100% on J. Marshall and Peake. Prefer them over Tompkins and his high salary. Tompkins almost dropped the big pass against the cowboys last year, and then did drop the pass against the bills which would have brought us back.
I would love for the likes of Jalin and Peake to emerge (youth movement) come preseason play; while having them on our roster over the likes of both Kenbrell Thompkins and Jeremy Ross (both 28). I'm not sure when Devin Smith will return but once he does, I'd like to see us carry these 6 receivers (below). Brandon Marshall. Eric Decker. Devin Smith (24). Quincy Enunwa (24). Jalin Marshall (21). Charone Peake (23). That's some serious youth at receiver behind both of Brandon Marshall & Decker. Would love to develop these kids over the next 2-3 years while having them polished in order for the likes of Petty/Hackenberg to have a real shot of succeeding. The reason why I'd keep 6 receivers, rather than only 5, is because Quincy Enunwa reminds me more of a WR/TE tweener than that of a naturual WR nonetheless too much overall talent and potential to let walk.
I'm excited too....unfortunately I live in Boston area so have to wait til tomorrow to see the game replayed. Now I don't really watch College Football, but just to play devils advocate for a minute, didn't Jay Cutler perform fairly well at Vanderbilt with really no help at all? He's the only guy that came to mind who may have had as bad a team around him but still played well and became a top drafted pro. Sent from my SM-N915T using Tapatalk
Minus your bit on David Harris I agree with everything else. I am very excited to see the young linebacking corps. Harris is still a beast though. The man still calls the defense, is a punisher and the hitman. #52 will come back with his shield or on it. Great mentor for the young guys on d and in general. Great member of the Jets. Once again the Jets defense will carry the team. Can't wait
Yea he does. Peake too. Jalin with an electric 80+ yard kick return during his 1st NFL KR while Peake puts up a back shoulder catch, gets two feet down for a TD reception. Both have been key favorites of mine heading into preseason so it's a great feeling to see them impacting during only the 1st half of their 1st preseason game.
We won this game because of our special teams play. Haven't seen that in a long time. I know it's preseason but it was refreshing to finally see some positivity from that unit.
I just hope teams won't pick on Harris in the pass game this year... but you're right i may be getting a little carried away.. i'm just ready for speed and youth!
David Harris' run-stopping ability is incredibly valuable to this team on early downs, especially as we downgraded at nose tackle. Lee and Carter looked good, but they're nowhere near the banger Harris is on the inside. The dirty work he does in taking on the best remaining blockers doesn't show up in the stat sheets, but it's a very important cog to this defense. With the new versatility of the middle linebacking core, we won't need to rely on Harris in the pass game much this year, outside of blitzing, which he's very good at. He makes a lot of money for a run stuffer, but he's also very very good at it. The defense looks extremely set for the future though. With a core of Leonard Williams, Pryor, Mauldin, Jenkins, Lee and Wilkerson, we have good players at every level of the defense.
Excellent post Jonathan_Vilma. At 32 years of age the Hitman is still a tackling machine. Coming off 108 tackles to go along with 4.5 sacks last year. This up coming season we'll have a veteran leader of a tackling machine in David Harris who's now being surrounded by youth, speed, athletism and coverage agility with the likes of Mauldin, Lee & Jenkins. Nice recipie. I feel our Linebacking unit will cause havoc this year while our leader in David Harris is on the verge of feasting @ IMLB.
Had to quote myself for truth here. Kid performed during his 1st preseason game with 4 receptions (caught all 4 targets) to go along with a back shoulder TD reception while getting both feet down inbounds. Something has gotta be growing down in those Clemson waters regarding NFL WR's and I'm hopeful Peake can emerge onto the NFL scene as yet another baller of a WR out of Clemson.
