He looks excellent as the nose tackle, and he really only lined up on the nose on passing downs. He was basically playing a 3T on first down if I remember correctly. He's an absolute destroyer on the inside on passing downs. His pass rush moves have greatly improved and his initial punch is so powerful that lineman are left back pedaling immediately.
I had limited exposure to preseason action..I should've been more clear..I happened to catch that drive & saw the look. It looks to be working really well. Sheldon may have to earn his reps. That's a very good problem to have.In the long term Thomas can rotate with both Wilk & Sheldon. I also think Lee mixed in with Catapano will work very well this season. Lee kind of fills in the cracks in what MC lacks while he learns the finer nuisances & quite frankly learns how to Stack.He's very good in space, finds his way to the ball & is an above average tackler.
DL really is deep. it's interesting that Thomas got Richardson's snaps over Jarvis Jenkins. either guy is capable of contributing which says a lot about the quality of depth. i like that Bowles is using 4 down lineman, as that really is the strength of the D. I'd love to get Jordan Jenkins healthy and back out there. figure he'll take Catapano's spot. you could have a point about Lee mixing in some OLB, and playing up on the line too in subpackages. hopefully Lee can be that versatile.
Sheldon Richardson might be the 3rd best defensive lineman the Jets have. That's hilarious/horrifying.
Richardson is the better player though. Sheldon isn't going to eat into his time. If anything they can use more 4-3 looks. Richardson is also extremely versatile. He could easily line up at LB like he did at times last season.
Steve Mclendon will have no impact on the future of Sheldon Richardson. If Richardson is traded, which I think is a real possibility, it will be because Leonard Williams is a monster.
He could be the one to really capitalize on the stat sheet. When you move as smooth and as quick as he does at his size & ability...with space to work with & 3 other beasts destroying blocking schemes..that might be really hard to stop. He could def be the "finisher" of the group.
