I just read an article on Turn on the Jets http://turnonthejets.com/2020/05/new-york-jets-under-the-radar-depth/ and thought/hope it could lead to some interesting discussion. There's not much else to talk about, so let me know your thoughts about the players mentioned in the article and other potential backups for the Jets. I know that several of you really like Lamar Jackson. I hope that you'll post info on him. Which players, either rookies or vets do you like as depth?
I'm rooting for all the new players on the Jets, be they rookies or veterans, but I'm really rooting for Bryce Huff. If he could develop into a starting Edge and give us 8-12 sacks a season, that would be awesome. I think he's got a chance. If both Zuniga and Huff develop into at least solid contributors it would help the D a lot and give Williams more to work with. He was projected to be a mid-round draft pick, but went undrafted. Usually there's an underlying reason that a very productive collegiate player with a great motor and attitude go undrafted. He has good size at 6'3" (the Jets list him as 6'1") and 255 lbs. to play OLB in the 3-4 D alignment. He looks to have good speed (4.5 - 4.7 40 range), quickness and bend, and seems to have good instincts and be able to read the plays. Evidently, he was moved from LB to the DL for his senior season and that led to better production, so that may have hurt him somewhat. I think that several things caused him to go undrafted. He didn't have a Pro Day or Combine. He's considered raw and unpolished. I also noticed looking at the videos of him, that he pretty consistently tackles too high, around the upper chest and shoulders. Not only will that not cut it in the NFL, I noticed that he missed a couple of tackles and had a couple of helmet collisions with the player he was tackling, and that would get him a penalty in the NFL if not ejected. He's going to have to learn to tackle lower. Aside from that, his tackling technique looks pretty good. He wraps up and drives through the player, and looked to take pretty good angles to the QB or ball carrier. He also looked pretty good dropping into coverage. On the short video from the second link below, a commentator said that he only had one pass rush move. The lack of a variety of moves hurt Josh Allen in the 2019 draft, but not in his rookie season. Hopefully, Huff can have similar success to Allen. Here are a few links to articles and game film if you want to learn more about Huff: https://jetswire.usatoday.com/2020/...fl-draft-new-york-jets-undrafted-free-agents/ Short Highlight video 2019 Highlights Memphis vs. Cincinnati https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/players/bryce-huff-1.html College Stats https://www.rotoworld.com/college-football/nfl-draft/player/39681/bryce-huff Interview
The Jets were obviously very high on Jared Hilbers as well, as they paid him the 2nd highest amount to sign (Huff was #1). Supposedly, he can play any position on the OL (except Center), and was a consistently good player at Washington. He played at both LT and RT at Washington, starting 11 games in 2018 in place of Trey Adams, and started all 12 games in 2019 after . Hopefully, he can develop into a solid backup OT or swing tackle, although due to arms that are shorter than ideal in the NFL, he may need to move inside to OG. He is a former baskteball player, and supposedly has great athleticism. He is a solid run blocker. He didn't start playing football until his Jr. year in high school. He was a standout player at the East-West Shrine Bowl, but didn't get an invite to the Combine. He has excellent size at 6'7" and 305 lbs., but with narrow shoulders and hips, and shorter than ideal arms, it will be interesting to see how he fares in the NFL. https://jetswire.usatoday.com/2020/...fted-free-agent-jared-hilbers-2020-nfl-draft/ https://www.si.com/nfl/jets/news/ny-jets-nfl-draft-ufa-jared-hilbers http://www.dailyuw.com/sports/article_48fddba4-eee6-11e9-9cb7-dbd33a9be941.html Washington vs Auburn 2018 (Hilbers at LT) https://247sports.com/Player/Jared-Hilbers-37391/Videos/ Pro Day Video
Huff looked a beast in those highlights we saw a few weeks ago, it does seem odd that he didn't warrant a 6th or a 7th round selection. Hopefully, he will stick and prove that he has a place on the team, hell, we need somebody to hit the QB once in a while.
My thoughts on the team depth. Even with a larger roster this season and a larger PS, it looks like we're going to lose some players we'd like to keep this season. Douglas has done an excellent job in bringing in talent and competition at most positions and the depth should be much better this season and going forward. QB - With the signing of Flacco, the Jets finally have a quality backup for this season. Hopefully, he never has to see the field, but will aid both Sam and Morgan in their development. Hopefully, Morgan will develop into our backup QB for the next decade. Fales is probably only around as a camp arm and insurance until Flacco is healthy. Mike White probably won't even make the PS. RB - I think this may be one of the weakest positions on the team, especially if Bell has lost a step. Does Frank Gore have anything left? Hopefully, Perine will be better than I think he will be. I'm thinking the Jets may need to bring back Bilal Powell as I am underwhelmed by Kenneth Dixon, Josh Adams, and I don't think Trenton Cannon makes the team unless it's due to his STs play. WR - The Jets will have more, and potentially better depth than they've had in a while at WR, but just how good will it be? Was Perriman's play at the end of last season due to Arians and his offensive scheme and just a flash in the pan, or can he continue that level of play with the Jets? Will Doctson make the team? If so, will we finally start seeing the potential that made him a first round pick? He certainly has the speed. The question is whether he can stay healthy. I was shocked to read that Quincy Enunwa is trying to come back and play for the Jets. For his sake, I hope he retires, but if he can still play, there's no doubt that he could help the team. Maybe he could just be used in the red zone and on 3rd downs to limit his risk. Will Cager or Campbell make the team? Each have gifts that could make the Jets WR corps deeper better. Crowder is the starting slot WR. Hopefully, rookie Denzel Mims will be the #1 WR and Perriman the #2. Other players competing for a backup spot are Braxton Berrios, Vyncint Smith, Jehu Chesson, Josh Malone, and Jeff Smith. TE - Hopefully, Chris Herndon IV will not incur any more league suspensions, will stay healthy, and return to the form of his rookie season. For now, Ryan Griffin is a solid backup and #2 TE. Hopefully, we see more from Trevon Wesco as a blocker and receiver this season. I don't know anything about Ross Travis, but he's probably only a camp body, and unless Daniel Brown's STs play earns him a spot on the roster, he's probably a goner. OL - I expect the starters to be Mekhi Becton, Alex Lewis, Connor McGovern, Greg Van Roten, and George Fan. I like the addition of Cameron Clark. I believe that he'll be very solid depth at a minimum, and could develop into a quality starter. It will be interesting to see what happens with Edoga. He could have some competition for the swing tackle spot in Clark and Hilbers. Clark probably will move inside, but he could wind up at RT or maybe even as the swing tackle. Edoga has potential. Hopefully, he has been hitting the weight room hard and refining his technique. If Winters and Andrews are beaten out by the rookies, that will give the Jets some additional cap space. I don't think that both Andrews and Harrison will make the team. Competition will be interesting at the OG, LT and RT spots this TC. James Murray, Ben Braden, Brad Lundblade, Conor McDermott, and Leo Koloamatangi are probably only camp bodies and competing for a spot on the PS at best. DL - Along with ILB this is the deepest strongest position unit or group on the team. Q. Williams, Anderson and McLendon are a solid starting unit. Phillips, Fatukasi and Shepherd are the top backups. Six other players will be fighting for probably only 1-2 roster spots. The six are:Jordan Willis, Bronson Kaufusi, John Franklin-Myers, Corbin Kaufusi (although he may be moved to the OL), Domenique Davis and Sterling Johnson. Willis and B. Kaufusi probably have the edge, but this could be an interesting competition as well. https://thejetpress.com/2020/05/27/ny-jets-nfl-draft-roster-defensive-line/ ILB - If Avery Williamson stays on the team, not too many teams in the NFL will have a better starting pair of ILBs than the Jets with Williamson and Mosley. The depth the Jets have there right now is mind boggling. Patrick Onwuasor, Neville Hewitt, and Blake Cashman are the top 3 backups, but James Burgess and BJ Bello have shown some potential. Will the Jets be able to keep 6-7 ILBs on the roster? It will be interesting to see. The competition in TC should be fierce. OLB - This is still one of, if not the weakest unit on the team. Jordan Jenkins and Tarell Basham are penciled in as the starters. Could Jabari Zuniga beat Basham out for a starting spot? Bryce Huff is raw, but has very good potential. He could potentially win a roster spot and be a situational pass rusher his rookie season. Others competing for backup spots are Harvey Langi, Frankie Luvu, Wyatt Ray, and Ahmed Gooden. CB - This is the other unit that most consider one of the weakest on the team. It certainly was last year. I think it has potential to be a strong unit this season, however. Pierre Desir was a good signing, hopefully he has fully recovered from his injury that hampered his play last season and he will return to form. He will be the #1 CB. The other starting position will probably be a 3-way battle between Quincy Wilson, Blessuan Austin and Bryce Hall. That should be a great TC battle. If all four play as well as I think they can, that will give us excellent depth at the outside CB positions. Brian Poole is back at the Slot CB position and he was outstanding last season. I'm uncertain who would backup Poole, but think it would be Maulet. Other players competing for a spot are UDFAs Lamar Jackson and Javelin Guidry,Jr., and Nate Harrison. S - We have one of the better starting tandems in the NFL at S in Jamal Adams and Marcus Maye. Bennet Jackson and Matthias Farley were the top backups last season. The Jets have added some exciting new players at the position however, and it will be interesting to see who winds up making the roster and being the top backups. Topping the list is 3rd round pick Ashtyn Davis. He's fast, has excellent instincts and is a good tackler. His coverage skills are excellent, and if the numbers are as tight as expected, he could possibly wind up being Poole's backup at slot CB, and being a 3rd safety/nickel CB on the field in some alignments. Another interesting addition is NJ native Anthony Cioffi. He was considered one of the top defensive players in the CFL over the last several years. He is fast and is supposed to be very good in coverage. Finally, the Jets added Shyheim Carter as a UDFA. He has positional flexibility and excels in coverage, but is hurt by slower footspeed. At best, I think he makes the PS, but I could be wrong. The competition should be fierce at this position as well.
So I watched that Huff video, from the Cincy game and I watched some from the PSU bowl game (big PSU fan). He showed good tape but the issue and reason he likely fell is he is a 6’3” 250 lb Ish guy who was tasked more times then not to play as a DE on a 3-3-5. So in that sense he was playing the role of a 3-4 end. He rarely lined up to go against a tackle/TE but he did show decent burst off the edge. He also exclusively had his hand on the ground. He will need time to adjust if he’s going to be a standup 3-4 OLB. What I liked is he flashed the ability to penetrate the gaps as a 3-4 end. He also was solid enough to hold up blockers at that same time as a run defender. But that won’t be his role here as a Jet. The Jets run a 3-4 on run downs and he likely shifts to either a 3-4 OLB with no hand in the dirt, or if the Jets go 4 down linemen, he can rush that way where he’s more comfortable on passing downs. I don’t see him being an immediate contributor in the sense but maybe in a year or two he can make the back end of the roster and work his way up in the rotation.
Could this be our chance to atone for not drafting Josh Allen? Lamar Jackson CB Lamar Jackson is a talented athlete. He’s different from the Lamar Jackson on Baltimore, although he did play a little QB in high school. Jackson is a very physical press corner. If Jackson doesn’t fit at corner he could also play safety. He’s got really impressive athleticism overall, but his speed is his biggest downfall. Although he’s great at the line and in short yardage situations, he tends to get burnt deep. He’s a great scheme fit for Gregg Williams defense, and because of that and because he’s young and cheap he could make the team over some of the other veterans. His scheme fit really could be the driving point in him making the team because his speed will hinder his potential at making a genuine special teams impact.
Lamar Jackson Pros-Great size and athleticism. Press-Man cover corner that is excellent at getting hands on in those first steps and excels at rerouting his receivers. He always goes for the ball and causes interceptions and forced fumbles. Great in the red zone and on 50-50 balls. His long stride also allows him to play deep zone. Very physical and a sure tackler. Helps vs the run. Cons- Speed. He was slightly faster than Richard Sherman at his pro day. But I can see him getting beat by the fast receivers. This depends if he can reroute them or not and how long the QB has to wait. Need to work on his footwork. Semi stiff hips, not bad but definitely not the best. I see him as someone who can guard the other teams bigger receivers very well and play deep zone if needed. He has the size and reach to play well on mid speed-slower receivers easily. He is very good playing the ball and causing turnovers. If GW can coach him some on footwork and discipline he could be very effective.
He’d be better suited to short zone where he can jam and play the flats while he has a deep zone safety or nickel actually, at least by that description
He doesn't have the speed to keep up in short with the speed receivers at the back in he can read the ball and use his strides to get there. His footwork won't carry him in the short without jamming in press coverage. If you play him off the receiver wins and most short zone is off receiver. It's just like when a corner like Charles Woodson move from corner to free safety, he lost speed but when the play was in front of him he could easily adjust.
Good job NC I enjoyed reading this. In that first Huff vid, he sometimes reminded me of Jamal A. chasing down the RB from behind the LOS. He looks fast and a killer tackler. He throws ppl down like a rag dolls! Of all the new kids, I think that Ashtyn Davis is someone we'll see A LOT all over the field. He's so gifted I think GW will have a field day with him. If both him and Jamal are on the field at the same time it's gonna be fun to watch.
Agree to disagree. I just watched a highlight tape and it looks like he is underneath more. The only plays he made deep were way under thrown passes, at least in that cut up.
He's also in man coverage in all those plays. As I said in short zone he loses receivers. His footwork needs work, he's not quick. Think cross country as opposed to 40 yard dash. Long strides don't translate well in short yardage.
