Hmmm, I'm not sure how I feel yet. That achilles is a tough injury to come back from in year 1. But, like you all said above, if they're switching to a 3/4, then it makes sense. I hope JJ does well for the Titans.
I think you are right. I've been a Reese fan but there are many headwinds shifting in David Bailey's direction. The Stanford connection with Frank Reich, this move which (hopefully) shores up the run defense, and the similarities in Bailey's game to Denver pass rusher Nik Bonitto who GM Darren Mougey scouted and drafted in Denver.
Yeah, I was thinking JJ would be a lot better another year removed from the injury, but you never know. Players like this who rely on twitch and get-off…Achilles is a rough injury to come back from We saw it with Carl Lawson…he was never the same explosive guy he was before he tore his Achilles. And we did need big bodies at DT for sure…and this Sweat looks huge…so while I hate to see JJ go as I liked him a lot, I totally understand the logic and the trade makes a lot of sense on a player who may or may not get back to his former form…hard to know. Mougey seems like a smart guy…
https://jetsxfactor.com/2026/02/26/ny-jets-getting-what-tvondre-sweat/ Highlights: -8th highest-graded DT against the run as a rookie, 4th last year -Only 4 missed tackles in his entire career (29 games) -Tape shows him drawing double teams and setting up his teammates to make plays
I can definitely see it. The run defense is just such a major red flag for me. You can draft a 3-down guy who at his worst plays the run and can close out in the flat or cover a TE or you take a guy who ends up being situational at his floor.
the quickness in Bailey's first step is a dream though. It pops on tape. You dont often see a pass rusher get to the lineman before the lineman gets out of his stance. But I see that with Bailey and you see that with Nik Bonitto in Denver which is why I make the resemblance
Yup. I totally get it. I won’t hate it. I just see Reese as having elite potential and Bailey having really really really good potential.
This is not really 3-4 report. Base 4-3 with 3-4 principles. Basically Detroit defense. Now, Reese could still be the guy, but it is 4-3 base with 3-4 principles. Dynamic. https://x.com/samfitzgerald03/status/2027042888580755832
I liked JJ, but I'm not losing too much sleep over this. The defense was so bad last year, I dont think the defense has one player that I would truly be upset that they lost. I didn't think he was all that impressive last year. Its tough to judge because everyone sucked. With this trade the Jets got a little younger, saved a little money, and hopefully made a dent in their atrocious run defense. Getting rid of Johnson opens up the Jets for a pass rusher with the second pick
It looks like the Jets are building to be able to run both 4-3 and 3-4 whenever they want. Sweat was drafted in early second round, compared to JJ's late 1st pedigree, but never had a serious injury and is 2.5 years younger and CHEAP rookie contract from two more years. He definitely lived up to his draft status being one of the best run defenders in the NFL already and a plus pass rusher. That should be a good upgrade over Phillips as a starter. And clearly we are drafting a DE with the #2 pick. JJ did not have a good year at all, and I am not sure if it is because of Achilles or not, and even if it was, will it be a lot better next year? Regardless of even 3/4 or 4/3, this looks like a really good trade for us and very good resource utilization, where we bolstered DT for years to come on a cheap deal instead of underachieving DE on his last year, and now clear need at DE starter matches with the talent in the draft at #2. I like the move a lot.
The full quite is: "It's 4-3 personnel, we can be 3-4 principles, we can be 4-3 principles if we want to." I just don't want to take quotes out of context. It feels like he wants to have ability to do both really, with 4-3 base. Same as in Detroit. But the key is the dynamic aspect where, we can do both, regardless of base. I think we benefitted here with Saleh really liking JJ. We basically got a tip of the 2nd round pick on a rookie deal at the position of need who overachieved. Almost same age now as when JJ was a rookie. This is not bad at all.
I like it. Bottom line, call it what you will, hybrid, flexible 4-3, 3-4. The fact is Sweat is a hell of a good mostly 3-4 run stuffer which Saleh wont deploy, but was one big need for us. JJ, as much as I like him, is your prototypical 4-3 end that Saleh uses, older, due a contract, so is a nice win-win. This is very good for the Jets, it frees 11 millions of cap space, makes us younger on defense and fills a position of great need. Also avoids have to commit to JJ’s contract and playing more 3-4 means more suited to McDonald style. If we couple that with a Reese or Bailey we got something there. As I understand it, Bain is best suited for a 4-3 but that is just from what I read.
65% of offensive plays are in 11 personnel, 3 WR sets. Is the plan to leave Arvell Reese out there covering a slot guy, or will he be off the field 65% of the time? 3-4 or 4-3 doesn’t matter in today’s NFL, they rarely line up in base defenses.
The joy of Reese is that he can be out there regardless of situation. Passing, running, 3 TE, 5 WR, doesn't matter. If he does what he's projected to do he will make an impact just by being on the field.
