Although the New York Jets were not terrible on defense, they too are on a whole rebuild. Gone is once-elite CB Darrelle Revis and signed is ex-Cowboys CB Morris Claiborne. In addition to that, they went out and upgraded their Safety position when they took Jamal Adams in Round 1 and then followed it up with Marcus Maye in Round 2. So gone are Calvin Pryor, who the Cleveland Browns traded in exchange for Demario Davis, and Marcus Gilchrist who was outright cut from the team and remains unsigned.
At the corner position, the Jets will start with Claiborne, Skrine in the slot and Marcus Williams. There is a player who I feel can be successful and take a spot in the starting lineup. Justin Burress really has a shot to shine on this defense in addition to two CBs they selected in the draft this season. Jeremy Clark and Derrick Jones both of these players are very physical CBs which is what Todd Bowles likes out of his CB’s. Clark fell to the sixth round because he tore his ACL in week 4 of Michigan’s season. If he can come back full strength, he will be a very good CB for the Jets D.
Muhammad Wilkerson is one of the focal points on a line that did not play well last season. If he doesn’t produce up to the Jets liking this year they very well could cut him which will save them 11 Million in cap room for 2018. I personally think it was a lot to ask of the Jets Defense last season because of how poorly the offense played. I do not know if that will improve this year as their offense looks to be the same if not worse than last season. Also among the cuts the Jets made was long time LB David Harris. He was the heart of that linebacking crew but overall management did not feel he was able to cover RBs as well as he used to and they cut him. His replacement will be Darron Lee who was a 1st round pick last year but is a little smaller than David Harris is.
Once again, we will see a completely new look for the New York Jets on defense. What effect will this have and can it help them? I think they are better in the secondary than they were last season and I personally believe that will help their front seven play a little better. I am excited to see how well Adams fits into the defense for Bowles.