4. Lorenzo Mauldin IV, OLB
Mauldin was perhaps the most pleasant surprise of the 2015 season for the Jets, because he was a much more effective pass rusher than they could have imagined. Drafted in the third round last year, Mauldin’s pass rushing skills were heavily scrutinized and he was labeled as still “very raw” in that area of his game.
After training camp however, Bowles apparently felt confident enough in his rookie outside backer to use him as a situational pass rusher and the 23-year-old finished with four sacks and one fumble recovery on the year. According to Kim Martin of Newsday Sports, Todd Bowles said at the owners meeting in Boca Raton, Fla., that he’s expecting Mauldin to make a “big jump” in year two and he’s looking for him to be a “major player” this upcoming season.
The Jets have a void at both outside linebacker positions–the team released Quinton Coples midway through the season, which is one of the main reasons Mauldin saw the field in 2015; while Calvin Pace‘s contract is up once again, and it’s unclear whether the team wants him to return for another season.
New York will surely target an outside linebacker in the early rounds of the draft but Mauldin’s a fighter, so whoever they draft, you can expect Mauly Maul to compete his tail off to earn his playing time.
