Though the New York Jets are heavily laced with veterans, their real success in 2016 will come if these youngsters pan out as expected.
By Robby Sabo
Look no further than what the Seattle Seahawks have done over the last half decade to understand that.
General manager John Schneider used his middle-to-late round picks to perfection. This helped the organization in a way that not only provided ridiculous production all over the roster, but made the salary cap to actually smile friendly upon them, instead of becoming enemy number one.
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Guys like Richard Sherman and Russell Wilson provided ridiculous return on the dollar. These talents played out their rookie contracts while earning so much more on the field.
This is what can be earned when youngsters pan out, especially if these guys come cheaper by way of middle-to-late round selections.
In 2015, from a New York perspective, we saw it from Calvin Pryor.
While he was a first-round pick, 2015 marked the first season the Louisville Slugger made his real mark in the NFL. Thanks to a real need at the safety position in 2014, Rex Ryan was forced to play Pyror in a centerfield spot, leaving him uncomfortable most of the time in trying to take away the middle-third of the field.
Thanks to the addition of Marcus Gilchrist a season ago, Pryor went back to his more natural strong safety spot. This allowed the vicious hitter to to rob underneath and constantly stick his nose in the box.
He was actually so good that the Jets defense looked lost without him on the field. In the three games he missed – Oakland Raiders, Jacksonville Jaguars and Buffalo Bills – New York finished 1-2 and yielded an incredible 1,167 yards against.
Now, the question remains, who’ll be the Jets’ Calvin Pryor of 2016?
God knows, thanks to the veteran nature of this Jets squad, these breakouts will be crucial. It could mean the difference of an average group or yet another surprising season out of the new regime of Mike Maccagnan and Todd Bowles.
We rank the New York Jets breakout candidates for 2016:
5. Marcus Williams, CB
- 25 Years Old, 5-11, 196 lbs., Undrafted FA in 2014 (HOU)
- 2014: 8 G, 8 GS, 1 INT, 7 PD
- 2015: 13 G, 3 GS, 6 INT, 10 PD
- Projected 2016: 15 G, 14 GS, 7 INT, 19 PD
This guy is just a magnet for the football.
Perhaps the lone bright spot in a horrid 2014 season was cornerback Marcus Williams. The second half of the season saw him collect an interception and seven successful passes defended while starting eight games for the depleted Jets.
Thanks to Darrelle Revis, Antonio Cromartie and Buster Skrine all coming to town simultaneously, Williams found himself as the dime back. With Cro gone, Marcus is now back in the top three.
Why he finds himself No. 5 on this list to breakout comes purely down to position fit. Skrine fits much more as a nickel back. His height, body type, agility, and comfort in defending the slot will force Bowles to go with Williams as the starter opposite Revis.
Look for Williams to impress in 2016. What he lacks in raw ability he makes up in football IQ and a keen nose for the ball.
4. Jace Amaro, TE
- 23 Years Old, 6-5, 265 lbs., Round 2 of 2014 NFL Draft (NYJ)
- 2014: 14 G, 4 GS, 38 CTH, 345 YDS, 2 TD
- 2015: Did Not Play, Injured
- Projected 2016: 14 G, 14 GS, 53 CTH, 624 YDS, 7 TD
Don’t be confused or be so quick to forget, Jace Amaro is one bad boy.
This big bodied tight end has all the talent in the world and displayed such talent in the pass happy offense of Texas Tech.
He simply couldn’t display all of his talents as a rookie thanks to a porous offense. The weapons surrounding him were terrible and the quarterback position was below average at best.
At only 23-years old, 2016 could be a very exciting season for Amaro.
Playing in Chan Gailey’s spread offense, he and Quincy Enunwa will act as the dangerous big bodied slot/wing options.
However, Amaro’s breakout will be highly dependent on what happens with Ryan Fitzpatrick. We’ll still hedge our bets that the Harvard product will be back in tow.
3. Darron Lee, LB
- 21 Years Old, 6-1, 232 lbs., Round 1 of 2016 NFL Draft (NYJ)
- Projected 2016: 15 G, 3 GS, 72 TKL, 6 INT, 3.5 SK, 9 PD, 1 TD
Darron Lee breaking out already? Surely.
As you can see above, we have the rook slated to play 15 of the 16 games on the 2016 schedule, yet start only three of those games. Frankly, it doesn’t matter. Lee will factor into the defense to such an extreme level without even sniffing the field during base situations to begin with.
His role as the top nickel and dime linebacker, shoving David Harris to the sidelines in those scenarios, will provide the Jets with one of the speediest sub-defenses in all of football.
He will make this Jets sub-defense incredibly dangerous.
While he won’t breakout to an NFL Pro Bowl form, he’ll be worth his weight in gold for this franchise in year one.
2. Lorenzo Mauldin, OLB/DE
- 23 Years Old, 6-4, 256 lbs., Round 3 of 2015 NFL Draft
- 2015: 15 G, 1 GS, 4 SK
- Projected 2016: 16 G, 12 GS, 9.5 SK, 3 PD
If there’s one spot of Todd Bowles‘s defense that needs a serious bump in production, it’s the edge.
Second-year player Lorenzo Mauldin is that edge.
Mauldin was only able to get to the quarterback four times in 15 games in 2015. Playing behind the likes of over-the-hill Calvin Pace, it was a serious learning year for the rook.
Now, all bets are off.
Mauldin should start, even in the base, from day one. In fact, he’ll be relied upon to start on the weak edge from the get-go. Where Mauldin will really be heavily leaned on, though, will be when he can pin his ears back and use that speed in getting after the QB.
Look for close to 10 sacks from the Louisivlle product.
The Jets will need it. Muhammad Wilkerson playing the other edge in sub-packages doesn’t present a ton of speed. Mauldin, on the other side, definitely does.
1. Leonard Williams, DE/DL
- 21 Years Old, 6-5, 298 lbs., Round 1 of 2015 NFL Draft
- 2015: 16 G, 15 GS, 3 SK, 29 TKL
- Projected 2016: 16 G, 16 GS, 6.5 SK, 38 TKL
To be honest, Leonard Williams didn’t burst onto the scene as a rookie like many thought he would.
Arguably the best prospect in the 2015 NFL Draft, this USC product was good, not great in 2015.
This is why 2016 makes his value in 2016 downright silly to think about.
With Sheldon Richardson on the shelf during the first four games (suspension), Williams had a chance to shine right off the bat. For the most part he held his own in collecting three sacks while playing all 16 games.
What’s exciting, however, is the mere idea that Maccagnan and Bowles have continuously shopped for talent that suggests they’ll run more four-man fronts moving forward. This means Williams will be able to see the field with Richardson and Wilkerson at the same time.
This can only lead to more opportunities for the 21-year old beast.