The New York Jets are going to rely on some green rookies in the secondary. Will this work or flop? Boy Green investigates.
Boy Green is goo-goo-gaga over Gang Green’s new additions. Is that enough alliteration for you?
Jamal Adams was my favorite player in the 2017 NFL Draft. A versatile playmaker paired with a vocal leader who can help fix locker room beef.
Throw Marcus Maye in a hard hitting safety from the University of Florida. The first time in Jets history that members of the secondary were the first two picks in a draft. Mixing things up is never a bad thing, or is it?
The New York Jets front office has done everything in their power to gut the roster of talent that can help win now. But youth isn’t necessarily a bad thing, although that will correlate to a lot of growing pains, particularly for their secondary.
Adams and Maye may turn into one of the best safety tandems in the NFL, but it won’t happen overnight. Adams is a plug and play guy who’ll make an impact immediately.
What about the CB position?
We haven’t talked about the cornerback position yet. While many thought going into the NFL Draft, that the cornerback position would be addressed early and often, that wasn’t what happened.
The cornerback position was ignored until the sixth and seventh round when the Jets took a chance on a few projects. So that says to me the Jets are more confident in the guys they had on the roster than everyone thought.
So now the spotlight is on a few players making a leap in their development. That list will assuredly include Juston Burris, Dexter McDougle, and Darryl Roberts.
While from a veteran perspective, Marcus Williams will be looked upon to recapture that six interception magic from 2015. Although it isn’t all old players trekking through, there’s some fresh meat on the backend.
Morris Claiborne a former top-10 pick was one of the best corners in the league last year, when healthy. A huge if because Claiborne has dealt with a variety of injuries throughout his career. But this is a perfect low-risk vs high-reward scenario for gang green.
In a season that they’re tanking and hoping for the best, this is an ideal scenario and an ideal calculation by the front office. Just taking a quick glance at the schedule there are seven opponents that have elite quarterback play and that includes the New England Patriots twice.
So this secondary is going to be tested early and often which is bittersweet. This secondary, especially the young pups will be thrown to the wolves so to speak. But I think this tough love is going to pay off in the long run. These young players are going to have some battle scars they can look back on and use for motivation in the future.
Also one last note, Jets fans you have enough to worry about as it is, don’t create stuff. Jamal Adams has signed his rookie deal with the Jets, as expected. If you remember Darron Lee signed on the eve of #JetsCamp last season. With how the new CBA works, these signings are now mere formalities.
