The New York Jets have gotten the steal of the offseason with the waiver wire acquisition of pass rushing phenom Kony Ealy.
Finally, the New York Jets have found their dynamic, explosive edge rusher. Meanwhile, the New England Patriots have a serious case of regret, especially with the way their defense has looked so far in 2017.
Kony Ealy has been in the league since 2014 when he was drafted in the second round by the Carolina Panthers. He has 14 career sacks and might have been named MVP of Super Bowl 50 against the Denver Broncos had the Panthers beaten Peyton Manning’s club.his highlight is his performance in Super Bowl 50 against the Denver Broncos.
While he hasn’t recorded a sack this season for the Jets, he’s made his presence felt in other ways.
.@KonyEaly94 was highest graded player on #Jets this week. He collected a ridiculous 4 batted passes, while generating 3 pressures #JAXvsNYJ
— Paul Andrew Esden Jr (@BoyGreen25) October 2, 2017
On the season, @KonyEaly94 has 5 batted passes– no edge defender in the league has more than 2 #Jets #JAXvsNYJ
— Paul Andrew Esden Jr (@BoyGreen25) October 2, 2017
Even if he can’t get there, he’s making impact plays. Throughout the game against Jacksonville, he’d bat down a pass or make his presence felt, forcing Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles to continue progressing through his reads. Heck, one of Ealy’s batted passes wound up in his hands—and the 6-foot-4, 273-pound lineman nearly wound up in the end zone with a pick six.
Jets general manager Mike Maccagnan deserves a huge round of applause for getting a guy of this talent level off the scrap heap. But Ealy deserves a ton of credit as well. He didn’t join the Jets until the final week of the preseason on what amounted to a tryout and has quickly become a key piece of Gang Green’s defense.
While the team has certainly been persistent in terms of trying to find that missing piece, investing 26 draft picks on defense over the last seven years, they’ve continued to stumble more times than not in this department.
But with Ealy, they took a shot that cost them nothing. Well, technically it cost them just over $800,000, per Spotrac. But that’s a relative bargain for what he’s delivered so far.
If Ealy keeps playing up to his potential he’s in for a massive payday this upcoming offseason. Hopefully the Jets continue to be the beneficiary of his services.
