When grading the New York Jets positional groups, it’s clear that two rank near the bottom of the league while some of the stellar groups that grade nicely don’t rank as critical in terms of NFL importance.
This isn’t your father’s National Football League.
Out is any chance of witnessing a truly historic defense. In is the factual idea that a dink-and-dunk three-step-drop offense can score at will if executed perfectly. It wasn’t always like this.
For example, take the classic 1985 Chicago Bears. Buddy Ryan’s famed 46 unit could stop an NFL offense based on pure will alone. They could impose their strength and skill and stop an offense in its tracks even if it executed perfectly. We could also say the same about the 2000 Baltimore Ravens.
Eighteen years later, forget about it.
Line up Mike Singletary’s ’85 unit against Tom Brady with the rules of today and it’s not even a contest. The New England Patriots will score their fair share of points.
Would the Hall of Fame-ladened unit hold up better than other defenses of today’s game? Of course. But that’s not the heart of the issue. What matters is the idea that this game is completely different than what we watched even a decade ago.
A well-designed, quarterback-accurate three-step-drop offense cannot be stopped if executed at full tilt. With rub patterns and a no-hands feel in the secondary, it’s drastically changed which positions rank as more valuable.
Unfortunately for the team that makes its living in Florham Park, New Jersey, some of its positional strengths don’t line up with what’s currently working in the league that plays for pay.
Today, we grade out the New York Jets positional groups while also ranking just how important each unit is in the eyes of this brand-new pass-happy NFL where defensive coordinators travel to die a slow death.
Positions No. 16 Through 13
No. 16: EDGE Pass Rusher (3-4 OLB)
- NFL Ranking: No. 2
The very first one on the list is bad, horrible news. What the New York Jets currently employ at the EDGE is nothing short of an abomination and, in reality, is probably the worst collection of one-on-one edge rushers in the NFL.
This is terrible for the team due to the fact the position is so critical in today’s game.
The only possible way to stop these accurate and evil-genius quarterbacks from three-step-dropping their way down the field via rub patterns and bubble screens is if the conventional pass rush is up to snuff.
With Jordan Jenkins, Lorenzo Mauldin, David Bass, Josh Martin and Dylan Donahue as the top guys, the Jets are about six solid pass rushers shy of the Philadelphia Eagles.
No. 15: Offensive Tackle
- NFL Ranking: No. 3
Similarly to the EDGE spot, New York’s stature at offensive tackle is putrid. And again, look at the NFL ranking (3).
Employing a possible future quarterback isn’t enough. Making sure he’s upright and feeling good about his pocket is a must.
Kelvin Beachum is near the bottom of the league in terms of starting blindside tackles.
The Jacksonville Jaguars ranked 22nd in the league in rushing with Beachum in 2016. The very season Beachum leaves, Tom Coughlin’s boys skyrocket to No. 1 in the league in rushing with rookie Cam Robinson in his stead. (And no, it wasn’t all Leonard Fournette’s doing as he managed just over 1,000 yards on the ground in total.)
Brandon Shell offers up a solid spot on the right side, but that’s the far lesser of the two. Oh yeah, there’s no depth either—no competition for either guy come August.
No. 14: Tight End
- NFL Ranking: No. 10
Matchups on the offensive side of the ball and the dynamic ability of today’s tight ends have led to an epidemic of one specific formation accepting the new crown as the base formation. We’re talking about the 11 personnel (3 WR, 1 TE, 1 RB).
Back in the day, five wide receiver sets were often used. Today, offenses simply use the 11 personnel to spread the defense out in uncomfortable spots.
The Jets haven’t been able to use this strategy as they haven’t possessed a legit tight end in quite some time. Young Chris Herndon will have to step up to make that happen in 2018.
No. 13: Kicker
- NFL Ranking: No. 14
Oh, don’t get us wrong; the kicker is critical.
After 60 minutes of blood and guts football, it often comes down to the guy who refuses to take the “foot out of football.”
Mike Maccagnan hasn’t really shown excitement for the position during his tenure and that’s bled over into this offseason with the acquisition of Cairo Santos.
Positions No. 12 Through 9
No. 12: Center
- NFL Ranking: No. 8
Wesley Johnson was a disaster a year ago. It was also front and center bad thanks to Nick Mangold’s absence.
The oft-injured Spencer Long comes in but he, alone, doesn’t help matters until he proves it. The arrival of depth-man Travis Swanson helps this ranking big-time. Competition is critical along the offensive line. It’s the greatest way to develop the big nasties up front.
No. 11: Offensive Guard
- NFL Ranking: No. 12
Heading into 2017, Jets fandom thought guard was a stellar position with James Carpenter and Brian Winters holding it down. It turned out as false.
Carpenter dipped drastically while Winters played through a severe injury. Many are expecting an uptick this season due to both of those experiences, but not so fast. Who’s to say Winters doesn’t get hurt again and Carpenter’s decline has only just begun as he approaches 30 years of age?
In any event, the guard spot—as important as it is along the O-line (all five spots work as one single unit)—it’s the least important of the three in terms of NFL relevance in today’s game.
No. 10: Running Back
- NFL Ranking: No. 13
The debate rages on. Just how devalued is the running back spot in today’s game?
What the extremists on both sides usually fail to see is that there’s a ton of gray area here. Nobody can truly argue the position hasn’t declined. Based purely on the fact there are no more workhorses who touch the ball 30 times a game and three and sometimes four backs are rotated, naturally, the spot has devalued.
Either way, skill is still needed at the spot. The O-line must be set up for rushing success first.
No. 9: Fullback
- NFL Ranking: No. 16
Coming in dead last in the NFL in positional importance is the fullback and for one reason only: it’s a dead position.
In fact, the tight end/fullback position could easily have been combined on this list. It probably should have been.
In terms of the Jets point of view, Dimitri Flowers looks to be one hell of an undrafted free agent steal up to this point.
Positions No. 8 Through 5
No. 8: Punter
- NFL Ranking: No. 15
Lachlan Edwards has slowly but surely rewarded the Jets faith in him. Ranking in the top 10 in the NFL in punting average a season ago locks him in as a solid punter in the NFL.
Only fullback ranks in terms of NFL relevance.
No. 7: Inside Linebacker
- NFL Ranking: No. 11
Yes, Darron Lee and Avery Williamson is a solid tandem at 3-4 inside linebacker. But neither are big-time stars.
Additionally, Kevin Minter might be the most underappreciated signing this offseason. He’s an excellent third ILB and will work wonders for the Jets special teams units. It’s a spot that ranks right in the middle of the pack for the green and white.
No. 6: Wide Receiver
- NFL Ranking: No. 7
Much like the inside backer spot, wide receiver is deep but without a single true stud. Robby Anderson will need to get it done one more season before star gets thrown in his direction.
Anderson, Jermaine Kearse and, arguably, the best of the bunch, Quincy Enunwa, make for a tremendous top three. Sprinkle in Terrelle Pryor, Chad Hansen, ArDarius Stewart and Charone Peake and, suddenly, watch out. The Jets weaponry is on the rise.
No. 5: Quarterback
- NFL Ranking: No. 1
Yup. There’s no way around it. The quarterback spot is far-and-away the most important position in sports. Forget football. The right arena is “sports.”
The two slam-dunk critical groups are the quarterback on offense and one-on-one edge rushing on defense. After that, an argument can be made for corner, receiver, tackle, etc.
For the first time in a long time, the Jets can feel proud about the quarterback spot. Sam Darnold is the. future while Josh McCown and Teddy Bridgewater add tremendous immediate value.
Positions No. 4 Through 1
No. 4: Interior D-Line (3-4 DE & NT)
- NFL Ranking: No. 6
In the 4-3, we’re looking at the two defensive tackles (the nose guard and the 3-technique). In the 3-4, we’re looking at three men in the base (3-4 defensive end and 3-4 nose tackle). But that’s only in the base. The 3-4 moves to two or fewer interior players in any sub-package look—just like the 4-3.
Leonard Williams is an NFL stud. Forget the numbers. The man can’t collect numbers when he’s double-teamed on every play due to zero attention provided to the lacking Jets edge. Steve McLendon is a solid NFL veteran. Nathan Shepherd, Henry Anderson and Deon Simon offer up nice depth. It’s a solid group in Florham Park.
No. 3: Free Safety
- NFL Ranking: No. 9
In NFL terms, the free safety is ninth of 16 total groups. Many would argue higher, but we’re simply discussing centerfielders here—the guys that remain out of the box and play the deep-third.
In Marcus Maye, the Jets are set for a decade.
No. 2: Cornerback
- NFL Ranking: No. 4
It’s one of two top-five NFL groups that the Jets are pretty set at. While there aren’t any stars (zero Pro Bowl nods of all corners on the roster), Trumaine Johnson doubling down with Morris Claiborne will make for a nice starting duo.
Look for Parry Nickerson or Juston Burris to make the jump past Buster Skrine for the nickel spot come August.
The organization still needs a true lockdown corner, but this is as good as it’s going to get without employing such a special and rare talent (Darrelle Revis circa 2009).
No. 1: Strong Safety
- NFL Rankings: No. 5
We put the strong safety position as No. 5 in the NFL. Twenty years ago, it’d be near the back end toiling with the kickers and punters.
Not today.
Due to these new-aged rules, a fantastic argument can be made that the strong safety (any safety who can play in and out of the box) is the most important position on defense. In having that stud in this spot, so many matchups are taking away from the offense.
With Jamal Adams in tow, no longer can Tom Brady feast on tight ends and running backs out of the backfield like the world’s witnessed the last decade-plus. He’s a one-man matchup buster who’s truly acting on instincts within a structured defense.
This is the only type of special defensive wild-card that can wreck an offensive gameplan in today’s offensive bonanza that is the NFL 2018 … and the New York Jets are set.