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New York Jets: Grading the Strength of Every Position Unit Before Camps Begin
By Erik Frenz , Featured Columnist Jul 23, 2015
Perhaps no team in the NFL has done more to improve its roster from top to bottom than the New York Jets this offseason. Over the next month leading into the 2015 season, we'll see the results of all that work.
With big additions at wide receiver, cornerback and on the defensive line, the Jets have the feel of a much better team this year than last year. Their starting lineup is much more stable than it was just 12 months ago.
At the same time, though, the Jets will be holding multiple competitions to determine the full complexion of their roster. We already have a sense of how the roster will shake out, but things could change between now and the end of training camp.
Grades are inherently subjective; one person might see an A, while another might see a B. For our purposes, we'll define the grades as follows:
A: solid starters and quality backups
B: solid starters and questionable backups
C: questionable starters and/or backups
D: poor starters and/or backups
F: awful starters and backups
With that, here are one man's thoughts on how the Jets have assembled their roster.
Quarterback
Quarterback
Geno Smith has the inside track to be the starter; in the words of Todd Bowles, it's his job to lose, according to Kevin Patra of NFL.com (h/t Sean Wagner-McGough of CBS Sports). Ryan Fitzpatrick has more experience in Chan Gailey's offense, though; if Smith falls on his face, Fitzpatrick will be there to pick up the pieces.
Both men have the capacity to manage the game and be efficient quarterbacks who may not win a game of their own accord but will at least steer the ship in the right direction. They don't really need to do anything more than that, thanks to a defense that's stacked with some of the best linemen and cornerbacks the league has to offer.
That being said, the Jets have done a good job of assembling a depth chart with quarterbacks who fit the system.
Smith cut his teeth at West Virginia in a similar spread system to the one that Gailey runs, and he operated mostly out of the shotgun as he will have to do under Gailey. Fitzpatrick became a $60 million man with the Buffalo Bills under Gailey's tutelage. Even Bryce Petty, a rookie out of Baylor, is a fit in a spread system for his quick release and athleticism.
This grade could change depending on whether the Jets quarterbacks end up keeping the team afloat or causing the team to sink.
Grade: C+
Running Back
Running back Chris Ivory (33, left) will lead the way for the Jets once again in 2015.
The Jets have their top dog in the backfield in Chris Ivory. They also have their third-down change-of-pace back in Bilal Powell. It's fair to classify everything else as a question mark, albeit one that could end with a good answer.
Their top backup could be Stevan Ridley, who is battling back from a torn ACL. That's only if he is even available for the start of training camp and the regular season; he could begin the year on the physically unable to perform list, according to Dom Cosentino of NJ Advance Media.
It could also be Zac Stacy, who is battling back from a tough start to his career. He had an opportunity to be the bell cow with the St. Louis Rams and had 250 carries for 973 yards (3.9 yards per carry) and seven touchdowns in 2013. The Rams were not content with his performance as a rookie and added Tre Mason in the 2014 draft, thus bringing Stacy down a peg. He finished 2014 with 76 carries, 293 yards (3.9 yards per carry) and one touchdown.
Either way, the Jets have filled the depth chart with enough backs who can carry the ball. The question is whether they have enough backs who can also catch the ball. Right now, Powell is their only legitimate option in that respect. If one more emerges from camp, this group will be complete.
Grade: B+
Wide Receiver
Eric Decker (87, left) and Brandon Marshall (15, right) are the new face of the Jets offense at wide receiver.
Two years ago, the Jets starting wide receivers were Stephen Hill and Santonio Holmes. Who knew that two years later we would be talking about this group as a strength of the team? Thanks to a couple of veteran additions to the lineup in Eric Decker and Brandon Marshall and the addition of rookie Devin Smith in the draft, the Jets now have a stacked group at the position and could easily execute Gailey's spread system.
Marshall and Decker are your obvious X and Z receivers, respectively; both men have the ability to run vertically and "body up" cornerbacks to line up consistently on the outside. Jeremy Kerley is the top slot receiver but could also be battling with Smith for snaps. Gailey has gone for bigger-bodied slot receivers in the past with the Buffalo Bills (see the 6'5" David Nelson).
With four legitimate wide receivers, the Jets can trot out a spread set any time they please, but there could be as many as six on the roster.
Shaq Evans and Quincy Enunwa are two second-year receivers who could also make their case for roster spots. Evans does not have top-notch long-speed, but he does have the football intelligence to find soft spots in zone coverage and the quickness to exploit those soft spots. Enunwa has a combination of the skills of an X and Z receiver but also lacks the long-speed to consistently test defenses vertically.
Saalim Hakim is a wide receiver in name only, and if he's going to make the roster at all, it will be as a specialist covering punts.
The Jets have top-end talent and depth on their roster, and in Gailey's offense, they'll need all of it.
Grade: A
New York Jets: Grading the Strength of Every Position Unit Before Camps Begin
By Erik Frenz , Featured Columnist Jul 23, 2015
Tight End
Jace Amaro was the team's second-round pick in 2014, and he finished the season with 38 receptions for 345 yards and two touchdowns. Those aren't bad numbers for a rookie tight end, but given the hype around his potential as a pass-catching threat, those numbers are not as good as some might have hoped to see. He should develop into a more dynamic pass-catcher than what he was last year, but only time will tell.
The Jets also have Jeff Cumberland, who provides a mix of pass-catching and blocking ability. He enters the final year of his contract, though, and was a product of the previous regime. It's likely that the Jets will be searching for one new tight end at the beginning of the 2016 offseason, but it's possible they could still have questions from top to bottom on their depth chart.
Amaro could be a key contributor in the offense in 2015. Gailey has never had a tight end quite like Amaro—although he's had plenty of big-bodied targets, none had as much athleticism as Amaro does.
Grade: C+
Offensive Line
Since 2006, the Jets have had their answers at center and left tackle in Nick Mangold and D'Brickashaw Ferguson, respectively. The other three spots have been revolving doors for much of the past half-decade. Infamous linemen such as left guard Matt Slauson and right tackle Wayne Hunter have played big parts in the Jets offensive line.
As usual, the Jets have assembled a line that they think can get the job done this season. There are still some spots shrouded in uncertainty, though, and the Jets will have to come up with solutions, particularly at right guard.
It appears left guard will be manned by James Carpenter, who signed a contract with $5 million guaranteed. He has started 23 games (every game he was healthy enough to start) over the past two years for the Seattle Seahawks. The 6'5, 321-pound monster should be a much better fit in a man-blocking scheme like the Jets run than a zone-blocking scheme like in Seattle, where he was asked to move laterally and block in the open field.
The other spot will be contested between Brian Winters, Oday Aboushi, Willie Colon and Jarvis Harrison. Aboushi took the reins at left guard when Winters went on injured reserve in November. Colon has started every game for the Jets in his two-year stint with the team, but he is 32 years old and has a long history of knee injuries. The Jets are wise to begin cultivating the future at the position with Aboushi, Winters and Harrison.
The most likely winner out of this group is Aboushi, whose strong finish in 2014 should earn him the inside track to start. Now, the only question is whether this group can protect the quarterback and open holes for the running backs.
Grade: B
Defensive Line
Between Muhammad Wilkerson, Sheldon Richardson, Damon Harrison and Leonard Williams, the Jets have enough linemen to do just about anything they want on the defensive front. Each one of the four top linemen is a perfect fit for Todd Bowles' attacking 3-4 scheme. Each one has his own unique set of traits that he brings to the table, giving Bowles ample options for how to field his front line.
Wilkerson is the edge-setting presence who most closely resembles Houston Texans All-Pro defensive end J.J. Watt. Wilkerson isn't quite the pass-rusher that Watt is, but he can two-gap or charge upfield and gets his hands up to bat down passes at the line of scrimmage.
Richardson will be suspended for the first four games of the season because of a violation of the league's substance-abuse policy, but he brings a wrecking-ball mentality similar to Ndamukong Suh's with his ability to crash into the backfield up the middle and make big plays against both the run and the pass.
Harrison is the classic two-gapping 0-technique nose tackle whose main job is to command multiple blockers at the line of scrimmage and allow for the inside linebackers to get a clear view of what's coming at them, so they can make plays at the second level or shoot the gaps to make those plays in the backfield.
Williams is similar to Wilkerson in skill set and should be seen as a potential heir to that spot on the defensive front.
Don't write off backups like Davon Walls, Stephen Bowen, Leger Douzable, T.J. Barnes and Dion Simon, but the Jets will not have room to keep all their talented linemen. That says a lot about the state of this group.
Grade: A+
Outside Linebacker
Outside linebacker Quinton Coples (98, left) could be in for a breakout year in Todd Bowles' defense.
For years, the Jets have been searching for a pair of dynamic, young, athletic pass-rushers. That search may finally be over. Now, with Quinton Coples and Lorenzo Mauldin in the fold to give chase to opposing quarterbacks, the Jets may finally have the "teeth" that their pass rush has needed since the New York Sack Exchange.
Coples is coming off his most productive year as a pass-rusher, having finished with 6.5 sacks in his first year as a true outside linebacker. He has played mostly on the line in his college and professional career up to this point, but now that he has some experience at the new position, he can start to hone his craft in new ways.
Even with more sacks than any other year in his career, he still has to improve as a pass-rusher; according to Pro Football Focus, he was only the 20th most effective pass-rushing 3-4 outside linebacker.
Mauldin is here to finally help the Jets move on from the days of Calvin Pace. Of course, Mauldin doesn't have the experience of the man he's replacing, but he does have a similar physical skill set along with the obvious benefit of more long-term upside.
Pace may still have a role on defense as a mentor for Mauldin and even as a spell option at outside linebacker, but the Jets would be wise to turn to younger options in undrafted rookies Deion Barnes and Julian Howsare. The Jets have done a good job of rebuilding this position on the fly, but there are still questions to be answered in the backup spots.
Grade: B+
Inside Linebacker
Demario Davis (56, left) and David Harris (52, right) will roam the middle of the Jets defense.
The Jets are still set at the starting inside linebacker positions, as they have been for the past two seasons now. The search continues, however, for reliable backup options.
No one doubts whether David Harris and Demario Davis have the capacity to anchor the middle of the defense. Harris is the wily veteran, and while he will be in the same boat as everyone else who is learning a new defense, he is still experienced and battle-hardened. Davis, on the other hand, is the more athletic of the two linebackers and is capable of shooting gaps as a pass-rusher, covering in the open field and coming down hard against the run.
As for backups, however, that's another question. Veterans Erin Henderson, Jamari Lattimore and Joe Mays will compete with young prospects like undrafted rookie Taiwan Jones and second-year linebacker Ikemefuna Enemkpali for the backup spots on the roster.
The rest of the depth chart will take some time to shake out, and training camp will provide some answers in that respect, but for now, the Jets have a talented pair of starters on their roster.
Grade: B+
Cornerback
Last year, Darrelle Revis (24, right) helped the New England Patriots win a Super Bowl. This year, the Jets are hoping he can do the same for their team.
The cornerback position is perhaps one of the most loaded on the Jets' entire roster, save for the defensive line.
With Darrelle Revis and Antonio Cromartie locked into the top two spots in the secondary, the Jets will not have any immediate concerns about running their aggressive man-coverage scheme when they are in their base defense.
Buster Skrine signed a four-year contract with $13 million in guaranteed money, and unless the Jets don't mind paying him that much to sit on the bench, he will probably be the top option in the slot. Skrine has struggled in recent years, however, and although he allowed completions on only 56.9 percent of the passes into his coverage, he yielded eight touchdowns and came down with only four interceptions, according to Pro Football Focus. At 5'9" and 186 pounds, he's a bit smaller than the average Jets cornerback, but what he lacks in size, he makes up for in smarts and athleticism.
Dee Milliner, Marcus Williams, Dexter McDougle and Darrin Walls will likely duke it out for the remaining two spots—unless the Jets make a surprise move and follow my advice to move Milliner to safety. Williams earned some playing time at the end of the 2014 season but allowed 75 percent of the passes thrown his way to be completed, per PFF.
McDougle missed last season with a torn ACL. He was a full go in spring practices, according to Rich Cimini of ESPN.com, and he could be one of the sneaky candidates to steal playing time from others—assuming he is good to go coming off that knee surgery.
Who emerges from those competitions will determine the complexion of the back end of the roster, but the Jets have both the top-end talent and the depth to field a solid coverage unit in 2015, regardless of the situation or the play call.
Grade: A
Safety
Jets safety Marcus Gilchrist (above) is playing in unfamiliar territory at the free safety position in 2015.
Jets head coach Todd Bowles already said he sees Calvin Pryor as his strong safety (rightfully so) and Marcus Gilchrist as his free safety (questionably so), so now, the only question is who will be the backups.
Truth be told, that's not much of a question. Antonio Allen and Jaiquawn Jarrett are the front-runners for those jobs given their experience at their position and on special teams. Allen has moved from strong safety to cornerback and back to strong safety over the past 16 months, but back at his more natural position in a backup role, this could be a chance for him to recover any potential lost confidence from last year.
Jarrett has played multiple roles in his career as well, but his strengths are in pass coverage, where he allowed only six catches on 14 throws his way in 2014 with only one touchdown against two interceptions and a pass breakup.
Pryor showed the world that he's capable of being a top-notch NFL strong safety when he finally moved back to his more natural position last year. Gilchrist, however, has never shown a high level of play as a free safety and has struggled in coverage to this point in his career. The jets could end up turning to their backups at some point in 2015.
Grade: B+
Special Teams
Punter Ryan Quigley (4, left) and kicker Nick Folk (2, right) are both facing competition this offseason.
No one can settle in comfortably on the Jets' special teams unit this year. Everyone is in something that at least gives the illusion of a competition.
Veteran kicker Nick Folk will be competing with second-year kicker Andrew Furney. In that instance, it's more an illusion of competition, and it may not even be that; some teams need to have a "camp leg" so that the kicker doesn't get worn out.
The 2013 season was the best of Folk's career, as he converted 91.7 percent of his field-goal attempts. He took a step back in 2014 and converted only 82.1 percent of his tries.
The punting duties will come down to veteran Ryan Quigley and rookie Jacob Schum. Quigley has been strong in his directional punting and not out-kicking his coverage; only 32.1 percent of his punts were returned last year, per PFF. He also averaged 40.4 net yards per punt, 10th-highest in the NFL last year.
Long snapper Tanner Purdum has been with the team in that role since 2010. This position is impossible to overthink; if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Grade: A
Unless otherwise noted, all quotes obtained via team news release.
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...very-position-unit-before-camps-begin/page/12
By Erik Frenz , Featured Columnist Jul 23, 2015
Perhaps no team in the NFL has done more to improve its roster from top to bottom than the New York Jets this offseason. Over the next month leading into the 2015 season, we'll see the results of all that work.
With big additions at wide receiver, cornerback and on the defensive line, the Jets have the feel of a much better team this year than last year. Their starting lineup is much more stable than it was just 12 months ago.
At the same time, though, the Jets will be holding multiple competitions to determine the full complexion of their roster. We already have a sense of how the roster will shake out, but things could change between now and the end of training camp.
Grades are inherently subjective; one person might see an A, while another might see a B. For our purposes, we'll define the grades as follows:
A: solid starters and quality backups
B: solid starters and questionable backups
C: questionable starters and/or backups
D: poor starters and/or backups
F: awful starters and backups
With that, here are one man's thoughts on how the Jets have assembled their roster.
Quarterback
Quarterback
Geno Smith has the inside track to be the starter; in the words of Todd Bowles, it's his job to lose, according to Kevin Patra of NFL.com (h/t Sean Wagner-McGough of CBS Sports). Ryan Fitzpatrick has more experience in Chan Gailey's offense, though; if Smith falls on his face, Fitzpatrick will be there to pick up the pieces.
Both men have the capacity to manage the game and be efficient quarterbacks who may not win a game of their own accord but will at least steer the ship in the right direction. They don't really need to do anything more than that, thanks to a defense that's stacked with some of the best linemen and cornerbacks the league has to offer.
That being said, the Jets have done a good job of assembling a depth chart with quarterbacks who fit the system.
Smith cut his teeth at West Virginia in a similar spread system to the one that Gailey runs, and he operated mostly out of the shotgun as he will have to do under Gailey. Fitzpatrick became a $60 million man with the Buffalo Bills under Gailey's tutelage. Even Bryce Petty, a rookie out of Baylor, is a fit in a spread system for his quick release and athleticism.
This grade could change depending on whether the Jets quarterbacks end up keeping the team afloat or causing the team to sink.
Grade: C+
Running Back
Running back Chris Ivory (33, left) will lead the way for the Jets once again in 2015.
The Jets have their top dog in the backfield in Chris Ivory. They also have their third-down change-of-pace back in Bilal Powell. It's fair to classify everything else as a question mark, albeit one that could end with a good answer.
Their top backup could be Stevan Ridley, who is battling back from a torn ACL. That's only if he is even available for the start of training camp and the regular season; he could begin the year on the physically unable to perform list, according to Dom Cosentino of NJ Advance Media.
It could also be Zac Stacy, who is battling back from a tough start to his career. He had an opportunity to be the bell cow with the St. Louis Rams and had 250 carries for 973 yards (3.9 yards per carry) and seven touchdowns in 2013. The Rams were not content with his performance as a rookie and added Tre Mason in the 2014 draft, thus bringing Stacy down a peg. He finished 2014 with 76 carries, 293 yards (3.9 yards per carry) and one touchdown.
Either way, the Jets have filled the depth chart with enough backs who can carry the ball. The question is whether they have enough backs who can also catch the ball. Right now, Powell is their only legitimate option in that respect. If one more emerges from camp, this group will be complete.
Grade: B+
Wide Receiver
Eric Decker (87, left) and Brandon Marshall (15, right) are the new face of the Jets offense at wide receiver.
Two years ago, the Jets starting wide receivers were Stephen Hill and Santonio Holmes. Who knew that two years later we would be talking about this group as a strength of the team? Thanks to a couple of veteran additions to the lineup in Eric Decker and Brandon Marshall and the addition of rookie Devin Smith in the draft, the Jets now have a stacked group at the position and could easily execute Gailey's spread system.
Marshall and Decker are your obvious X and Z receivers, respectively; both men have the ability to run vertically and "body up" cornerbacks to line up consistently on the outside. Jeremy Kerley is the top slot receiver but could also be battling with Smith for snaps. Gailey has gone for bigger-bodied slot receivers in the past with the Buffalo Bills (see the 6'5" David Nelson).
With four legitimate wide receivers, the Jets can trot out a spread set any time they please, but there could be as many as six on the roster.
Shaq Evans and Quincy Enunwa are two second-year receivers who could also make their case for roster spots. Evans does not have top-notch long-speed, but he does have the football intelligence to find soft spots in zone coverage and the quickness to exploit those soft spots. Enunwa has a combination of the skills of an X and Z receiver but also lacks the long-speed to consistently test defenses vertically.
Saalim Hakim is a wide receiver in name only, and if he's going to make the roster at all, it will be as a specialist covering punts.
The Jets have top-end talent and depth on their roster, and in Gailey's offense, they'll need all of it.
Grade: A
New York Jets: Grading the Strength of Every Position Unit Before Camps Begin
By Erik Frenz , Featured Columnist Jul 23, 2015
Tight End
Jace Amaro was the team's second-round pick in 2014, and he finished the season with 38 receptions for 345 yards and two touchdowns. Those aren't bad numbers for a rookie tight end, but given the hype around his potential as a pass-catching threat, those numbers are not as good as some might have hoped to see. He should develop into a more dynamic pass-catcher than what he was last year, but only time will tell.
The Jets also have Jeff Cumberland, who provides a mix of pass-catching and blocking ability. He enters the final year of his contract, though, and was a product of the previous regime. It's likely that the Jets will be searching for one new tight end at the beginning of the 2016 offseason, but it's possible they could still have questions from top to bottom on their depth chart.
Amaro could be a key contributor in the offense in 2015. Gailey has never had a tight end quite like Amaro—although he's had plenty of big-bodied targets, none had as much athleticism as Amaro does.
Grade: C+
Offensive Line
Since 2006, the Jets have had their answers at center and left tackle in Nick Mangold and D'Brickashaw Ferguson, respectively. The other three spots have been revolving doors for much of the past half-decade. Infamous linemen such as left guard Matt Slauson and right tackle Wayne Hunter have played big parts in the Jets offensive line.
As usual, the Jets have assembled a line that they think can get the job done this season. There are still some spots shrouded in uncertainty, though, and the Jets will have to come up with solutions, particularly at right guard.
It appears left guard will be manned by James Carpenter, who signed a contract with $5 million guaranteed. He has started 23 games (every game he was healthy enough to start) over the past two years for the Seattle Seahawks. The 6'5, 321-pound monster should be a much better fit in a man-blocking scheme like the Jets run than a zone-blocking scheme like in Seattle, where he was asked to move laterally and block in the open field.
The other spot will be contested between Brian Winters, Oday Aboushi, Willie Colon and Jarvis Harrison. Aboushi took the reins at left guard when Winters went on injured reserve in November. Colon has started every game for the Jets in his two-year stint with the team, but he is 32 years old and has a long history of knee injuries. The Jets are wise to begin cultivating the future at the position with Aboushi, Winters and Harrison.
The most likely winner out of this group is Aboushi, whose strong finish in 2014 should earn him the inside track to start. Now, the only question is whether this group can protect the quarterback and open holes for the running backs.
Grade: B
Defensive Line
Between Muhammad Wilkerson, Sheldon Richardson, Damon Harrison and Leonard Williams, the Jets have enough linemen to do just about anything they want on the defensive front. Each one of the four top linemen is a perfect fit for Todd Bowles' attacking 3-4 scheme. Each one has his own unique set of traits that he brings to the table, giving Bowles ample options for how to field his front line.
Wilkerson is the edge-setting presence who most closely resembles Houston Texans All-Pro defensive end J.J. Watt. Wilkerson isn't quite the pass-rusher that Watt is, but he can two-gap or charge upfield and gets his hands up to bat down passes at the line of scrimmage.
Richardson will be suspended for the first four games of the season because of a violation of the league's substance-abuse policy, but he brings a wrecking-ball mentality similar to Ndamukong Suh's with his ability to crash into the backfield up the middle and make big plays against both the run and the pass.
Harrison is the classic two-gapping 0-technique nose tackle whose main job is to command multiple blockers at the line of scrimmage and allow for the inside linebackers to get a clear view of what's coming at them, so they can make plays at the second level or shoot the gaps to make those plays in the backfield.
Williams is similar to Wilkerson in skill set and should be seen as a potential heir to that spot on the defensive front.
Don't write off backups like Davon Walls, Stephen Bowen, Leger Douzable, T.J. Barnes and Dion Simon, but the Jets will not have room to keep all their talented linemen. That says a lot about the state of this group.
Grade: A+
Outside Linebacker
Outside linebacker Quinton Coples (98, left) could be in for a breakout year in Todd Bowles' defense.
For years, the Jets have been searching for a pair of dynamic, young, athletic pass-rushers. That search may finally be over. Now, with Quinton Coples and Lorenzo Mauldin in the fold to give chase to opposing quarterbacks, the Jets may finally have the "teeth" that their pass rush has needed since the New York Sack Exchange.
Coples is coming off his most productive year as a pass-rusher, having finished with 6.5 sacks in his first year as a true outside linebacker. He has played mostly on the line in his college and professional career up to this point, but now that he has some experience at the new position, he can start to hone his craft in new ways.
Even with more sacks than any other year in his career, he still has to improve as a pass-rusher; according to Pro Football Focus, he was only the 20th most effective pass-rushing 3-4 outside linebacker.
Mauldin is here to finally help the Jets move on from the days of Calvin Pace. Of course, Mauldin doesn't have the experience of the man he's replacing, but he does have a similar physical skill set along with the obvious benefit of more long-term upside.
Pace may still have a role on defense as a mentor for Mauldin and even as a spell option at outside linebacker, but the Jets would be wise to turn to younger options in undrafted rookies Deion Barnes and Julian Howsare. The Jets have done a good job of rebuilding this position on the fly, but there are still questions to be answered in the backup spots.
Grade: B+
Inside Linebacker
Demario Davis (56, left) and David Harris (52, right) will roam the middle of the Jets defense.
The Jets are still set at the starting inside linebacker positions, as they have been for the past two seasons now. The search continues, however, for reliable backup options.
No one doubts whether David Harris and Demario Davis have the capacity to anchor the middle of the defense. Harris is the wily veteran, and while he will be in the same boat as everyone else who is learning a new defense, he is still experienced and battle-hardened. Davis, on the other hand, is the more athletic of the two linebackers and is capable of shooting gaps as a pass-rusher, covering in the open field and coming down hard against the run.
As for backups, however, that's another question. Veterans Erin Henderson, Jamari Lattimore and Joe Mays will compete with young prospects like undrafted rookie Taiwan Jones and second-year linebacker Ikemefuna Enemkpali for the backup spots on the roster.
The rest of the depth chart will take some time to shake out, and training camp will provide some answers in that respect, but for now, the Jets have a talented pair of starters on their roster.
Grade: B+
Cornerback
Last year, Darrelle Revis (24, right) helped the New England Patriots win a Super Bowl. This year, the Jets are hoping he can do the same for their team.
The cornerback position is perhaps one of the most loaded on the Jets' entire roster, save for the defensive line.
With Darrelle Revis and Antonio Cromartie locked into the top two spots in the secondary, the Jets will not have any immediate concerns about running their aggressive man-coverage scheme when they are in their base defense.
Buster Skrine signed a four-year contract with $13 million in guaranteed money, and unless the Jets don't mind paying him that much to sit on the bench, he will probably be the top option in the slot. Skrine has struggled in recent years, however, and although he allowed completions on only 56.9 percent of the passes into his coverage, he yielded eight touchdowns and came down with only four interceptions, according to Pro Football Focus. At 5'9" and 186 pounds, he's a bit smaller than the average Jets cornerback, but what he lacks in size, he makes up for in smarts and athleticism.
Dee Milliner, Marcus Williams, Dexter McDougle and Darrin Walls will likely duke it out for the remaining two spots—unless the Jets make a surprise move and follow my advice to move Milliner to safety. Williams earned some playing time at the end of the 2014 season but allowed 75 percent of the passes thrown his way to be completed, per PFF.
McDougle missed last season with a torn ACL. He was a full go in spring practices, according to Rich Cimini of ESPN.com, and he could be one of the sneaky candidates to steal playing time from others—assuming he is good to go coming off that knee surgery.
Who emerges from those competitions will determine the complexion of the back end of the roster, but the Jets have both the top-end talent and the depth to field a solid coverage unit in 2015, regardless of the situation or the play call.
Grade: A
Safety
Jets safety Marcus Gilchrist (above) is playing in unfamiliar territory at the free safety position in 2015.
Jets head coach Todd Bowles already said he sees Calvin Pryor as his strong safety (rightfully so) and Marcus Gilchrist as his free safety (questionably so), so now, the only question is who will be the backups.
Truth be told, that's not much of a question. Antonio Allen and Jaiquawn Jarrett are the front-runners for those jobs given their experience at their position and on special teams. Allen has moved from strong safety to cornerback and back to strong safety over the past 16 months, but back at his more natural position in a backup role, this could be a chance for him to recover any potential lost confidence from last year.
Jarrett has played multiple roles in his career as well, but his strengths are in pass coverage, where he allowed only six catches on 14 throws his way in 2014 with only one touchdown against two interceptions and a pass breakup.
Pryor showed the world that he's capable of being a top-notch NFL strong safety when he finally moved back to his more natural position last year. Gilchrist, however, has never shown a high level of play as a free safety and has struggled in coverage to this point in his career. The jets could end up turning to their backups at some point in 2015.
Grade: B+
Special Teams
Punter Ryan Quigley (4, left) and kicker Nick Folk (2, right) are both facing competition this offseason.
No one can settle in comfortably on the Jets' special teams unit this year. Everyone is in something that at least gives the illusion of a competition.
Veteran kicker Nick Folk will be competing with second-year kicker Andrew Furney. In that instance, it's more an illusion of competition, and it may not even be that; some teams need to have a "camp leg" so that the kicker doesn't get worn out.
The 2013 season was the best of Folk's career, as he converted 91.7 percent of his field-goal attempts. He took a step back in 2014 and converted only 82.1 percent of his tries.
The punting duties will come down to veteran Ryan Quigley and rookie Jacob Schum. Quigley has been strong in his directional punting and not out-kicking his coverage; only 32.1 percent of his punts were returned last year, per PFF. He also averaged 40.4 net yards per punt, 10th-highest in the NFL last year.
Long snapper Tanner Purdum has been with the team in that role since 2010. This position is impossible to overthink; if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Grade: A
Unless otherwise noted, all quotes obtained via team news release.
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...very-position-unit-before-camps-begin/page/12
Jeff Howe 
