To the surprise of some, the New York Jets didn’t take a corner in the early rounds of the 2017 NFL Draft. Do they feel comfortable with who they already have?
The New York Jets had one of the worst secondaries in the NFL last season, as they were torched by most passing offenses throughout the season. Coming into the NFL Draft, many believed that the Jets would use one of their early picks on a corner... However, they ended up waiting until very late in the draft to take a flyer on two corners...
Williams was moved all over the field by the Jets in 2016, seeing 49 coverage snaps from the left corner spot, 122 from the right and 125 out of the slot. Williams had his most success out of the right corner position where he allowed a QB rating of 71.5 when he was the primary defender in coverage (compared to a 134.3 QB rating from the left and the slot)...
During the off-season, the Jets parted ways with corner Darrelle Revis. To replace Revis, the Jets took a shot on former Dallas Cowboys corner Morris Claiborne, who in 2016 had a banner year and the Jets are banking on him continuing his recent success... Claiborne has historically stayed on the left side of the field (90.5 percent of his coverage snaps left year came from the left corner), which should help Williams settle into the right...
Coming into the season, the Jets could have a pretty solid secondary with Claiborne and Williams playing on the outside and Skrine in the slot/nickel... Williams might not be great, but he can certainly be a No.2 corner with some talented young safeties helping over the top...
