By: Jake Rajala

The New York Jets play with a heap of confidence under their Vin Diesel-like head coach, Robert Saleh. The Jets may have been a rotten apple last season with their 4-13 record, but I believe they have a lot of promising profiles coupled with an energetic HC. It’s fun to romanticize the potential of Zach Wilson (and maybe Joe “cool’ Flacco) and his toys on offense, but the Jets defense honestly shouldn’t be in the shadow.

I still won’t sugarcoat how pathetic the Jets defense was a season ago. The Jets allowed the fourth-most rushing yards and the third-most passing yards. It was clear that a Christmas miracle or first three-quarters of play-calling by Gregg Williams couldn’t save their defense.

Well, I believe the tides have turned for the Jets defense moving forward. Sauce Gardner was a genius pick-up by the NYJ and he certainly looked ready to shut-down opponents in pre-season. Gardner is even slotted as the second-best rookie on CBS Sports pre-season rookie rankings.

The CB from Cincinnati won’t hog all of the fun in 2022, however. The Jets have a highly-motivated Quinnen Williams, Solomon Thomas (who played under Robert Saleh in SF), and a healthy Carl Lawson (who unfortunately missed the entire 2021 season). The Jets pass-rush should be a mean, green fighting machine moving forward.

It was a sneaky move by the Jets to also bring in another former defender under Saleh in Kwon Alexander. The former Saints LB stole the spotlight in pre-season by knocking a running back’s pig skin (and teeth out). Alexander and CJ Mosley, who could both have a role as Amleth in The Northman, are one of the NFL’s most underrated LB tandems (despite their age).

It’s easy to anticipate growth from the vast majority of units on teams, but I undoubtedly believe the Jets defense will take positive steps forward in the upcoming season. They have insane, young talents & they will welcome key assets with new-found health. If Saleh struggles to oust several victories but is able to ignite his defense to take positive leaps forward, he could also keep the keys to the team in 2023.

The post What to expect from the New York Jets defense in 2022 appeared first on Pro Football Mania.

By: Jake Rajala

The New York Jets don’t have the “Dome Patrol” on defense, but they still have a talented LB unit. The Jets top linebacker C.J. Mosley had unusual health issues across 2019 and 2020 – as he is played in a mere two games. He registered 168 tackles (fourth in the NFL), 2 FF, 2 sacks, and 3 QB hits last season. PFF wasn’t generous with his 2021 performance (40.5 grade), but I honestly believe he deserves kudos for his production in a lackluster situation. Michael Nania of Jet X noted that he recorded a stop on 5.5% of his defensive snaps, which placed in at 15th of 74 LBs. He might have struggled in the passing game, but the Jets also ranked 25th in sacks and failed to oust a consistent quality pass rush. Mosley is 30 years old and he will be a free agent in the 2025 off-season.

The Jets also will expect Quincy Williams, Hamsah Nasirdeen, Marcell Harris, and the recently signed Kwon Alexander to be impact players for them at the LB spot. Williams notched 110 tackles and 2 sacks a season ago. He will seek to garner a hefty contract extension after his fourth season in the league. Nasirdeen is entering his second NFL season and he could be a long-term OLB starter. He had flashes last season, but he doesn’t have overly impressive athletic ability or superb experience.

If Alexander, also known as Saleh’s former LB in SF, can stay healthy, I forsee him starting alongside Williams and Mosley in 2022. He notched 3.5 sacks, 50 combined tackles, 7 QB hits, 1 interception, and 7 TFLs a season ago. It would be an understatement to say he was a nice addition to Saleh’s collection on Day 2 of mini-camp.

The post New York Jets linebacker outlook right now appeared first on Pro Football Mania.

By: Jake Rajala

Every individual that has heard of the sport called American Football predicted the Green Bay Packers to win their Week 1 matchup against the “rebuilding” New Orleans Saints. Many analysts even suggested that Packers would win and it wouldn’t even be a close matchup.  Well, what exactly happened? 

The Saints, who were without Michael Thomas, Bradley Roby, and Will Lutz, went into the matchup and absolutely mopped the floor against the loaded NFC favorite in the Green Bay Packers. The Saints wounded up unveiling 38 points and allowing a mere three points against the 2020 MVP Aaron Rodgers. 

So, does that mean that the Saints team was very underlooked heading into the matchup and it’s time to give them a boatload of credit? The answer to that is apparently not. Instead of handing the Saints its true due, countless national sports outlets just state the Saints “played well” or the “Saints were the more prepared team”. They will go on to state the narrative that Rodgers was sluggish and just happened to have the “worst game of his career” because he didn’t show up until training camp. At the same time, many of these analysts believe/admit A-Rod will quickly turn things around in Week 2. 

I don’t see the national crystal ball reasoning behind Rodgers’s absence as a major factor in his horrid performance. It’s fun and easy to poke at Rodgers’s new mantra and the fact that he was reluctant to be a Packer for much of the offseason. However, it wasn’t like Rodgers took a plane from Hawaii to Jacksonville in early September. The former MVP has been in sync with the Packers for many weeks already. Also, this new idea of “not showing up until training camp” correlated with a disastrous Week 1 performance didn’t become a thought until Aaron Rodgers came along. I believe many people are taking the combination of taking the opportunity to jab at the polarizing QB and not admitting they were wrong about the Saints. It also could be said that the Saints couldn’t have played any better against Aaron Rodgers to garner the large praise they deserve, simply because they couldn’t have played any better.

I actually believe that Rodgers isn’t a large portion of the blame and that the Saints defense will go down as the top unit that Rodgers will have faced this season (barring a second matchup). Here is why the Saints defense deserves a significant approval rating and why the unpopular Rodgers truly faced a wall in Week 1. 

• Marcus Williams and Marshon Lattimore

Remember the Saints historically great draft class in 2017? Well, profiles like Marshon Lattimore, Alvin Kamara, Marcus Williams, and Trey Hendrickson were all taken by the great organization. Well, I believe some of these players that actually found great success early on in their careers, are just evolving into their prime selves in year five. Most notably, the Saints CB Marshon Lattimore and Saints FS Marcus Williams seemed to have transformed into more talented studs. 

Marcus Williams had one of the best plays of his career in Week 1 against Aaron Rodgers. The Packers future Hall of Fame QB actually got Williams to play towards Adams’s side of the field on a deep passing route, which led to Rodgers quickly turning and unleashing a bomb to Marquez Valdes – Scantling. Williams managed to allow Rodgers to believe he had him falling for a pass intended to Adams, but managed to see Scantling go deep down the field and trace back to make a great play on the field. In live-action, it seems like Rodgers just threw a prayer, but it was a route combination that GB practiced and Williams truly made an outstanding play on the football field. This is the same Willams that Payton has called a very smart football player and safety that showed his athletic ability at the NFL combine (top vertical jump, third in broad jump). 

We know Williams had a great Week 1 showcase, but Marshon Lattimore was also very stout in a day that would also turn to be a huge payday. On a 4th downplay, Lattimore beautifully broke up a pass against one of the top WRs in Davante Adams. Lattimore routinely shut down Adams and when he missed a drive, his value to the defense showed, as GB marched up and down the field. Thankfully, Lattimore returned and his value resurfaced in the game. Saints will also have the prominent CB Bradley Roby in the fold moving forward.

• Saints LB tandem 

The Saints found one of the all-time FA (free agent) gems in Demario Davis a few years back and he continues to make the case as one of the game’s best LBs. Davis has been ranked as the top LB by PFF in the past and he’s arguably the best LB against the run in the league. He’s a huge reason why the Saints can play two safeties on the back end against elite passing offenses and hold up against the run. He now also introduces the pre-game speeches with Brees out of the locker room. 

We know Davis is a Top 100 football player in the NFL, but re-signing Kwon Alexander to pair with him was a very underrated move. If the Saints didn’t acquire one of the fastest LBs in the league, there may have been a few more first downs picked up last week by the Packers offense. Then who knows what the Packers could have done with a stronger rhythm. Alexander was able to chase down not only Jones from a few yards away and hold him from picking up a first, but he was making great plays on WRs in the open space. When Alexander is healthy, the Saints have one of the best 1-2 punches at the LB position. 

• DL Depth

The Saints didn’t have David Onymeta and no longer have Sheldon Rankins (despite Rankins usually being MIA), but the DL had a strong performance against Rodgers. Sure, the Packers were missing interior OL and didn’t really attack the Saints DTs. Yet, when the Saints DL was tested at various spots and on occasion, the Saints held up in defensive trenches. As mentioned, the Saints are reaping the benefits of already solid young players taking that next step. It was easy to witness 2018 first-round draft pick Saints DE Marcus Davenport growing into full form, as he had a sack and TFL against GB. Davenport will miss a few weeks with an injury, but he will be back for the majority of the season, and for the crucial game matchups against Tom Brady. 

Outside of Davenport taking the next step, the Saints have numerous playmakers on the DL. The veteran Cam Jordan showed he still has a lot of gas left in the tank as he essentially quickly pressured and forced Aaron Rodgers into throwing his first INT of the game. The Saints also reaped benefits from first-year Saint Tanoh Kpassagnon, who managed to get home on a pass rush when the Saints just sent three down linemen at the QB. Then there is even one other pass rusher that is left to attack QBs: Saints 2021 first-round draft pick Payton Turner. The Saints will undoubtedly have the best edge-rushing rotation when Turner sees the field moving forward and when Davenport returns from his minor injury for the large chunk of the season. The Saints ferocious pass rush will truly continue to prove to complement the back end quite well in all of 2021.

The post Saints defense is really an elite unit appeared first on Pro Football Mania.

By: Jeremy Trottier

The New Orleans Saints have had one of the more interesting offseasons in 2021, with their cap space situation being the driving factor behind many of their cuts and signings.  With the minimal cap room they have created through cuts, they have been able to make some quality signings and re-signings that have really improved the roster for next season, or have extended the longevity of the roster strength due to extensions of elite players.  In this article, I will be going over the three signings or re-signings that improve the Saints roster the most this offseason.

Kwon Alexander ”“ LB 

A move that happened relatively recently, we have the return of Kwon Alexander to the Saints.  After being cut earlier this offseason due to an Achilles injury, the Saints brought him back on a much cheaper deal that is heavily incentive-laden, adding up to three million dollars this season if he meets the incentives.  Kwon was traded to the Saints last season for a conditional draft pick and LB Kiko Alonso, which ended up working pretty well for the Saints, as he started seven games for them and had a pretty respectable stat line:

• 7 games played (7 started)
• 4 passes deflected, 1 forced fumble, 2 fumble recoveries for 20 yards
• 27 total tackles, 1 QB hit, allowed 60.9% completion rating against him

Overall, he had a productive half-season or so for the Saints before his injury, keeping in mind those stats are solely from his games in New Orleans and not the five games he played with San Francisco prior to the trade.  Matching Kwon’s coverage capabilities alongside Demario Davis’ pass rush and run-stuffing abilities made for a very strong linebacker duo in NOLA.

Brian Poole ”“ CB

One of the better slot cornerbacks in the league is the second player on this list, in Brian Poole from most recently the New York Jets.  After another extremely effective season for Poole in 2020, he was picked up as a free agent by the Saints recently to bolster a relatively unknown CB core in terms of how proven they are outside Marshon Lattimore.  

Poole had a near career-high seven passed deflected (career-high was 9 in 2016) in 2020 in only nine games played and seven games started, as well as two interceptions.  He also had solid tackling numbers for less than half a season’s worth of starts, with 44 combined tackles, two tackles for loss, two QB hits, and four pressures.  Finally, he only allowed a 61.6 passer rating when targeted and a 64.1% completion percentage when targeted.

J.R. Sweezy ”“ OG

Finally, we have another relatively recent signing in offensive guard J.R. Sweezy, most recently of the Arizona Cardinals.  This is one of the best depth signings the Saints have made in a while, and Sweezy even has the potential to start if Cesar Ruiz does not perform this season.  Sweezy has started 104 career games and played in 117 games, the large majority of which being at right guard but some being at left guard. 

The main fault in his game is penalties, as he has had 49 in his career total, 10 of which coming in one season alone in 2015.  Every season that he started more than 11 games he had 6+ penalties and has never had a season where he had less than three.  This could definitely be cleaned up by the Saints coaching staff, however, as the large majority of his penalties are false starts, and those are pretty easy to work out of.  

The post Which 3 Saints offseason signings are the most influential to the roster? appeared first on Pro Football Mania.