Jets Investment in Youth at Corner Paying Off Early
Robert Saleh and Joe Douglas promised that what they had was enough. They passed on every opportunity to go out and sign a veteran in the secondary. They used their first four picks on the offensive side of the ball, not touching the cornerback room until the fifth round.
And through a quarter of the season, they’ve been proven exactly right.
What was supposed to be one of the worst position groups not just on the Jets, but in the entire NFL, has been a lynchpin in a surprisingly upstart defense. New York has allowed just two passing touchdowns in four games, fewest of any team in the NFL. Neither of those touchdowns came with a corner in coverage.
The Jets’ corners also rank in the top five in yards per game allowed, yards per target allowed, yards per snap allowed and fewest penalties committed, all categories where New York ranked amongst the league’s worst a year ago. Perhaps most importantly, they’re responding to the gauntlet their head coach threw down before the season.
“Can you win on third down?” Saleh proclaimed in August when asked what he’s looking for in his corners. “It’s that simple. When it’s crunch time and you’ve got to win, it comes down to your ability to win in one-on-ones.”
The Jets are doing just that, ranking fourth in the NFL in opposing third down percentage. For a unit that’s been on the field a whole lot through four weeks, they’ve done an excellent job at getting off it.
For Gang Green, success at the cornerback position comes despite a plethora of youth and inexperience using players all 31 other teams passed on countless times. New York’s corners entered the season with a combined two years of NFL experience. All five corners that have seen the field were either Day Three picks or undrafted free agents. The only veteran on the roster was cut before Week One. Still, the secondary has thrived.
A large part of that is due to the early success of Bryce Hall. The 2020 fifth-round pick out of Virginia has consistently shadowed opposing top wideouts through four weeks, playing 283 out of a possible 289 defensive snaps. In those snaps, he’s looked every bit the part of a number one corner, breaking up passes deep down the field in man coverage, making plays on the ball in zone looks and delivering hits in the box when he’s asked to rush.
Against Tennessee, he got to showcase the whole package, posting three pass breakups, two quarterback hits, half a sack, and five tackles. His biggest plays came on third down, when Ryan Tannehill tested him deep down the field and in the end zone, making an aggressive play on the football without interfering with the receiver. Toeing the line between playing physical and playing too physical has been Hall’s strong suit, and it’s helped him post a 73.8 Pro Football Focus coverage grade, good for 17th out of 108 qualifying corners. His pass rush grade of 85.5 ranks first amongst corners.
The other holdover from last year’s cornerback room is Javelin Guidry, the former undrafted free agent out of Utah who has played all over the field for the Jets through the first quarter of the season. He’s been one of the pleasant surprises for a young and banged up Jets defense, and has caught the eye of Saleh, who has gone out of his way to sing Guidry’s praises.
“I’m gonna pump him up for a second because I don’t think he gets enough credit,” Saleh said Wednesday. “He played corner, nickel and dime in one game last week, which is not easy. He’s been an absolute stud and we’re very fortunate to have him.”
Guidry enjoyed the best game of his career against the Titans, allowing just three receptions for 27 yards on 85 snaps while posting 10 tackles. His final tackle slowed down a steamrolling Derrick Henry who was one missed tackle away from breaking off a potential long touchdown in overtime. With Brandin Echols nursing a concussion, Guidry will likely cede snaps inside to take over at the boundary.
Those snaps will be reserved for Michael Carter II, the fifth-round rookie out of Duke who has posted the highest overall PFF rating of all the Jets corners so far (72.8). Amidst questions of how the Jets would replace Brian Poole in the slot this offseason, Carter has stepped up and thrived in the role, posting equally impressive performances against the run as he has against the pass. His 24 tackles leads all rookie defensive backs, and is second on the Jets behind only CJ Mosley.
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Those three players have played at a high level by any standards, let alone the standards of Day Three picks and undrafted free agents in their first couple seasons. It’s a credit to Robert Saleh and his ability to coach up young players that other teams didn’t view as potential cornerstones.
“The difference between Player A and Player Z is minimal, and the only thing that keeps Player Z from becoming Player A is an opportunity and reps,” Saleh said in the offseason. “Unless you’re willing to be bold enough to coach your tail off and to invest as much as you can into these young men and give them the opportunity to be seen, give them the opportunity to get reps, and give them the opportunity to get better, you’ll never know what you might find.
Right now, the Jets are getting great returns on that investment. That’s not to say Hall, Guidry and Carter are “Player Z,” though. Hall would have been a second-round pick if not for an injury in college. Guidry was the fastest player at the NFL combine a year ago. Carter was a shutdown corner at Duke that, like Guidry, was overlooked largely for size reasons.
These are impactful players that Joe Douglas scouted and handpicked, just like he did John Franklin-Myers, Bryce Huff, Quincy Williams and the other unheralded leaders of the Jets’ defense.
There have been a lot of mistakes in personnel choices and Douglas has taken a lot of deserved flack. But he was confident with the youth movement at corner. He kept his pennies in his pocket to spend elsewhere, dug deep into the film and ended up with a secondary that has played like one of the best in the league thus far.
That’s something Jets fans can hang their hats on.
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