Analyzing where Gregg Williams’ new Jets defensive pieces fit

New York Jets defensive coordinator Gregg Williams is now equipped with intriguing defensive pieces, including a tremendous Big Dime look.

It’s third-and-11. The game is on the line. MetLife Stadium is losing its mind while Gregg Williams knows he has 5-10 seconds to decide on the next call.

Mr. Williams realizes he needs more than “testicles in the C-gap.” He needs a pass rusher, an athletic freak on the edge who can pin his ears back and get to the quarterback.

It’s just not there. At least it wasn’t in 2019. Training camp 2020 will help the New York Jets sort out if a legit pass rusher is present this time around—something that’ll drastically make Williams’s job easier.

For now, Williams may have to take drastic measures when that above situation is presented. Does he send Jamal Adams? Does Brian Poole come with him? Do they dare go man on the backend?

Whatever the call, at the very least, the Jets defense is adding several pieces that can help a defense that played well a season ago—despite the lack of an edge presence.

Ashtyn Davis, FS

The two shocks of Joe Douglas’s first NFL draft start with Ashtyn Davis in the third round and James Morgan in the fourth. Why snag a safety when Adams and Marcus Maye have things locked down?

For one, Maye isn’t a picture of health. He missed 10 games in 2018 and entered 2019 with many questions. The team’s newest safety plugs many more holes than the average onlooker believes.

Davis, 23, is a big-time athlete. The California walk-on used his track and field abilities en route to the NFL. The 110-meter hurdle champ at the 2017 Pac 10 meet brings speed to the backend for the Jets.

He’s a deep safety who can do a little of everything, which means he’s perfect as the third safety, especially in the Big Dime.