Bryce Huff, John Franklin-Myers flash for New York Jets defense in loss to Colts

The New York Jets' dormant pass-rush may have some hope in the form of young rushers John Franklin-Myers and Bryce Huff. John Franklin-Myers After posting three quarterback hits on 17 pass-rush snaps in his Jets debut against the 49ers, Franklin-Myers was efficient once again with two impactful pressures on only 11 pass-rush snaps against the Colts. It is very early, but with five pressures on 28 pass-rush snaps this season, Franklin-Myers has a pressure rate of 17.9%, which ranks second-best among the 122 interior defensive linemen with 20-plus pass-rush snaps, behind only former Rams teammate Aaron Donald (18.9%). I would be surprised if Franklin-Myers remained that effective all season, but it's a nice tidbit to represent just how promising he has been with his limited opportunities this season. From the 5-technique position here, Franklin-Myers rushes inside against superstar left guard Quenton Nelson. Nelson goes for an aggressive jump-set against Franklin-Myers, and Franklin-Myers makes him pay with a club-swim move. Franklin-Myers uses his inside arm to strike Nelson's inside shoulder and then uses his outside arm to swim over. Franklin-Myers generates pressure that forces an inaccurate throw by Philip Rivers, and in addition, Nelson is called for a holding penalty as he grabs Franklin-Myers to prevent the sack. This is a somewhat messy play, but Franklin-Myers makes something happen with his relentlessness. From the 4i-tech position, Franklin-Myers crashes down in an apparent effort to set up Quinnen Williams for an outside loop on a stunt, but Williams does not seem to be on the same page. Regardless, Franklin-Myers keeps fighting and is able to generate some push against center Ryan Kelly while Kelly has his attention turned outside. Franklin-Myers works inside and deflects Rivers' pass, nearly leading to an interception by Tarell Basham. Franklin-Myers deserves a serious jump in playing time. Henry Anderson, who has done absolutely nothing of note in the passing game this season, played 23 snaps to Franklin-Myers' 21 against the Colts. At least half of those snaps should go to Franklin-Myers - heck, even all of them would be fine. Anderson is clearly not a fit in Gregg Williams' defense and has produced abysmally since the start of 2019. It's a lock that the Jets will cut him after this season. Give his snaps to Franklin-Myers and let the kid show you what he can do on a weekly basis with a starter's diet of snaps. Bryce Huff Huff ranked fourth among all edge defenders in college football with 64 pressures in 2019. He was a high-upside pass-rushing prospect who deserved to be drafted on Day 3 (concerns with his run defense were a major knock in his overall game), but he was a victim of some bad luck as his Pro Day was canceled and he did not receive a Combine invite. Considered the favorite to make the team out of the Jets' undrafted free agent class, Huff fulfilled that promise as he snuck onto the roster. Considering that he was very quiet in training camp, it was clear that the Jets understood their severe lack of talent on the edge and wanted to keep Huff around to give the unit a small injection of youth and potential. No outside linebacker or defensive end on the roster could quite match Huff's speed off the edge. Huff made his debut against the Colts in Week 3. Although he only played seven defensive snaps - just three of which were pass-rush snaps - Huff managed to showcase some promise in that short amount of time. This is the first snap of Huff's career. As the wide-9 outside of the right tackle (Braden Smith), Huff bursts upfield and then converts speed-to-power, engaging with an aggressive bull rush. Huff knocks Smith into Rivers, forcing him to step up. As Rivers attempts to throw, Huff sticks his arm out and hits Rivers' arm during the throwing motion, breaking up the 3rd & 3 pass that would have been an easy first down and forcing a punt. On Huff's third and final rush opportunity against Indianapolis, he shows a strong motor to get some late pressure. Once again the wide-9 outside of the right tackle, Huff crashes down to set up Williams for an outside loop (Williams again looks slow to do his part). Huff grabs the right guard's jersey in the upper chest area with both hands, tosses him aside, and brings his right arm over to clear the guard and get an angle to Rivers. While Rivers had plenty of time to get the ball out for a completion (Avery Williamson blew the coverage), it was a nice rep by Huff, staying with the play and beating his man to reach the pocket. All he was really supposed to do there was carry the tackle inside to set Williams up with a favorable opportunity. Beating the guard with power despite a serious size mismatch (Huff's 253 pounds vs. Mark Glowinski's 310) was sweet gravy. It is too eager to suggest that Huff deserves to immediately see a gigantic snap increase after just a couple of nice plays, but he showed enough against Indianapolis to warrant a small boost to his snap count on Thursday night. Give him 10-to-15 snaps and allow him to steadily earn more playing time throughout the season as he proves worthy of handling each uptick. The Jets' EDGE position is in a dismal spot. Big investments will be necessary in 2021. However, the Jets do have a sliver of hope on the roster with these two young prospects. Franklin-Myers just turned 24, while Huff is 22. Perhaps one or both players can become the homegrown stud edge rusher that the Jets have not been able to develop in eons.