Jamien Sherwood’s challenging transition to New York Jets LB (Film)

New York Jets rookie Jamien Sherwood is facing a challenging transition to NFL linebacker, and Blewett's Blitz breaks down his tape. After hammering offense with the first four picks of the 2021 NFL draft, the New York Jets finally turned to defense with their 146th (fifth round) overall pick. Auburn safety Jamien Sherwood was the man Joe Douglas happily selected. Initially seeing Sherwood listed as a safety set Jets fans back. The team already employs plenty of safeties, Marcus Maye, Lamarcus Joyner, Ashtyn Davis and others, so why safety in this particular spot? The Jets didn’t need a fourth-string depth safety before addressing needs such as cornerback and linebacker. Then, once the emotions settled down and the smoke clears a bit, research is done. The first noticeable thing is his size. Sherwood stands 6-foot-2 and weighs 220 pounds, and is equipped with 34-inch arms, which is a tremendous arm length for an offensive tackle, no less a safety or linebacker. Yes, Sherwood is on the smaller side, but this isn’t 1986 anymore; defenders listed at 220 pounds typically play at standup linebacker. (Deion Jones is just one example, a man who developed very well in Atlanta under now-Jets defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich). Sherwood's transition to linebacker could be a bit challenging at first, but it's a sound decision. Sherwood lined up all over the field for the Auburn Tigers, including at free safety, strong safety, linebacker and even some reps in the slot. While he was fairly successful in each role, his limited athleticism in some areas and the overall physicality of his game definitely projects him to be most successful lining up primarily in the box as a WILL backer. He will have to compete for the starting spot along with the 186th overall pick (sixth round) Hamsah Nasirildeen and oft-injured Blake Cashman. But past those two players, the Jets very little at linebacker, giving Sherwood a rare chance to see significant snaps as a fifth-round pick. Does he have what it takes to thrive at linebacker for the Jets? Let’s take a look at some plays showcasing Sherwood’s major strengths and weaknesses. Below, you will also find a full list of strengths and weaknesses. Plus, we unveil the latest video film breakdown episode of Blewett’s Blitz where I discuss and show everything Jamien Sherwood. Strengths Physical strength We see two of Sherwood's (furthermost right of screen) strengths show up on this first play---both his ability to direct/communicate to his teammates pre-snap and his physical strength. The ball is snapped and Sherwood races outside to maintain his outside leverage. He forces the run inside on this inside/mid-zone rush attempt. Sherwood drops his weight as the right tackle closes ground, but he still gets caught by the RT's right hand. Sherwood shows strength as he is able to absorb the blow, then rips the right wrist down with his left hand. Sherwood fights to get inside as the running back angles upfield and gets in on the tackle. Pre-snap recognition Sherwood (Moving near the bottom of the screen, over the wide receiver on the line of scrimmage) seems to be the curl-flat player of this defensive set. So he knows he has over-the-top help, which allows him to be aggressive on the play. It's something you can tell early based on the alignment of the offense. He recognizes the bubble screen coming to the No. 3 wide receiver. Sherwood gets downhill fast as the ball is snapped, gets caught in the chest by the receiver (needs to improve hand placement) but again shows his strength as he is able to absorb the contact. Sherwood does this while working past the WR, drops his weight and jerks/pulls the WR to shed the block. He then gets to the WR a split-second after he catches the ball, eventually dives and makes the tackle for loss. Weaknesses Athleticism Sherwood (deepest defender on-screen) initially gains depth but comes forward as he sees the quarterback keep the ball on this QB counter. Sherwood closes ground at an angle that's a touch too wide and the QB cuts left to avoid Sherwood. That's when you notice the "heavy-footed(ness)" and lack of change of direction that Sherwood possesses as the QB runs by him. Deep coverage Sherwood's (second-most outside defender to the top of the screen on 15-yard line) coverage responsibilities change here, as the slot WR from the boundary side motions to the opposite side of the field. The deep safety drops down into a hook zone, as Sherwood now has the deep middle-third of this cover 3 defense. Sherwood needs to get back with a brisk pace to keep the routes in front of him, Sherwood doesn't do so, as his eyes are too focused on the backfield. Sherwood turns and attempts to match the post route from the boundary as the WR is already well past him. The outside cornerback is able to stay with the route but Sherwood provided no help. Takes himself out of plays Going to recap two pretty quick plays here to show this particular weakness (taking himself out of plays): Here, the offense runs a counter OF to the boundary, where Sherwood shows up from deep. Sherwood comes downhill and wants to maintain outside leverage to force the run back inside, but he could play over the top of the lead block from the H-back, allowing himself to play outside to in. Instead, he comes downhill too much, taking himself right into the blocker and effectively out of the play as the running back works vertically. Sherwood (second outmost defender to the top on the 35-yard line) draws man coverage on the tight end as he comes in motion across the field. The TE runs a wheel route over the top of the smoke route, which is eye candy. Sherwood falls for the eye candy and drives towards the smoke route, instead of remaining disciplined and sticking to his coverage. The TE gets behind him and catches the ball for a chunk gain. Strengths and Weaknesses Strengths Solid build at 6-foot-2, 220 pounds with 34-inch arms Strength Length Matches up well with TEs, size-wise Big hitter Decent tackler (lunges too often though) Pre-snap communication Pre-snap recognition Good command of defense at Auburn Patient in coverage (want to see if that translates to press coverage) Comes downhill square Square in off coverage Strength to crowd stem/stack routes Active eyes Versatility Hand usage post-contact to shed Weaknesses Change of direction Short area explosion Top-end speed Heavy feet when closing ground Hand placement when getting into a block Angles can be over aggressive Lacks trigger Agility Can be held/misdirected by QB eyes and eye candy Needs more initial thump when taking on blocks Not overly aggressive/doesn't dive into piles etc Can be hoppy in man coverage Takes himself out of some plays Grabby in coverage which leads to him reaching and being top-heavy Stares into backfield too often instead of focusing on routes/concepts How does he play ball in the air (didn't see it much)?