The New York Jets’ failed 2024 season can be heavily blamed on the colossal downfall of their defense. After ranking as the league’s third-best defense in 2023 based on DVOA, they have stooped to 19th in 2024.
A big part of the Jets’ defensive dip is their inability to stop the run. The Jets are 23rd in rush defense DVOA. They have been particularly soft near the goal line, allowing the fifth-most rushing touchdowns (18).
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To go another step deeper, the Jets’ struggles against the run are largely the product of their brutal edge-setting. Most of New York’s edge defenders have been extremely soft in the run game.
The Jets’ edge defenders have combined for a composite run defense grade of 50.6 at Pro Football Focus, the worst mark among EDGE units by a wide margin.
Composite PFF run defense grade among edge defenders (Weeks 1-14):
- 32. Jets (50.6)
- 31. Saints (54.7)
- 30. Commanders (55.3)
- 29. Seahawks (56.3)
- 28. Falcons (56.6)
- 27. Cowboys (57.4)
- 26. Bills (57.5)
- 25. Buccaneers (57.8)
- 24. Bears (57.9)
- 23. 49ers (58.3)
The gap between New York and 31st-ranked New Orleans is larger than the gap between New Orleans and 23rd-ranked San Francisco. Edge-setting has been a major issue for the Jets.
This is mostly the fault of the Jets’ two most-used edge defenders, Will McDonald and Micheal Clemons. Among the 88 edge defenders who have played at least 300 defensive snaps this season, McDonald ranks 87th in run defense grade (39.9) while Clemons ranks 83rd (47.4).
Strengthening the run defense on the edge will be one of New York’s top defensive priorities going into 2025. Getting back a healthy Jermaine Johnson will certainly help, but it will take more than one player to turn around the absolute worst edge-setting unit in football.
Sure enough, the Jets have a potential in-house solution on their 53-man roster: undrafted rookie Eric Watts.
Watts has quietly been displaying promise as a run defender throughout the season. The Connecticut product has played 148 defensive snaps across 10 games for New York (14.8 snaps per game), and in the process, he has earned a run defense grade of 71.4 at PFF. This places Watts in the 82nd percentile among edge defenders who have played at least 100 snaps this season.
With the playoffs out of the question, the Jets would be wise to boost Watts’ snap count over the final four games of a lost season. While the Jets’ lame-duck coaching staff surely doesn’t care about developing for the future more than they care about winning these last four games, Watts is arguably a better short-term option, too. Clemons is a total liability in both phases. Pass-rushing was never his forte; stopping the run was supposed to be his bread-and-butter, and yet, he is one of the worst players in the league in that phase. Transferring some of Clemons’ snaps to Watts would benefit the Jets in both the short and long term.
It has been easy for Jets fans not to notice Watts, who has only played about 15 snaps per game, is yet to record a sack, and is credited with just 10 total tackles. However, he has sneakily displayed some intriguing potential in a specific facet of the game where the Jets have performed brutally. That makes him a fascinating player to watch over these final four games as the Jets’ future becomes the top priority.
Let’s shed a spotlight on some of the hidden plays Watts has made this year.
Eric Watts film review
Watts wears No. 58.
Watts displays good discipline as the read defender on this RPO. He stays in a shuffle position and doesn’t bite too hard in either direction, keeping himself ready to defend either the keeper or the handoff. Once the ball is handed off, Watts darts inside and takes down Jonathan Taylor from behind, holding him to a 2-yard gain.
Taking on the tight end while also absorbing a chip from the right tackle, Watts does a good job of holding his ground, which sets a solid edge. He keeps his arms extended and then sheds the block when he sees the run coming his way, reaching out to grab the RB and stop him for a 2-yard gain. The tackle is a great display of Watts’ elite arm length; his 35.75-inch arms rank in the 97th percentile all-time among EDGE prospects.
This is another display of good discipline by Watts on an option play. Off the snap, Watts quickly diagnoses the potential for a keeper, so he slows up, gets into a shuffle position, and maintains the leverage/angle to get out in front of the QB if he needs to. Watts does not overpursue and stays prepared to defend the keeper, helping to force Josh Allen into a handoff. From there, it’s just pure hustle, as Watts chases the play down from the back side.
Watts’ displays of discipline are particularly important to the Jets because of how badly they have paid the price for Clemons’ poor discipline in the same situations. Teams have enjoyed success by running their QB to Clemons’ side all year long.
If the Jets had Watts in Clemons’ shoes in those situations, perhaps they would have prevented at least one of those touchdowns. Considering two of those plays were game-sealers in close contests, maybe Watts could have flipped a game result.
What I like about Watts’ approach to run defense is that he consistently respects the outside threat. Look how he comes off the ball here. He is not firing in any particular direction with reckless abandon, as Clemons and many other Jets defensive linemen often do. With Justin Jefferson motioning toward him and a tight end also pulling in his direction, Watts’ first instinct is to stay home and make sure the edge is set.
Watts only starts to pursue the ball once he confirms it is going inside. And when he does begin to pursue, his athleticism shines. With a 4.67 forty time (79th percentile among EDGE) and 36.5-inch vertical jump (82nd percentile among EDGE), Watts is fast and explosive. This makeup speed is what gives him the ability to stay home on the edge and still get back inside to help out if the ball doesn’t come his way. You see that here, as after a patient start to the play, Watts smoothly shuffles inside, explodes over the tight end’s lame attempt at a block, and makes the tackle in mid-air.
Watts is late off the ball here, but that only further highlights his explosiveness on this play. Despite the late start, Watts still plows the TE multiple yards into the backfield, staying low in his stance and landing his hands tightly into the TE’s chest.
In the midst of plowing the TE, Watts also impedes the path of two other blockers, preventing them from climbing to the second level and blocking Watts’ teammates. Ultimately, Sam Eguavoen and Leonard Taylor rally to make the tackle, leaving Watts with no statistical credit.
And that’s edge-setting 101. You don’t always get noticed or earn a stat. It requires a willingness to do the dirty work and avoid playing hero ball in search of the splashy play. Oftentimes, the goal is to build a wall on the edge to force the runner into bouncing back toward the traffic, allowing your teammates to make a play. John Franklin-Myers was great at these off-the-stat-sheet plays, and the Jets have missed him dearly this year.
Eric Watts’ outlook
It should be noted that Watts needs plenty of work a pass rusher, which is probably why he has not played more this season. Watts has only two pressures on 66 pass-rush snaps, per PFF. Going forward, Watts must become at least a competent pass rusher to earn a bigger role than just a run-stopping specialist.
In the meantime, though, the Jets would be wise to phase out Clemons and give Watts a chance to show what he can do over these next four games. No, the Jets’ current coaching staff does not care about the long-term future of a franchise they will be exiting in one month, but if they want to improve their resumes by winning these next four games, Watts gives them a better chance to do it than Clemons.
Looking to the future, if Watts can settle in as a quality edge-setter with the Jets’ second-string defensive line, that would be a win for New York. The return of Jermaine Johnson will be a massive boost to the Jets’ edge-setting in the starting lineup, but they will need someone else to turn to in running situations when Johnson is on the bench, and Watts projects well into that role.
Watts has shown the potential to be a quality run-stopper in limited snaps this season, and he deserves more opportunities to flex those skills over the final four weeks. Considering how significant of a problem this particular facet has been for New York, Watts can be a valuable boon for this team if he establishes himself as a keeper.
