Sometimes, improving for the sake of improvement is counterproductive. In other words, an attempt to improve sans a proper plan leads to a dumbfounding and frustrating mirage.
Take the New York Jets, for example.
Universally lauded as possessing an extremely talented roster each of the last two years, the preseason hype machine ran wild. When analyzing things after the fact, it’s tough to claim everybody got it completely wrong—two straight seasons.
While the level of talent in-house is (and should be) up for debate, the professional ballers who practice in Florham Park, NJ, don’t contribute to a hapless or downtrodden group. That much is certain.
Still, there are depth chart holes, many of which head coach Aaron Glenn and general manager Darren Mougey are currently aiming to address. While there’s no question that the Jets duo intends to fill many of these holes this offseason, the level of increment talent is usually the barometer.
Yet, it shouldn’t be.
Instead, how exactly the regime attacks the task at hand is a much clearer indicator of future promise or dread. This attention to detail—the how—informs fans and media pundits along the way.
If Glenn and Mougey accomplish the how correctly, it means great things for the Jets as an organization. Unfortunately, it also equates to tough decisions and respectable goodbyes.
One man who brings open-market heat into the 2025 offseason is linebacker Jamien Sherwood, who, if Glenn’s vision matches what I currently anticipate, is destined to play for another team next fall.
And he’s not even close to the only one.
Sherwood’s production is irrelevant
On the surface, no passerby would argue the Jets are more talented without Sherwood rostered. There’s just no conceivable way to argue that point from a sheer ability perspective.
Sherwood, 25, was drafted by Joe Douglas in the fifth round of the 2021 NFL draft. To Robert Saleh’s credit, the former Auburn safety (turned linebacker) turned into a starting-caliber defender.
Sherwood was named the Jets team MVP after finishing with a team-high 158 tackles. He also contributed with 2 sacks, 10 tackles for loss, 2 quarterback hits, and 3 passes defended.
Better yet, Sherwood’s 98 solo tackles led the National Football League.
Perhaps a Pro Bowl snub, Sherwood’s reliable nature was a breath of fresh air for a Jets team that struggled to replace the injured C.J. Mosley. Quite suddenly, New York had to navigate from one defensive leader to another—as Sherwood took on radio-in-the-helmet duties as the MIKE.
After four seasons in Northern New Jersey, Sherwood is now primed to enter free agency for the first time in his career, and Jets fans naturally want him back. I’m sure Glenn wants him back as well when purely analyzing Sherwood as a player and individual.
There’s just one major problem with wanting the kid back …
He does not fit and complement the linebacker next to him.
For Glenn, it boils down to balance
Seeking to improve this roster, particularly on defense, means preaching a more versatile mindset. For Glenn, it means ridding each defender of the Saleh-driven scheme that urges players to play one way.
Saleh wanted his linebackers to be aggressive and fly around. He wanted sideline-to-sideline cheetahs who could hunt and track with the best of them.
That’s great; Glenn surely wants that as well. But that’s not all he wants.
Glenn’s Detroit Lions defenses were much more hybrid in nature. As an unapologetic Bill Parcells disciple, he not only believes in play-design flexibility, but he also lives and dies with a versatile play-stye mindset.
If Quincy Williams is one of the two starting linebackers, I would be surprised to see Glenn bring Sherwood back as the other.
Standing 5-foot-11 and weighing 225 pounds, Williams is similar in nature to the 6-foot-2, 216-pound Sherwood. Both are smaller, faster, quicker linebackers who range with the best of them and drop into coverage nicely.
It sounds great for the subpackage (nickel, dime, etc.), but Sherwood is ready to sign starting linebacker money in free agency. I expect Glenn to seek a much heavier linebacker to play alongside Quincy.
A filler and spiller is required
Far too often, the Saleh-led Jets defense played like cupcakes against the run. Kudos to how they played the pass—as I believe they featured the league’s best pass coverage in 2023—but the unit’s run defense has been nothing short of porous.
Why, is the question? Well, it boiled down to a particular mindset that limited play style.
What worked best against this unit?
- Counters
- Traps
- Misdirections
- Draws
- Screens
Anything designed to fool the defense, as opposed to overpowering the defense, worked like gangbusters against Saleh’s run defense. Don’t get me wrong: New York’s defense was also routinely run over against the straight-ahead stuff, but the misdirection ploys that allowed the Jets’ aggressively gap-attacking front to get downhill were beyond obvious.
Glenn doesn’t play that game. He often asks his defensive tackles to two-gap the line of scrimmage, which bleeds 3-4 principles (à la Parcells, Bill Belichick, etc.). It’s why I firmly believe Glenn will target a couple of heavier defensive tackles who can successfully two-gap fronts that allow the linebackers more freedom.
This idea perfectly complements the more traditional 3-tech Quinnen Williams. Javon Kinlaw and Solomon Thomas just aren’t those dudes. Like Big Q, they’re much more of the aggressively get downhill via 1-gap get-offs.
In the linebacker world, a thumper is required to play alongside Quincy.
The 2024 run-defense film is beyond atrocious when evaluating filling and spilling. Jets linebackers rarely met blockers in the right position, and they rarely did so with gusto and complete gap integrity.
When thinking about a prototype, think of Bart Scott in the Rex Ryan scheme. Better yet, think of Jack Campbell under Glenn.
It’s about team play
Campbell, who was drafted No. 18 in the 2023 NFL draft, is a 6-foot-5, 246-pound monster of a backer who simply does his job. By no means does he light up the stat sheet, but that’s exactly the point.
Campbell is the filler/spiller who sacrifices himself to keep gap integrity intact for Detroit’s defense. This is essential for a defensive unit to thrive as a whole. Without these unsung heroes on the football field, units cannot sufficiently gel.
The Jets’ awful defense in 2024 wasn’t due to a lack of talent. Yes, the defensive line was ravaged by injury and nonsense, but the main issue boiled down to each individual not holding himself accountable for accomplishing his specific job.
If just one player doesn’t do his job, then the nearest defender has a much harder go of things. If that happens, then the second defender has a much tougher task on hand.
Thing thing we call football, both on offense and defense, is a chain reaction of events that occurs when one of the 11 individuals decides or unsuccessfully doesn’t do his singular job.
In a world where Quincy is traded, then ok … I can see Glenn go hard after Sherwood. And in that hypothetical world, a job posting for a heavy, run-filling linebacker would still be created.
When Quincy Williams and Jamien Sherwood are on the field together, it’s tough for all 11 men to get the job done. They’re just too similar in nature.
