New York Jets’ best individual seasons of past 15 years | Defense

If one built a Jets super-defense using the best individual seasons at each position since 2005, what would it look like? Individual players will not appear more than once. Here are the positions listed (12 total): 1 nose tackle 2 interior defensive line 2 outside linebackers/stand-up EDGE 2 inside linebackers 3 cornerbacks (2 outside / 1 slot) 2 safeties (1 free / 1 strong) Click here to check out the 2005-19 Jets super-offense. Nose tackle - Damon Harrison, 2015 An undrafted free agent out of William Penn in 2012, Harrison became a regular part of the defensive rotation in 2013 and was the best run-stuffing defensive tackle in football for the Jets from 2013-15. He continued that dominance over the next three seasons with the Giants and Lions. As a Jet, Harrison's best season came in 2015. Despite playing just the 25th-most snaps against the run (271) among interior defensive linemen, Harrison led the position with 49 run stops, seven more than any other player. His run-stop percentage of 18.1% led the position and stands as the second-best single-season mark since 2006, trailing only Sione Pouha's 21.2% for the Jets in 2007 (Pouha did that on a much smaller sample size, which is why Harrison wins this spot). Largely thanks to Harrison, the 2015 Jets led the NFL in rush defense DVOA (defense-adjusted value over average) as they allowed the fewest rushing touchdowns (4) and lowest rushing first down rate (16.6%). EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ - DECEMBER 06: Muhammad Wilkerson #96 and Damon Harrison #94 of the New York Jets celebrate after defeating the New York Giants by a score of 23-20 at MetLife Stadium on December 6, 2015 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) Interior defensive line - Muhammad Wilkerson, 2015 In his fifth season with the Jets, Wilkerson established himself as one of the most destructive defensive linemen in football. He ranked third among interior defensive linemen with 80 pressures, trailing only Geno Atkins (81) and J.J. Watt (93). Wilkerson tied for sixth in the NFL with 12.0 sacks and also picked up seven passes deflections, which trailed only Watt (8) among defensive linemen. Following the season, Wilkerson was ranked by his peers as the league's 39th-best player on the NFL's Top-100 list. He earned a five-year, $86 million deal from the Jets that, at the time, was unanimously seen as a perfectly reasonable value. Wilkerson was that good. Unfortunately, Wilkerson suffered a season-ending right fibula fracture in the Jets' 2015 season-finale loss at Buffalo and was never again able to come close to the peaks he reached that year. Over 28 games from 2016-17, Wilkerson picked up just 8.0 sacks and 57 pressures. That is 38% as many sacks per game and 41% as many pressures per game as he posted in 2015. Wilkerson was, quite literally, less than half of the player he once was. Interior defensive line - Sheldon Richardson, 2014 After being named Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2013, Richardson clobbered the league in 2014. He picked up 21 quarterback hits, 11 tackles for loss, and 8.0 sacks, while ranking fourth among interior defensive linemen in pressures (54) and 19th in run stops (22). Richardson earned his first - and to date, only - Pro Bowl appearance for the wreckage he caused. Pro Football Focus ranked Richardson as the fourth-best interior lineman in the game with an 84.6 overall grade in 2014, as he ranked third against the run (90.4 grade) and sixth as a pass-rusher (75.4 grade). He was also unique in that he dropped into coverage on 45 snaps, more than three times as many as any other interior defensive lineman. Richardson allowed just two catches for 19 yards on those snaps, an excellent average of 0.42 yards per cover snap. We've already listed Harrison and Wilkerson's 2015 seasons. Richardson's 2015 was fantastic as well, and could have easily taken this spot. While his run defense was not quite as dominant as in 2014 (dropped from 19th to 70th in run stops), Richardson posted 55 pressures in 2015, which is still a career-high (ranked 10th among IDL). The "Sons of Anarchy" were a tremendous trio. Don't forget that a young Leonard Williams was there in 2015 as well. In 2015, the Jets had Wilkerson at third in pressures among interior defensive linemen (80), Richardson at 10th (55), and Williams at 13th (52), while Harrison was having one of the best run-stopping seasons in recent history. It was a fantastic quartet with Sack Exchange-caliber potential, and it is too bad they did not stick together beyond that one season. Richardson is a very unique athletic talent - remember when he scored two rushing touchdowns in 2013? That remains one of only two instances in the Super Bowl era (since 1966) in which a defensive player scored multiple rushing touchdowns in one season, along with William "Fridge" Perry for the 1985 Chicago Bears. MIAMI GARDENS, FL - DECEMBER 29: Sheldon Richardson #91 of the New York Jets scores a second quarter touchdown against the Miami Dolphins on December 29, 2013 at Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Joel Auerbach/Getty Images) Cornerback - Darrelle Revis, 2009 You didn't expect someone else, did you? The numbers behind Revis' famous 2009 season are downright staggering. They make it glaringly clear that it was one of the best individual seasons in football history - at any position. Including the playoffs, on targets in his direction, Revis allowed 48-of-127 passing (37.8% completion rate) for 502 yards (3.95 per target), two touchdowns, and eight interceptions in 2009. That culminates in a passer rating of 29.1, the lowest mark allowed by any qualified cornerback as far back as coverage data is available (since 2006). Revis was shadowing No. 1 receivers man-to-man on a snap-to-snap basis. He was challenged constantly - his total of 127 targets that season is tied for the 14th-most since 2006. The Jets' mediocre pass rush did not help him out much - they ranked 21st in quarterback hit percentage (13.5%). And yet, despite facing elite competition at a high volume and playing behind a below-average pass rush, Revis was the most efficient cornerback in modern history. Unreal. A throw in Revis' direction was more likely to result in Revis making a play on the ball than the receiver picking up a first down. Revis gave up only 27 first down receptions (21.7% of targets) while disrupting 35 passes (27.6% of targets), breaking up 27 and intercepting another eight. Revis' ratio of passes defended-to-first downs allowed: 1.30. The 2009 NFL average: 0.42. Revis more than tripled it. Teams had so much respect for Revis' 2009 season that they began to simply avoid him in 2010. That season, Revis was targeted only 67 times (3.5 per game), 60 fewer than in 2009. Even though he was still shadowing top weapons, he was targeted at the third-lowest frequency of any cornerback, with an average of 8.4 cover snaps per target. Especially given the rule changes that the league has gone through, we may never see another season of cornerback play as dominant as Revis' 2009, or another stretch as good as his 2008-11 run. Cornerback - Ty Law, 2005 While we do not have coverage statistics available for the 2005 season, it would be hard to pass up on what Law did for the Jets that season at 31 years old. He led the NFL with 10 interceptions, the third-most in Jets history and the most in the Super Bowl era. Law's 18 passes defended that season stands as the third-most in Jets history behind Revis' 2009 (31) and 2011 (21) seasons. HEMPSTEAD, NY - AUGUST 8: General manager Terry Bradway (L) and head coach Herman Edwards (R) present the newest member of the New York Jets, Ty Law, his jersey after speaking to the media during a question and answer session at training camp on the Jets practice field at Hofstra University August 8, 2005 in Hempstead, New York. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) Slot/nickel cornerback - Brian Poole, 2019 Poole had a remarkable 2019 season, allowing the fewest yards per cover snap out of the slot (0.57) among qualified cornerbacks. He also ranked second among corners in tackles for loss against the run (4), third in total pressures (11), and sixth in run-stop percentage (3.6%). Pro Football Focus ranked him as the seventh-best cornerback in football with a 79.0 overall grade. EDGE/OLB - John Abraham, 2005 Abraham, the Jets' last great edge rusher, barely sneaks in, as his last season in New York came in 2005. Abraham's 10.5 sacks in 2005 still ranks as the most in one season by a non-defensive lineman for the Jets over the past 15 seasons. That total tied Abraham for 11th in the NFL that season. EDGE/OLB - Calvin Pace, 2013 Pickings are mighty slim here. It has been quite a while since the Jets had a legitimate force at this position. Pace had a 10.0-sack blip in 2013. It was the first time a Jets edge rusher hit double-digits since Abraham in 2005, and has not been done since. Pace was also strong in coverage that season. He ranked second among edge defenders with 228 snaps played in coverage, and held up well on those reps as he allowed no touchdowns and only 78 yards on 17 targets (4.6 per target). Pace's 2011 season deserves an honorable mention. Although he only had 4.5 sacks, he led edge defenders with 30 run stops and was even better in coverage than he was in 2013, allowing 50 yards on 14 targets (3.6 per target). Inside linebacker - David Harris, 2009 Harris was such a steady, non-flashy performer throughout his decade-long Jets career that it's hard to pick out one particular season, but 2009 is probably the best choice. Although he was never known for his coverage, Harris was actually very good in that department early in his career. In 2009, Harris earned the eighth-best PFF coverage grade among linebackers (88.3) and allowed the fourth-lowest passer rating into his coverage (70.5) at the position. Harris allowed 33-of-44 passing for 263 yards, zero touchdowns, and two interceptions. Harris also made an impact as a pass-rusher that season, picking up 5.5 sacks and 13 quarterback hits (both eventual career-bests) while ranking ninth among linebackers with 20 total pressures. Total tackles is not a good statistic for evaluating any defensive player, but for the fun of it, it's worth noting that Harris did rank ninth in the NFL with 127 tackles in 2009. He joined Pro Bowlers Brian Cushing and Patrick Willis as the only players with 100+ tackles and 10+ quarterback hits that season. EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ - OCTOBER 18: Ryan Fitzpatrick #14 of the Buffalo Bills runs out of the pocket from David Harris #52 of the New York Jets during the game on October 18, 2009 at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The Bills defeated the Jets 16-13 in overtime. (Photo by Jared Wickerham/Getty Images) Inside linebacker - Bart Scott, 2010 Scott's best season with the Jets came in 2010. With a ratio of 70 made tackles to only two missed, he was a tremendously efficient tackler, posting the fifth-lowest miss rate among qualified linebackers (2.8%). Against the run, Scott was a wrecking ball, earning PFF's best run defense grade (91.1) among linebackers. In coverage, Scott allowed the fourth-fewest yards per cover snap (0.55) among qualified linebackers. He also ranked 10th among linebackers with 19 pressures. Free safety - Kerry Rhodes, 2006 Rhodes was one of the best safeties in the league during his tenure with the Jets. His best season was most likely 2006, in which he put up career-bests of 13 passes defended, 5.0 sacks and three forced fumbles, while his total of four interceptions fell one shy of his eventual career-best. In 2006, Rhodes was doing it all. He allowed a passer rating of 40.5 into his coverage that ranked fourth-best among safeties. As a tackler, he was great at cleaning up the mess, posting the ninth-lowest missed tackle rate (5.9%) among safeties. Rhodes also wreaked havoc as a blitzer, tying for second at his position with 12 pressures. Overall, PFF graded him as the No. 1 safety with an overall grade of 90.8. You could easily go with Rhodes' 2007 season. He was again PFF's top-ranked safety (91.4 grade), posting 10 passes defended and five interceptions while ranking third in both pressures (12) and tackling efficiency (4.9% miss rate) among safeties. Strong safety - Jamal Adams, 2019 The man needs no introduction. He does it all. In 2019, Adams set a position-record with 23 pressures, dominated in coverage as he allowed the fourth-fewest yards per target (4.5) among qualified safeties, and blew up opposing running backs as he whiffed on tackles against the run at a lower frequency (3.6% miss rate) than any other safety. If Adams has played his final down in a Jets uniform, Joe Douglas had better ensure he gets a king's ransom for the young stud's services. Here is what our 2005-19 Jets super-defense would look like: DE: 2015 Muhammad Wilkerson DE: 2014 Sheldon Richardson DT: 2015 Damon Harrison OLB: 2005 John Abraham OLB: 2013 Calvin Pace ILB: 2010 Bart Scott ILB: 2009 David Harris CB1: 2009 Darrelle Revis CB2: 2005 Ty Law FS: 2006 Kerry Rhodes SS: 2019 Jamal Adams Nickel CB: 2019 Brian Poole Were there any snubs here? Where do you think this defense would rank if it played 16 games in the modern-day NFL?