Jets Edge Rusher has the Tools, but Still Waiting to Break out

[JetNation]

We’ve all heard, said and read it a million times over.  The New York Jets haven’t had a viable rusher off the edge since the days of John Abraham whose final season with the team was way back in 2005.  Since then, there have been a string of busts consisting of Vernon Gholston, Lorenzo Mauldin and Ik Enemkpali to name a few.  But could the Jets have an edge rusher already on the roster who is just waiting for an opportunity?

When you look at the criteria for being an edge rusher as a starting point, you generally want an explosive athlete with upper-tier production at a major program, so as to avoid the Dylan Donahue’s of the world and preferably a guy who has shown he can compete against NFL linemen.

Why is it then, that we hear so little about Jets edge rusher Jordan Willis?  I can hear it now; “Jordan who”?  Well, we’ll tell you who.

Listed at 270 lbs, Willis is an athletic freak who racked up 20 sacks over his final two seasons at Kansas State, earning Big 12 defensive player of the year honors in 2016 when he tallied 11.5 sacks.  His performance at the NFL combine answered any questions about his explosiveness and athleticism as he would have ranked in the top 10 of every category in this year’s class.  In fact, when compared to other Jets edge players, he ranks at the top of almost every category and no worse than 2nd in any of them.  Just take a look at the numbers, and  we’ve even thrown in former NFL scout Pat Kirwain’s explosion score to see how each player stacks up.  An explosion score above 70 is considered excellent.

	Bench	40	Vert	Broad	3-cone	Shuttle	XP Score
Jordan Willis	24	4.53	39	10′ 5”	6.85	4.28	73.41
Jordan Jenkins	16	4.8	36.5	10′ 1”	N/A	N/A	62.58
Tarell Basham	15	4.7	31.5	9′ 11”	7.27	4.35	56.41
Jabari Zuinga	29	4.64	33	10′ 7”	N/A	N/A	72.58
John Franklin-Myers	26	4.75	33	9′ 5”	7.36	4.48	68.5
Kyle Phillips*	17	4.68	32.5	9′ 7”	7.44	4.77	59.08
Wyatt Ray	25	4.83	34	9′ 10”	7.34	4.31	68.83
Harvey Langi	23	4.62*	33	9′ 10”	7	4.32	65.83
Frankie Luvu*	21	4.84	29.5	9′ 2”	7.03	4.26	59.66
*Pro Day

*XP Score = Explosion Score (Bench + Vert + Broad)

One of the reasons we decided to dig deeper with Willis was the fact that even though he rarely saw the field, we were seeing some good work from him on some All 22 reviews and wondered just how often he saw the field last season and if our opinions were echoed elsewhere.  For that, we turned to the folks at Pro Football Focus, and it seems that at least they saw things the way we did.

It would hardly come as a surprise to any Jets fan that all-pro safety Jamal Adams earned the teams highest grade when rushing the passer in 2019 at 89.9.  But of course that’s looking at a DB coming in as an extra blitzer.  We wanted to see where Willis stacked up among the team’s outside linebackers and defensive ends.  The answer?  Number one.

That’s right.  With just 105 pass rush attempts, Willis earned a PFF pass rush grade of 74.8.  The next highest DE or OLB on the list is Jordan Jenkins at 67.4.  With a total of 11 quarterback pressures (8 hits, 2 hurries and 1 sack), Willis averages a pressure roughly every 10 snaps, so is he a candidate to break out with increased reps in 2020?  It sure would be nice, so we can stop talking, hearing and reading about how long it’s been since the Jets had a presence off the edge.

The post Jets Edge Rusher has the Tools, but Still Waiting to Break out appeared first on JetNation.com (NY Jets Blog & Forum).

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[Jetsfan80]

I'm glad this isn't the Jordan Willis they're talking about.  This guy has @T0mShane metrics. 

 

[AFJF]

1 minute ago, Jetsfan80 said:

I'm glad this isn't the Jordan Willis they're talking about.  This guy has @T0mShane metrics:

 

Mike Maccagnan and John Idzik would fight to the death for the right to draft this player.

Edited May 13, 2020 by AFJF

[Jetsfan80]

Just now, AFJF said:

Mike Maccagnan and John Idzik would fight to the death for the right to draft this player.

And to think he made the SoCon Second Team defense!

[JustInFudge]

I remember this guy coming out of college heading into the draft.  There were a few of us talking about how he's testing like a next level pass rusher but fell to what, the 3rd round?  And now he's been in the league for 3 years and has 3 sacks?  

I wouldnt hold my breath but that said, maybe him like Quincy Wilson just need the right environment.  The athlete is in there.  Seems like that's been a bit of a theme for Douglas this offseason.  Solid athlete, career underachievers.  Maybe just trying to find some diamonds in the rough as he builds to the future. 

[Jetster]

5 minutes ago, JiF said:

I remember this guy coming out of college heading into the draft.  There were a few of us talking about how he's testing like a next level pass rusher but fell to what, the 3rd round?  And now he's been in the league for 3 years and has 3 sacks?  

I wouldnt hold my breath but that said, maybe him like Quincy Wilson just need the right environment.  The athlete is in there.  Seems like that's been a bit of a theme for Douglas this offseason.  Solid athlete, career underachievers.  Maybe just trying to find some diamonds in the rough as he builds to the future. 

Our Dline can be a PITA & they are just coming into their own (Shepard, Foley, Phillips), this is a BIG YEAR for Quinnen. If he steps it up, whoever wins the edge snaps will have a chance to make some noise when offenses have to deal with players as good as Mosely & Adams sniffin around the LOS. 

[JetsFanShawn]

not to bad not bad they might be 2nd place

[Dcat]

1 hour ago, Jetsfan80 said:

I'm glad this isn't the Jordan Willis they're talking about.  This guy has @T0mShane metrics. 

 

He's Rudy, but at the wrong school.

[southparkcpa]

Yes Furman U, the football capital of the south. 

[HessStation]

Someone give this man a real #

[Jetsfan80]

1 minute ago, southparkcpa said:

Yes Furman U, the football capital of the south. 

Our Willis went to Kansas State.  The bad Willis went to Furman.  

[Scoop24]

Who write this @T0mShane ? 

[Big Snell]

[oc_jet]

Cincinnati drafted Willis, who does seem to be the the kind of freak the OP spoke of, ranking 13th of all 649 players drafted at that position over the last 20 years. That begs the question, why hasnt it translated to the field?

By comparison, the Jets drafted a bunch of slugs. However, Adams talent has shown through...

[hmhertz]

We own Josh Malone tied for fourth

[RobR]

Considering he's already played an entire season with us and barely sniffed the field, you'd have to believe he's beyond a longshot to even make the roster.

[Mavericknyc1980]

Let’s hope this works out.

[AFJF]

9 hours ago, RobR said:

Considering he's already played an entire season with us and barely sniffed the field, you'd have to believe he's beyond a longshot to even make the roster.

As much as I'm rooting for him I fear you may be right.  Just surprised to see how little they used him given lack of a pass rush.  Sometimes the numbers are great but the results just don't follow.

[Jetsfan80]

14 hours ago, oc_jet said:

Cincinnati drafted Willis, who does seem to be the the kind of freak the OP spoke of, ranking 13th of all 649 players drafted at that position over the last 20 years. That begs the question, why hasnt it translated to the field?

Freakish or elite athleticism merely opens the door for a guy to be an effective EDGE rusher in the NFL.  He still has to put the work in to become a success story.  But it's always, always worth a shot with these types to see if the lightbulb ever goes on.  

It's certainly better than trying to make it work with guys like Lorenzo Mauldin or Jachai Polite, some of which have good tape but will never make it at the EDGE spot if the measurables show they have stiff hips and/or limited athleticism.  

[rangerous]

here's to hoping this guy can work out but it seems to me these premier pass rushers either have the knack or don't.  it's not just about freakish athletic ability.

[GreenReaper]

Wonder if what's been holding Willis back has to do with a low football IQ.  Not able to read situations and process quickly.   That could limit him to plays pretty much considered 100% passing ones.  Where  there's not much pre-snap/post-snap adjustments he needs to worry about.    So in limited situations...Willis can just pin back his ears...and explode off the LOS towards the QB. 

Wish I'm wrong...and Willis has success this year for sure though. 

[pdxgreen]

Willis has been in the league three years and he has 52 combined tackles and 3 whole sacks?  What's his special quality that is supposed to imbue with confidence in his ability?

[#27TheDominator]

12 hours ago, RobR said:

Considering he's already played an entire season with us and barely sniffed the field, you'd have to believe he's beyond a longshot to even make the roster.

You're probably correct, but it isn't that uncommon for guys to need a camp to get integrated.  Willis was picked up off waivers after week 1 and didn't see the field until after the bye in Philadelphia.  His snap counts were kind of all over the map, but he ended up around 15% of the defensive snaps.  I was very happy they got him.  I felt the same about Basham the year before,  though looking at Basham's athletic numbers I can't imagine why.  Basham joined the team in 2018 and didn't do much.  Last year he seemed to get more run and now he may end up the starter.

They seemed to only use WIllis as a down lineman, rather than an EDGE though size-wise he is more Calvin Pace than Leonard Williams.  That may be more the difference between Gregg Williams and the 3-4 that the Jets have been running since Mangini.  He got no run during the little 3 game win streak, but I don't see him on the injured list.  Contrast his usage with Shepherd who played 20% of the snaps.  Shepherd also does not appear on the injury list as far as I can tell.  He didn't see the field until week 8 when the traded Leonard and then played around 40% of the snaps for the rest of the year.  

I think the roster make-up will be interesting.  Will they transition more towards base 4-3 personnel?  They have a metric sh*t ton of guys that look like 3-4 ILB.  How many will they keep?  How will they be used?  Will they construct the team for the base nickel that they probably usually run anyway?  The change in roster rules with the protected practice squad and weekly call-ups will probably play into this. More opportunity to tailor the game day roster to your opponent.  I just hope they don't bend it to Gregg Williams desires and then he runs off.  3-4 years seems to be his max and aside from Jeff Fisher, I don't think he's ever lasted more than that anywhere.  

[mrcoops]

Loved him coming out in the draft. His athletic skills haven't translated into much pro production thus far, but we can live in hope

On the plus side, he does an amazing job as my designated pass rusher on 3rd downs in Madden.

[RobR]

2 hours ago, #27TheDominator said:

You're probably correct, but it isn't that uncommon for guys to need a camp to get integrated.  Willis was picked up off waivers after week 1 and didn't see the field until after the bye in Philadelphia.  His snap counts were kind of all over the map, but he ended up around 15% of the defensive snaps.  I was very happy they got him.  I felt the same about Basham the year before,  though looking at Basham's athletic numbers I can't imagine why.  Basham joined the team in 2018 and didn't do much.  Last year he seemed to get more run and now he may end up the starter.

They seemed to only use WIllis as a down lineman, rather than an EDGE though size-wise he is more Calvin Pace than Leonard Williams.  That may be more the difference between Gregg Williams and the 3-4 that the Jets have been running since Mangini.  He got no run during the little 3 game win streak, but I don't see him on the injured list.  Contrast his usage with Shepherd who played 20% of the snaps.  Shepherd also does not appear on the injury list as far as I can tell.  He didn't see the field until week 8 when the traded Leonard and then played around 40% of the snaps for the rest of the year.  

I think the roster make-up will be interesting.  Will they transition more towards base 4-3 personnel?  They have a metric sh*t ton of guys that look like 3-4 ILB.  How many will they keep?  How will they be used?  Will they construct the team for the base nickel that they probably usually run anyway?  The change in roster rules with the protected practice squad and weekly call-ups will probably play into this. More opportunity to tailor the game day roster to your opponent.  I just hope they don't bend it to Gregg Williams desires and then he runs off.  3-4 years seems to be his max and aside from Jeff Fisher, I don't think he's ever lasted more than that anywhere.  

I think I'm the only one here that realizes we ran more 4-3 concepts last year than 3-4. The bulk of the time we were running a 4-2-5 with Adams as a rover around the line of scrimmage. I wouldn't put too much stock into the whole 3-4 versus 4-3 debate because Williams runs so many mixed fronts......I even recall him saying he uses over 40 different formations.

[#27TheDominator]

8 minutes ago, RobR said:

I think I'm the only one here that realizes we ran more 4-3 concepts last year than 3-4. The bulk of the time we were running a 4-2-5 with Adams as a rover around the line of scrimmage. I wouldn't put too much stock into the whole 3-4 versus 4-3 debate because Williams runs so many mixed fronts......I even recall him saying he uses over 40 different formations.

Can't say I really knew what they were running, but multiple fronts with a ton of DBs is what I would have said if pressed.  That was kind of my point.  I don't think they had Willis stand up.  Basham was about the same size coming out, but they did have him standing up some.  May hurt (or not) his chances to stick. 

[Jet Nut]

 Ik Enemkpali?

[RobR]

7 hours ago, #27TheDominator said:

Can't say I really knew what they were running, but multiple fronts with a ton of DBs is what I would have said if pressed.  That was kind of my point.  I don't think they had Willis stand up.  Basham was about the same size coming out, but they did have him standing up some.  May hurt (or not) his chances to stick. 

I honestly think he'll be a name the entire league forgets within a year. Yes, they played him with his hand in the dirt reiterating my point that we ran much more 4-3 scheme than everyone likes to admit....or even notice. He's already had three years and has done nothing, it's also telling how little GW decided to give him snaps. 

[Jetmech]

From Walter football:


Here is how one top scout from a pass-rush-needy team summarized Willis, "Manufactured workout warrior. Solid backup type who can earn starts, but doesn't show same explosiveness on tape to feel he is going to wreck shop versua NFL blockers. Willis is workman-like and blue collar. If he's a starter, he's along the Clark Haggans, Brian Robison, Alex Okafor, Rob Ninkovich type. Willis tested better than Brian Orakpo, Ryan Kerrigan and Derrick Morgan, but he isn't near as explosive an athlete or player on tape as those guys were coming out."


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[NYJ1]

My personal feeling is he's got 3 sacks for a reason.

[GreenReaper]

23 hours ago, RobR said:

I think I'm the only one here that realizes we ran more 4-3 concepts last year than 3-4. The bulk of the time we were running a 4-2-5 with Adams as a rover around the line of scrimmage. I wouldn't put too much stock into the whole 3-4 versus 4-3 debate because Williams runs so many mixed fronts......I even recall him saying he uses over 40 different formations.

GW likes multi-positional hybrid type players...that he can use in various situations.  Draftees Ashtyn Davis and Bryce Hall...have that positional versatility to fit those types of roles.  If UDFAs like Bryce Huff and Lamar Jackson make the team.  It would be because GW sees them as niche players that can fit effectively into situational roles too.  

In many ways...Jets are fortunate...that GW...due to "BountyGate"...probably won't ever be seriously considered for an HC position.  He will bring much needed stability to defensive side of the team.  Bringing quality D...with the pieces he has to work with.  

IMO...JD-Gase-GW...as a trio...has been in sync much more then in recent past.  With JD supplying the pieces to allow the coaches to succeed. 

IMO...it will show up in play...on the football field this year.