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New York Jets: Front Seven Ranked Poorly by Pro Football Focus

By Nick Ziegler

December 11, 2016; Santa Clara, CA, USA; New York Jets outside linebacker Darron Lee (50) and defensive end Muhammad Wilkerson (96) celebrate after a defensive stop during overtime against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium. The Jets defeated the 49ers 23-17 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
December 11, 2016; Santa Clara, CA, USA; New York Jets outside linebacker Darron Lee (50) and defensive end Muhammad Wilkerson (96) celebrate after a defensive stop during overtime against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium. The Jets defeated the 49ers 23-17 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports /
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The New York Jets had a disappointing 2016 season. One of the biggest disappointments was their front-seven.

Coming into the 2016 season, the New York Jets had one of the best front-sevens in the NFL. Led by a defensive line of Muhammad Wilkerson, Leonard Williams, and Sheldon Richardson, nobody thought that the front seven would be an issue.

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However, it was one of the weakest units on the team. After signing a big contract in the offseason, Wilkerson really struggled. The past few seasons, Wilkerson has been one of the best defensive ends in the league. Sadly, that was not the case this season. Partially due to injuries, Wilkerson really struggled and was graded at a dreadful 44.1 this season by Pro Football Focus.

In addition to Wilkerson struggling, so did Richardson. With some issues off the field and in the locker room, Richardson’s future in New York doesn’t look bright. Despite disappointing seasons from Wilkerson and Richardson, second-year defensive end Leonard Williams was able to have a good season. In his second season, Williams was able to total seven sacks with two forced fumbles.

While the defensive line was disappointing for the most part, so was their linebacker corps. First round pick Darron Lee was pretty awful in his first NFL season. Lee graded out as the worst member of the Jets’ front seven, and getting more from him in 2017 will be extremely important.

Here’s what PFF had to say about the Jets’ front seven:

"A unit with so much promise, the Jets’ defensive front-seven absolutely fell to pieces in 2016. Muhammad Wilkerson was a shell of his former self, playing so poorly that his five-year, $86 million contract looks terrifying on the ledge at this point. He made PFF’s top 101 players each of the past two seasons, but could only manage a 44.1 grade this year. New York blitzed at the third-highest rate of any team in the NFL, yet only managed the 20th-best pressure rate."

Overall, Pro Football Focus ranked the Jets’ front seven 27th. Even though the unit was poor, they will be relying on bounce back years for players next season. The Jets have to assume that Wilkerson will return to form in 2017. The one big change could be if they decide to try and trade Sheldon Richardson.

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Even though the unit was great on paper, they didn’t show up for the Jets this season. Next season, this unit must be better.

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