New York Jets: Five players to be thankful for in 2017

ORCHARD PARK, NY - SEPTEMBER 10: Head coach Todd Bowles (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images)
ORCHARD PARK, NY - SEPTEMBER 10: Head coach Todd Bowles (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images) /
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EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ – OCTOBER 15: Strong safety Jamal Adams (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)
EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ – OCTOBER 15: Strong safety Jamal Adams (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images) /

Jamal Adams

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Here is a guy that Jets fans will be thankful for now and for years to come.

How bad was the Jets secondary in 2016? It was putrid and often the primary reason for defensive breakdowns. Every time we turned around they were giving up a big play. Darrelle Revis had his problems, but the fact is his help over the top was never on time either. Reconstruction needed to be done and fast.

Morris Claiborne arrived via free agency, but the first pick in the draft, sixth overall, was Jamal Adams out of LSU. Mike Maccagnan previously had success at this pick with Leonard Williams and was hoping for more of the same with Adams.

That is exactly what he got. So far, Adams has posted 47 tackles, (38 solo), two fumble recoveries, two interceptions and three passes defended. He may be listed as a strong safety but he has been all over the field. He has been inside, outside, deep and in the box. He understands the defense and can communicate it to his teammates in the secondary.

This is not to say he has been perfect. Adams overall grade per Pro Football Focus is 78.2, which is good but only good enough for 39th in the league. He reaches 10th in the league in run defense with an 84.5. Rob Gronkowski took him to school. However, Adams has been very good and he is only going to get better.