New York Jets: Player evaluations on defensive line
Mike Pennel
FINAL STATS: 35 COMBINED TACKLES, 20 SOLO
If you have followed my work long enough, you will know my theme when it comes to line play, on both sides of the football. Depth, for anyone who doesn’t know. It’s not only up to those defensive starters up front. There has to be rotational players that are competent. This position requires being too big to be able to play every snap. If you don’t have rotational players, you aren’t ready to compete.
Mike Pennel was one of those players. The Jets claimed him and signed him off of waivers prior to this past season. Primarily playing on the outside, Pennel made an impact around the football. Over the last two weeks of the season, Pennel posted seven solo tackles, making a great case for him to be brought back in 2018. He may not be a starter but he definitely was valuable as part of the rotation.
The 35 tackles posted were a career-high for Pennel. Kacy Rodgers and Todd Bowles were able to bring the very best out of this player, which was encouraging to see. It won’t take much to bring Pennel back, as he only made $990,000 last season (per Spotrac). Even with a small raise, he should be very affordable. He also would be very worth it.