New York Jets must mix things up on defense to be successful

With a much younger group of defenders, the New York Jets are going to have to mix things up in order to be successful and have a chance in games.

Despite the recent uptick in offensive play, defense wins championships. It has been proven time and time again. The New York Jets are in a bit of a renaissance of sorts. OK I just wanted to talk about rebuilding in a nicer sounding way. The team is changing. A young quarterback is in the fold. The defense is getting a new identity thanks to the likes of guys like Jamal Adams. It’s a new day.

Gone are the days of the “Sons of Anarchy” when the defensive line was ruled by Muhammad Wilkerson, Sheldon Richardson and Damon Harrison. With that group at its best the Jets were able to almost exclusively run the 3-4 defensive front, especially on running downs. Now they have Leonard Williams and a newer group around him. Other than Steve McLendon they are quite young.

So what are they going to do? Well, the plan is to continue with the 3-4 as a base, but the personnel is set to where they can mix things up. This young crop of Jets may do well mixing in a great deal of 4-3 to mix things up and keep offenses on their toes.

Our good friend Dan Essien from Turn On the Jets wrote a great piece about how the team can work in 4-3 fronts. He talks brilliantly about where our current guys could fit in, both in a 4-3 over and under setup, similarly to how Dan Quinn used this type of defense in Seattle.

As we said in the opening, the Jets will have to mix things up. They don’t have guys that fit into specific spots anymore on a regular basis the way they did in the “Sons of Anarchy” days. But Essien’s method is not the only way they can do it. It also happens to be a very good way.

Guys like Darron Lee may benefit from using the 4-3 as Michael Pallas of NFL Spin Zone projects. He admittedly has looked lost at times in the Jets defensive scheme. At 94 tackles and three sacks he is improving but he hasn’t looked like that first round pick quite yet. A change of position may work well for him, though there is no guarantee.

Next: Jets Positional Battles: Tight end

I believe the Jets can do some moving around in the 3-4 as well. Nathan Shepherd is the x-factor. Watching his tape he does play a lot like Damon Harrison. He takes up space and he moves quickly for a guy over 300 pounds. He is 315 pounds vs. Harrison’s 341, but they both stand at 6-4. Watch him in camp. Shepherd may also be competent in the A gap (gap between guard and center).

With guys like Shepherd, Foley Fatukasi and Henry Anderson added to the group, the Jets may not have added superstars but what they added are versatile pieces. The Jets can work in the 4-3 as Dan mentioned as well as modify the 3-4.

Confusing the offense to create opportunities will be the name of the game.