We have some stand out posters around here with lots of overall football knowledge and insight in regards to our team, so I'll be looking forward to others opinions and thought process on which players you'll keep a close eye on throughout this upcoming season. 1.) Christian Hackenberg. He's now heading into his second year after a redshirt rookie season. His accuracy, footwork and overall mechanics are all of big concern but this kid looks to have great size, top of the line arm strength, smarts upstairs along with a strong work ethic. Just like Sam Darnold of today, after Hackenberg's rookie season while with PSU under Bill O'Brien along with Allen Robinson as his #1 outside WR he was considered as the Nation's #1 QB prospect heading into his sophmore seaaon. I'm just ready to see this kid take the field as a young 2nd round QB prospect. 2.) Jamal Adams. I'm still a believer that defense wins championships and i truly believe that this Jamal Adams kid is a generational type of Safety. He's got natural born leadership qualities, a very smart player, range to cover, speed to make plays, great tackler, toughness, heart and plays with raw emotion along with jaw dropping athletic abilities and simply left me in awe with some of those hits in which he laid on helpless college kids. I can't say enough about this Jamal Adams kid out of LSU. He made a name for himself as a badass beast Safety out of the SEC. Many considered him as being the best overall player of this years draft class. He could be to our secondary what Leonard Williams is to our defensive front. I myself personally haven't been this intrigued about a Jets rookie since dating back to Keyshawn Johnson (been a long time coming). 3.) Robby Anderson. This kid emerged onto the preseason scene last year (and never looked back) as an undrafted rookie. He's 6'3/190 lbs, ran a 4.36-second 40 yard dash and with a strong armed QB i can pictute him "Randy Mossing" opposing DB's on the outside for many of years to come. He's a special type of talent. Despite playing alongside of & under less than ideal QB situations last season, this kid still put up 42 receptions for 587 receiving yards along with 2 TD receptions during his rookie year (3 rush attempts for 42 rushing yards). He also got better as the season went on. Did not make his 1st reception until week 3 but yet recorded 18 receptions for 283 receiving yards and 2 TD receptions (during our final 5 games). He's gotta stay out of trouble (off the field) because he can easily develop into a yearly 1,000+ yards type of impactful WR moving forward. 4.) Darron Lee. He does need to improve in pass coverage as an LB but this kid out of Ohio State has all the athletic talent in the world that's needed in order to emerge onto the scene as an NFL tackling machine. Last year as a (raw) rookie he ended up ranking 3rd amongst all rookie LB's (MLB & OLB) and 7th overall amongst all NFL rookies in defensive tackles despite only playing 13 games (9 starts). He's got the type of speed and athleticism ability along with the ability to sniff out & smell the run; which is needed in order to make a living behind the L.O.S. If Leonard Williams continues to feast, Mo Wilkerson responds with a redeem season & Richardson performs during a contract year? Then i feel & believe that Darron Lee can and will flourish playing behind that type of D-Line throughout his second season as a developing MLB. But he needs help up front in order to truly emerge. 5.) Leonard Williams. He'll (once again) become a must watch come 2017. I loved watching Wilkerson rise through the ranks, Sheldon Richardson has also been pretty fun to watch but i believe big Leonard is an All-Pro defensive lineman waiting to happen and the best one we've got. He's also built like an animal @ 6'5/damn near 300lbs. This kid has already made the All-Rookie team during his rookie season and a Pro-Bowl as only a 2nd year player. Throughout his 1st two seasons of play he's recorded a total of 131 tackles, 10 sacks and 2 forced fumbles. There's really not too much for me to say in regards to Williams, other than that i literally can not wait to see him take the field (and lead our defense) as a 3rd year player.
6.) Jordan Jenkins. This is another kid with great size for the OLB position @ 6'3/260 lbs. I'm an FSU fan of the ACC but I've always had a thing for SEC defensive players. Jordan Jenkins is another SEC kid out of Georgia who I'm expecting flashes and improved production out of. Last year as a rookie he recorded 41 tackles, 2.5 sacks and 1 forced fumble (he's no Vernon Gholston). He also started off the season a little banged up but really started to gain momentum as the season progressed. During his final 4 games he recorded 16 (total) tackles & 2.5 sacks. He also has the size, strength & potential to become a very good edge setter as an OLB in a 3-4 defense but what I'm most excited about in regards to Jenkins, is Kevin Greene. One of the greatest outside pass rushers of All-Time behind only Bruce Smith and Reggie White. For a 2nd year player in Jenkins, to have the ability to work with, learn from and become coached up by (on a daily basis) alongside of Kevin Greene? That's intriguing to me. If Kevin Greene can tap into his untapped potential and if Jordan Jenkins is able to respond to his coaching... we could then have a ball player on our hands in this Jenkins kid who's still only 22 years of age. 7.) Quincy Enunwa. Not only was he our most improved player but imo he was our best offensive player last year. As a 3rd year prospect he went from 22 receptions, 315 receiving yards and 0 TD receptions (2015) to recording 58 receptions for 857 receiving yards and 4 TD receptions during his 3rd season last year. He improved upon his catch percentage as well going from 47.8% (2015) to 55.2% (2016). In other words, he broke out during his 3rd year. What makes his numbers even more impressive, is that (like Robby Anderson) he produced during less than ideal QB situations (to be blunt, shitty QB situations). He's pretty damn good if you ask me. I'm not sure if he'll ever be good enough to become a true #1 but I'm anxious to see how he responds (to more attention) now that Brandon Marshall is no longer here. He's still only 25 years of age and imo he has 1,000+ yard type of ability on a yearly basis. His toughness, fight, grind, grit & style of play reminds me a lot like a younger Jerricho Cotchery while a Jet. All i can say is that we may have passed up on & missed out on some big name WR's of the 2014's NFL draft but I'm thankful that we landed one of them during the 6th round out of Nebraska in Quincy Enunwa. Can't wait to see him as a 4th year receiver in a west coast offense (regardless of who our QB is). 8.) Jordan Leggett. First and foremost he's athletic and has great size for a TE @ 6'5/255. He's also only 22 years of age with 4 years of experience within a very productive Clemson offense. Over the past two years he's been one of the best pass catching ACC TE's within each and every statisticsl category ala in 2015 (amongst ACC TE's) he ranked 1st in TD receptions, 2nd in average yards per catch, 3rd in receptions, 4th in receiving yards and just last year (amongst ACC TE's) ranked 1st in receiving yards, 3rd in TD receptions, 3rd in average yards per catch and 4th in receptions. I'm not sure about his run blocking and/or pass protection ability and I'm not even sure how often he'll see the field as a rookie but what i like most about this kid as a pass catching TE prospect coming out, is that he doesn't shy away from the bright lights during big games. He's never folded under pressure. He's played his best football when his teams and QB has needed him most. Which to me, is an important sign for me when scouting a player. For example he combined for 11 receptions for 223 yards & 1 TD reception during his two games against my FSU's defense and against Alabama he combined for 12 receptions for 173 yards & 1 TD during two games. He recorded 7 receptions for 95 yards against Alabama's sick defense during last years NCAA championship game. I like him a lot. He's an athletic pass catching TE with great size. He's been one of the ACC's most productive pass catching TE's over the previous two seasons. Has NCAA level Championship Game experience(s) during pressure situations and he's also coming out of Clemson (who've been producing dynamic pass catching weapons on an NFL level over the recent years). He's my 2017 Jets sleeper pick. It'll just be fun to watch if we're finally able to give our QB a pass catching TE option who's an actual weapon down the middle of the field alongside of receivers such as Enunwa, Anderson & Decker. 9.) Marcus Maye. Devin Smith. Jace Amaro. Geno Smith. Stephen Hill. Vlad Ducasse. I can't mention Hackenberg because he's yet to see the field but it's been a long time coming since we've seen real quality play out of a 2nd rounder. Not since David Harris of 2007 to be truthful. And before Harris it was Kellen Clemens. Mike Nugent. Justin Miller. Jon McGraw and the LaMont Jordans of the world all over again. I guess Victor Hobson of 2003 was o.k but yet still nothing to really write home about. I personally wanted #4 Dalvin Cook due to me being an FSU fan, but as of now i really want this Maye kid to emerge as a starting rookie alongside of Jamal Adams. He's without question one of the players I'm most looking forward to seeing take the field and maybe, just maybe; it'll take my FSU's rival in the Florida Gators (out of the fierce SEC) to buck our trend of 2nd round failures with a first-team All-American in Marcus Maye. Our pass defense was so bad last year, to the point of me having to trust Maccagnan here. One thing i can say about Maye, is like Adams; he's as physical as they come on the back end. He's got a ready made frame for the FS position and not only is he really fast for a FS (4.47 40 yard dash) but he can tackle and tackle hard too (6 forced fumbles). He graded out as the very best one on one tackler of any kid who came out of 2017's NFL draft and from my understanding he's a natural born leader, vocal, very smart in both man & zone schemes and was the heart & soul of Florida's SEC defense. Can Marcus Maye & Jamal Adams become the next Earl Thomas and Kam Chancellor type of Safety tandem/NFL duo? I'm not sure and only time will tell but these kids were almost teammates for LSU and have been chomping at the bit to play alongside of one another for a while now. Can't wait to see them as a 1-2 punch in green and white. 10.) Muhammad Wilkerson. I need to see Mo play as the real #96, because last year, for whatever reason; he was a real letdown. He finally landed his long term contract along with a big payday... and then goes out and only records 58 tackles and 4.5 sacks when compared to his Pro-Bowl season the year before (of 2015) where he recorded 64 tackles and 12 sacks. I have questions in regards to Wilk and as a fan I'm looking for answers this up coming season. Did he not try as hard last year due to finally being paid $86M ($53M guaranteed) or was he simply still recovering/shaking off the rust from a broken leg suffered week 17 against Buffalo of 2015? Nonetheless Wilkerson is a player in whom I'll be focused on throughout each and every game because he's one of my favorite Jets, still youthful at only 27 years of age and when (both) healthy and focused he's top 10 in terms of dominant NFL D-Lineman. I'm considering 2017 as being a redeem year for big Mo and hopeful that he'll bounce back. That's my top 10 list and I'm pretty confident that we'll all know (a lot) more about our team come this time next offseason.
I'm anxious to see all of the players you listed, but I also want to see Petty, ASJ, Elijah McGuire, Peake, Burris, ArDarius Stewart, Decker, Chad Hansen, Beachum, Wesley Johnson, and Shell.
Agree with this 100%. I want to see them all. Hack and Petty are at the top of my list. Followed by Adam and Lee. I'm also vitally interested in seeing what our two " so called" defensive gurus do with the young talent that they have acquired over the past 2 years. I expect a quantum leap in execution and performance, win or loose. Last year was an embarrassment.
I don't have 10 players - can I go with a top 3? Jamal Adams Hackenburg (for good or ill) sorry, I ran out at 2
As an FSU fan, I'm surprised you're so high on Maye. I hope he developed into a quality player but I remember Nick O'Leary dominating him in those big rivalry games. I can't imagine how he will fare vs Gronk.
Mine has a little bit more than 10, but they're bunched. 1. Hackenberg 2. The OLB's --- Jenkins, Mauldin, Donahue 3. Adams & Maye 4. Enunwa, Year 3 of considerable playing time 5. Anderson, no BM to take double teams away, how does he fair as possibly a FT starter alongside 87 & 81? 6. Stewart & Hansen - who emerges as the No.4, or even No.3, WR? 7. ASJ/Leggett -- do we have a TE here for once? 8. Shell, if he can take the RT job from Qvale/Ijalana 9. Simon, can he take the NT job away from McClendon? 10. Wilkerson, if he has another down year he's a goner after '17
As most seem to want to see my #1 is Hack 2: Enunwa . With Marshall gone, can he be a legitimate #1 WR 3: Mo Wilkerson. Does he return to form on the field? Off the field, does his attitude improve, can he show up for meetings on time? 4: Kelvin Beachum. Does he revert to form in year 2 post knee surgery? If not Hack and Petty are doomed. 5: ASJ. Can he stay sober? Learn the playbook and get on the field? 6: Adams. Think he will be very exciting to watch. 7: Jordan Jenkins. Can he build on the promise he showed toward the end of last season 8: Shell . Is he a quality RT? 9: Wesley Johnson. Can he replace Mangold at center 10: Leggette. Morton should get alot auto of him if he can improve his blocking. We should get an early look at him with ASJ suspended to start the year. Two other players I'm eager to get a look at are Dylan Donahue , Reports are Greene feel in love with the kid and was extremely influential in his being drafted by the Jets. Likely to start the season as a special teams guy but if Mauldin does not improve, he could take his spot later in the season and Connor Harris. Harris could become another special teams standout and while undersized, does have the most tackles in NCAA history.
I remember those FSU/FL games. Look forward to them every year. O'Leary did have success against Maye & FL's defense in 2013/2014 but lets not forget that Maye had his work cut out for him on the back end (as only a Freshman & Sophmore) having to worry about not only O'Leary as a pass catching TE but also the likes of Devonta Freeman (2013) and Dalvin Cook (2014) coming out of the backfield as HB's who could catch along with dominant WR's such as Kelvin Benjamin and Rashad Greene. To make it worse Jameis Winston was playing some of the best football FSU has ever seen from a QB. That was an NFL offense in which Maye was up against during his Freshman & Sophmore seasons against a powerhouse FSU offense in which led our program to back-to-back NCAA Championship Games while only losing 1 game during Winston's two year college career. I'm sorry, but no college Safety or CB stood a fighting chance under those scenarios. Not even Dante Fowler Jr (who went 3rd overall) could impact against that FSU offensive attack. I already miss those days of FSU football. Those offenses were down right deadly; and not a fair way to judge a Freshman/Sophmore on the opposite side.
I'm also pretty sure that a big Gronkowski will be more of Jamal Adams' responsibility than that of Marcus Maye. Both are about the same size and both play very physical but i believe Adams is stronger in overall strength.
I agree the FSU offense in 13 and 14 was close to unstoppable but the Gators D was considered top 10 in the country and Maye did redshirt so he was with the team a year prior. Maye wasn't responsible for covering everyone. He didn't fare much better in 15 vs Maguire, Whitfield, Bobo and Reed at TE. Not exactly a scary group. Unfortunately Maye was injured in 2016 when we played Florida. I really do hope that he turns out to be one of the best safety's in the league , but I am taking a wait and see approach . We all miss those days but I think that DeAndre will surprise this season. Derwin James will take our D to the top. We should be in the playoffs and the future looks bright. Let's see if Teradja Mitchell commits tonight. It would be a nice pick up found the Noles.
It matters. If Hack steps up, he will need the O Line to keep him alive , the young recievers to make plays, a TE to emerge , and Powell to prove he can carry the load going forward. If Hack sucks, still need to know what next year's QB will have to work with.
Well, ask me this question when Hackenberg repeatedly completes a 10 yard slant. Alright, here we go. Beachum.... Can he play LT, do we even have a line that can block next year? Macc obviously doesn't think it matters. Adams.... Are we looking at Ed Reed, or are we looking at another disappointment. Johnson.... Who the hell did we replace Mangold with? A backup?! Decker...... is he even healthy? If not, cut his ass. Lee.... there are people here who basically already written him off. SOJF all day long. Enuwa.... I am wondering if he can take the next step and become our number 1 receiver. ARJ.... I honestly thing he can be our number one if he puts his head on straight. Leggett is still a rookie but has promise. Mo.... as much as Williams, we need him effective. Claiborne.... all he has to do is show up and he's better than Revis. Sheldon.... not that hard Sheldon, don't drive 100 mph while smoking weed. Let's hope he sticks with the program.
Ah yes. The 10 yard slant that Fitz executed to perfection. Trouble was most of the time we needed 20 or more on third down. I hope and pray it will be less difficult to get Hack and his foot work to consistently hit the short slant than it was for the beard to throw a long pass accurately. Defenders never had to play double coverage down field against Fitz. At least with Hack we might have a chance at long distances, if (big if) his consistency and field awareness improves with our new OC.
Has there ever been a QB who the press have ____ over before he threw a pass in the regular season. Eli got some static. I honestly thing there are people who want to see Hack fail just so they can prove their original draft predictions correct. Some of the Penn State fans are ridiculous. Hack is apparently damaged goods and will never amount to anything.
I think the most interesting players to watch out for are the following... Hackenberg....he is solid who knows what this team could do...he's not... damn ....FU Josh McCown. Kelvin Beachum....he keeps Hack alive and upright. ASJ...if what they are saying is true he has his head on straight he could be hacks safety net. Bilal Powell...when he is on his game this team just clicks on offence. Morris Claiborne...if he can be competent and stay healthy our defence is already better. Jamal Adams...could be just what the doctor ordered to keep TEs in check and give the hits to give our defence an identity. These players I think will be big players in where this team could go in '17.
2-10 isnt in any particular order. I apologize if this seems lopsided. 1. Bryce Petty--I think if anyone is going to start, it will be him. He had the unfortunate injury bug which halted months of his development last season and is coming off a pretty significant injury this year. Thankfully, that hasn't seemed to slow him down. I see this team just shuffling him around from Main field to far field and handcuffing him by not letting him get nearly enough reps because they have no real faith in him and I think that is bullshit. He's had a very small sample size of starting experience and I expect someone like him, a hard working, leadership mentality guy to go out there and turn it on when he knows he needs to. I have more faith in him than I do in Hack. I believe they are very similar in terms of ability and mental toughness. As long as we give him enough room to move around in the pocket and deliver to this receiving core, I think he can prove people wrong. He needs to learn to go through his reads faster, there were so many plays that he missed due to not going through a full field read that he ultimately hurt himself. There were two plays with Powell and Peake that he missed where they ran up the seam and were wide open and I know for a fact that Petty has the arm to make all the throws. He needs to develop chemistry with the entire receiving core, not just Robby. But we need to give him a real chance to do that or we drafted this poor guy for nothing. Last year was a wash. Petty was playing with a broken line, no TE, no Decker, an unmotivated Marshall and unenthusiastic team. If anyone should get the keys to this car, its Bryce and he better fucking step it up because I really believe he can be something. 2. Wilkerson-- He needs to be 100% at this point. He needs to return to his old form and get sacks like before because he's our best pass-rusher and hes getting paid like one. 3. Adams-- So much talent. I know hes gonna be a difference maker against the run. His closing speed and tackling ability is second to none and if hes the leader everyone says he is, this defense will get a huge boost in confidence and performance. 4. Burris-- A tall press corner that we need to step up and be our #2 because theres no way we can let Skrine man the outside and get beat every play. That criticism goes for Williams who also took a leap backwards last season. 5. Quincy-- With Marshall gone and his breakout season, Q needs to improve on his hands and route running and get over 1,000 yards. Its going to be much harder considering teams were doubling Marshall, thats not the case this season. Q needs to break out. 6. Powell-- Prove that you deserve to carry that starting RB load like we all know he can. I hope he can maintain form throughout the entire season and not just turn it on towards the end like 2015. 7. Leggett-- 2015-2016 Jets had no TE. We should now. He should be a safety net for Petty and catch a fairly decent amount of passes. Hopefully he can be a good redzone target if all else fails. 8. Hansen--Dude was a stud at Cal. Great leaping ability and size as well as great hands. If he can turn it on at the nex level like he did in the Pac-12, he should be Deckers eventual replacement. 9. Robby-- Build from this past season. Thats all I got for Robby. 10. Wesley/Shell/Beachem-- Step up. I dont want to see Ben Ijilana and his ridiculous undeserved $10 Million dollar contract on the field. Period.
The time is now. The time to see for ourselves. As a fan base. What we truly have in some of these younger players; is now. Like. Right now. Haven't we always asked for a real youth movement? The time has finally arrived. ▪ Out goes Fitz and in with Hackenberg. ▪ Out goes Pryor and in with Adams. ▪ Out goes Gilchrist and in with Maye. ▪ Out goes Marshall and in with Enunwa. ▪ Out goes Revis and in with Claiborne. ▪ Out goes Devin and in comes ArDairius For better or for worse the time has finally came. To see what a bunch of younger kids are made up of on the football field. - We haven't had a dominant outside pass rush since dating back to J.Abe and now that we're with Kevin Greene, the time is now to see what Jordan Jenkins is made up of as a second year starter out of Georgia's SEC Powerhouse Conference. - We haven't had an OC who utilized his big pass catching TE's in a while. Now is the time to see how two athletic big frame TE's in Leggett out of Clemson and ASJ as a former 2nd round pick look over the middle of the field. - Now is the time to see if hopeful prospects in Darron Lee, Robby Anderson, Charone Peake, Jalin Marshall, Wesley Johnson and Juston Burris have taken the next step or at least improved while showimg promise. - The time is right now to see if Sheldon Richardson can resurface as a force while learning from off field mistakes as a young man and also how Eric Decker looks while coming off injury. If there's a will there is a way and to be 100% truthful, as a longtime fan; I don't wan't to lose either one of these two players if need not to because if Decker responds to playing time and returns as a weapon... A high IQ'd veteran receiver with smarts (who can work out of both the slots and outside) could easily become a young QB's best friend. A security blanket for a Hackenberger to trust. - The time is now to see Powell featured more along with featuring Matt Forte as more of a 3rd down pass catching threat in order to get into open space. And then run like an RB after the catch. The time is now to see better offensive coaching. That's what I already love about 2017's team. The chance to see what some of these younger kids are made up of during a youth movement and potentially watching a full blown culture change take place ala out with the old (Idzik) and in with the new (Maccagnan). The key and main difference is that Idzik became a GM and was known as a financial man who understood salary cap. Maccagnan on the other hand has came up through the ranks as a scout and as a talent evaluator. For example I'll trust Macc with 1st round Safety selections such as Adams out of LSU than i would Idzik with Pryor out of Louisville. Nonetheless the time is now to see Macc's draft picks take the field.
