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Heading into his third season in the NFL, it's hard to argue with Ryan in that he is one of the top five cornerbacks in the league right now, if not the best. Not to mention, he managed to do this with a revolving door of cornerbacks on the opposite side of him.Can you imagine what he could do this season when he has a former Pro Bowl cornerback in Lito Sheppard covering the opposite side?
Lito Sheppard joins the Jets after seven seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles. Unhappy in Philly after being demoted to a backup when the team signed Asante Samuel, Lito finally got his wish and was sent to the Jets for a fifth-round pick in the 2009 NFL draft and a conditional pick in 2010.
Though injuries have always plagued him, when healthy Sheppard is as good as they come. He can give you Pro Bowl numbers as such like he did in 2004 when he recorded 56 tackles and five interceptions and in 2006 when he made 30 tackles with six interceptions.
The Jets have gone through many cornerbacks over the past couple years, such as Justin Miller, Dwight Lowery, Drew Coleman, Hank Poteat, David Barrett, Ty Law, and Andre Dyson. The Jets are looking for stability opposite Darrelle Revis and I think they will be happy with what they get in Sheppard.
Dwight Lowery was the Jets fourth-round pick last season. He was thrown into the fire in his rookie season in week one as a starting cornerback, but after a few weeks, it was clear that it was too early as he was having trouble covering NFL corners.
Lowery has a ton of talent and will likely develop with time to become a solid corner, but is best suited as a nickelback at this point.
Last season, he recorded 68 tackles and one interception.
It is going to be a treat to watch him develop into the player that we all know he can be. Having him behind a duo of Lito Sheppard and Darrelle Revis is not a bad thing.
Donald Strickland joined the Jets this offseason as a free agent. A third-round pick by the Colts in 2003, Strickland's career hasn't lived up to what he was thought to be during his rookie season. As a first-year player, Strickland recorded 48 tackles and hauled in two interceptions in 11 games. He hasn't recorded another interception since.
The past couple of seasons he has spent with the San Francisco 49ers and has appeared in 27 games (7 starts) in the last two years.
Overall, what you are getting is a reasonable cornerback that will likely contribute as a special teamer while also filling the void sometimes in dime situations. Nothing more.
Drew Coleman was the Jets sixth-round draft choice in the 2006 NFL Draft. With injuries and just overall inconsistency at the cornerback position, the Jets gave Coleman four starts in his rookie season. Misplays and misfortunes sent Coleman back to the bench before long.
In 2007, Coleman saw less playing time with the addition of Darrelle Revis to the mix, but managed seven tackles and one interception. He played in even less games in 2008 (nine), but came out with 23 tackles and a sack to show for it.
Coleman is what he is. He won't wow you with his numbers, but he is a good bottom of the depth chart cornerback to have on your roster.
Ahmad Carroll was a first-round pick by the Green Bay Packers in 2004. Inconcistant play led to him being released after week four of the 2006 season. He joined the Jacksonville Jaguars later on that month, but was waived by the team after he was arrested on drug and gun charges.
After spending the 2007 season out of football, Carroll decided to get his career back on track while he was still only 24 years old. He joined the Orlando Predators of the Arena Football League and spent the 2008 season there before the Jets signed him prior to the start of the 2008 NFL season.
Carroll did an amazing job contributing on special teams for the Jets last season and was tied for the team lead in special teams tackles with 26. The Jets rewarded him and he was re-signed by the team earlier this offseason.
Safeties - Kerry Rhodes, Jim Leonhard, Eric Smith, Emanuel Cook
Kerry Rhodes has been stellar since his arrival on the NFL scene in 2005. In his rookie season, Rhodes finished third on the team in tackles with 106 and added 1.0 sack and one interception.
Under Eric Mangini, Rhodes became an all-pro in 2006, recording 99 tackles with four interceptions and 5.0 sacks. One season later, Rhodes made 68 tackles with five interceptions and 2.0 sacks. Somehow, he still did not manage a Pro Bowl appearance through all of this.
Last season, Rhodes numbers fell off, coming down with 84 tackles, 1.0 sack and just two interceptions.
Never the less, he has drew praise as a ball-hawking safety by Rex Ryan who may look to use Rhodes in the same way, shape and form that he used Ed Reed in Baltimore.
I am expecting a big year from Kerry Rhodes this year in this new defense.
Jim Leonhard is another player that joins Rex Ryan in New York. He absolutely fits the bill of a player that New York fans tend to kind of rally around. A hard-nosed, good attitude safety, Leonhard spent last season in Baltimore after three years with Buffalo.
Under Ryan in Baltimore, Leonhard broke out and had a career high 69 tackles along with one sack and one interception that was returned for a touchdown.
New York Jets fans are going to love this guy. Well, didn't they like that other undrafted, hard-nosed and undersized guy named Wayne Chrebet?
Eric Smith was a third-round pick by the Jets under Eric Mangini in 2006. After spending two season in backup duty, Smith got the opportunity to start for the Jets after Erik Coleman left the team for free agency.
In the middle of the season, Smith suffered three concussions in a five-week span and lost his starting job to Abram Elam mid-season.
Smith will return to the Jets this season in backup duty once again and will likely be the first safety off the bench if an injury were to happened to either of the starters.
Like Zach Potter, Emanuel Cook was a mid-to-late level draft prospect that dropped out of the draft and into the undrafted free agent pool. The Jets swooped in and picked up the 21-year old safety.
Cook will compete with James Ihedigbo for a spot on the roster and to round out the safety position.
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