Is Jaiquawn Jarrett's Breakout Game for New York Jets a Sign of Things to Come?

At 1 p.m. Sunday, the decision to start depth safety Jaiquawn Jarrett over first-round rookie Calvin Pryor did not make much sense on the surface. With a lost season, removing young, talented players from the starting lineup seemed counter-productive. 

By about 3:30, fans were left wondering what took so long to get Jarrett on the field. 

In just one afternoon, Jarrett tripled the Jets' turnover production on the season with two interceptions and a fumble recovery. His performance against the Pittsburgh Steelers, one of the hottest offenses in football, was strong enough to earn him AFC Defensive Player of the Week. 

Jarrett's performance solved a lot of problems last Sunday, but it raised even more questions for the Jets to answer. Is Jarrett truly a star in the making, or was he simply in the right place at the right time to cause those turnovers?

First, it is important to remember that while he is not as well-known as his first-round counterpart, Jarrett was a talented prospect coming out of Temple in his own right. Selected by the Philadelphia Eagles in the second round of the 2011 draft, Jarrett fell out of favor with the Eagles within just one year and was released in September 2012. 

As bad as he may have been with the Eagles, they may have decided to give up on the small-school product a year too early. Since finding a spot with the Jets the following season, Jarrett has been a mainstay in the Jets' safety rotation but never made the caliber of plays he made on Sunday, especially with that type of frequency. 

Jarrett first made his presence known on an acrobatic interception to snap the Jets' interception-less streak. Not only was this a monumental turnover because of the embarrassing streak it broke, but it flashed a lot of Jarrett's talent to even be in position to make this interception. 

Credit: NFL Game Rewind

The Jets appear to be in a Cover 2, with Jarrett responsible for one half of the field, showing help to the receiver running the "out" pattern near the sideline. 

Credit: NFL Game Rewind

Initially, the play appears to be covered well—until Markus Wheaton adjusts his route and streaks up the middle of the field.

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Jarrett recognizes the situation and has enough speed and range to beat Wheaton to the ball. The play is capped off by a dramatic grab in traffic to get the turnover. 

Here, Jarrett displays the range and ball skills that caused him to be drafted so high as a Temple product. His ability to recognize the events as they unfolded is a testament to how far along he has come since getting dumped by the Eagles just over two years ago. 

Everyone saw the spectacular plays he made on the turnovers, but he was (almost) equally as impressive between those highlights. 

On this play, the Jets are beaten on a slant route to Antonio Brown, but Jarrett quietly makes a sound play that limits the damage. After making the catch, the receiver has a ton of room to work with—these are the types of plays that have made the Jets defense look flat-out embarrassing at times.

Credit: NFL Game Rewind

Jarrett, however, is in position to make the tackle—and he does. Had Pryor been in this same situation, odds are the explosive Brown would have found a way to get around the overaggressive rookie and make a play that could have potentially changed the course of the game.

Rounding out his game was Jarrett's play against the run. Jarrett finished with 10 tackles, seven of which were solo—second only to linebacker Demario Davis. 

When used up in the box, Jarrett did not just play with physicality—he showed off some instincts sniffing out the ball and being in the right position. 

Here, Jarrett performs a near-perfect run fill around a Steelers blocker. Without overcommitting to one gap, Jarrett sniffs out the ball, fights off the blocker and makes the tackle. 

Credit: NFL Game Rewind

A younger Jarrett may have simply run into the line to smash whatever moved. This older, more mature Jarrett was patient and waited for the right time to strike and break up the play. 

These types of plays are not easily noticed, but they have an enormous impact on the game. Without Jarrett, the Jets could easily be 1-9 in their bye week, waiting for the firings to start being handed down. 

While this was just one game, there is no question that the signs are pointing up on Jarrett's career. In Sunday's game, Jarrett showed a level of instincts, physicality and ball skills that we simply have not seen from him, even going back to his days as a Temple Owl. 

Jarrett is not as athletically talented as Pryor or Antonio Allen, but he makes up for it with his practice habits and attention to detail, Ryan noted after the game. 

Coming out of a smaller school, it was predictable that Jarrett was going to need some time to adjust to the NFL game (even though his fellow Temple and Jets teammate, Muhammad Wilkerson, has made a rather smooth transition to the pro level).

In particular, safety is a position that requires a "feel" for the game that is not acquired through any other channel but time. It appears as if Jarrett's off-field work is starting to pay dividends on Sundays. 

Expectations do need to be tempered; Jarrett is not going to steal a pair of passes every game he starts in. As much as Ryan has stated his belief in Jarrett, there is a reason why he was stashed behind Allen while the Jets used a first-round pick on a safety. 

For now, the Jets have a good problem on their hands at safety with too many young, talented players on their roster to play at once. If Jarrett continues to play this well, they will just be waiting on one more of their youngsters to make a similar progression in their own game to finally round out this position. 

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