Early Predictions for New York Jets' 2015 Training Camp Battles
With all the moves the New York Jets have made this offseason, you'd think they would have answered every question and filled every void on their roster.
Not so fast, my friend.
Sure, you can probably carve the names of Darrelle Revis and Antonio Cromartie in stone atop the depth chart at cornerback, and Eric Decker and Brandon Marshall at the top of the list of wide receivers, but the further you look down the depth chart, the more positions are up for grabs.
Who will back up Revis and Cromartie? What about Decker and Marshall, who comes on the field when either or both of them are off the field?
Even with all that, there are some starting spots up for grabs as well. So let's take a look at some of the biggest, most heated camp battles that are on the horizon for the Jets.
Wide Receiver
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Eric Decker and Brandon Marshall are locks to start on the outside in the Jets offense. Jeremy Kerley will start in the slot, or will come in off the bench when the Jets start out in two-receiver formations.
Even with those things etched in stone, the Jets are still holding quite a competition for snaps and roster spots at wide receiver. Between rookie second-round pick Devin Smith, veteran trade acquisition DeVier Posey and young guns like Shaq Evans and Quincy Enunwa, there are plenty of bodies and plenty of talent to show themselves worthy of playing time.
As a matter of fact, the Jets have quietly assembled a very athletic group. Smith might be the most athletic of them all; the Ohio State product ran a 4.42-second 40-yard dash at the scouting combine while also posting a 39" vertical jump. Posey is another Ohio State product and was a third-round pick in 2011, but in three years with the Houston Texans, Posey has caught only 22 passes for 272 yards in 26 regular-season games.
With three spots accounted for, the biggest competition is within the receivers who will be vying for the fourth and fifth spots on the roster. Right now, Smith and Posey should be considered the front-runners.
Winners: Devin Smith, DeVier Posey
Outside Linebacker
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Make no mistake; Todd Bowles is going to spin the dial with the Jets defense. Opposing offenses will almost never get a beat on what the Jets will do, with different looks and alignments from week to week, series to series and sometimes even from play to play.
That being said, their base defense will be a traditional 3-4, just like it was when Rex Ryan was leading the charge, meaning they will need a pair of athletic outside linebackers who can get into the backfield in a hurry but also drop into coverage in a pinch.
Former first-round pick Quinton Coples is probably going to man one of those spots after playing a majority of the snaps for the Jets defense last year (67.8 percent, according to Pro Football Focus). The question is whether rookie third-round pick Lorenzo Mauldin will force veteran Calvin Pace to the bench. The 22-year-old Mauldin has many of the same traits as the 34-year-old Pace, and obviously has more long-term upside than Pace by a long shot.
The question becomes whether Mauldin can learn the playbook and get acclimated to the speed of the NFL game quickly enough to make an impact in his first year. Thankfully for the Jets, one of Mauldin's best qualities is considered to be his high character and work ethic. Pace may be a veteran anchor for the defense, but as long as Mauldin outperforms Pace in training camp, there's no reason not to begin a new era at outside linebacker.
Winner: Lorenzo Mauldin
Guard
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There are plenty of questions and not many answers for the Jets at guard.
James Carpenter could be a solid starter, but will he be a better fit in the Jets offense than he was with the Seattle Seahawks? Willie Colon is back on another one-year deal, but is he still locked in as the starting guard after getting close to the veteran minimum?
The list goes on.
The previous coaching staff showed a lot of confidence in Brian Winters, but will the new coaching staff continue to support him? Oday Aboushi played well after Winters was lost for the season with an injury, but was it a flash in the pan or something more? Jarvis Harrison has all the potential in the world, but does he have the work ethic to maximize it?
After signing Carpenter to a four-year, $19.1 million contract with $7.5 million guaranteed, it seems awfully likely that the Jets intend to plug him in at left guard. Things get a little tricky on the right side, but it would make sense if the battle came down to Colon and Aboushi, with Harrison using the 2015 season as a redshirt year to learn the ways of the NFL and with Winters serving as a top backup.
Winners: James Carpenter, Oday Aboushi
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Cornerback
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Before you jump down my throat, I'm not stupid. Darrelle Revis and Antonio Cromartie are obviously the starters at cornerback for the Jets. Buster Skrine is going to be the primary slot cornerback.
But with three spots stitched up, the competition at cornerback will only be that much more fierce as a handful of talented cornerbacks vie for a couple of precious roster spots. Between Dee Milliner, Keith Lewis, Dexter McDougle, Dashaun Phillips, Darrin Walls and Marcus Williams, only two or three players will make the final roster.
Milliner seems like a shoo-in as a former first-round pick who fits the mold of a Todd Bowles cornerback to a T. He has struggled through his first two years, but with his amount of talent and potential, there's no need to cast him off just yet—and who knows, maybe a new coaching staff is all Milliner needs.
That being said, all six cornerbacks will have to show their ability to contribute in more than one way. For Milliner, that may mean playing more special teams than any first-round pick should ever have to. McDougle, Walls and Williams all have experience covering kicks and punts, so that should only make Milliner that much more anxious to show his worth in that area.
Winners: Dee Milliner, Dexter McDougle
Running Back
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Ah, you thought I was going to talk about the quarterback battle, didn't you? Well, that was before Jets offensive coordinator Chan Gailey put the kibosh on the battle altogether on Wednesday, when he proclaimed Geno Smith as the starting quarterback.
Instead, let's focus in on the battle at running back, where it's Chris Ivory and a bunch of question marks.
Who will be Ivory's primary backup? Will it be Bilal Powell, the longest-tenured Jets running back? Will it be Stevan Ridley, a recently signed free agent who is rehabbing from a season-ending knee injury? Or could it be Zac Stacy, acquired via trade from the St. Louis Rams during the draft?
Of the three, Ridley looks like the best pure backup to Ivory due to his similar skill set of tough between-the-tackles running, but not if he's not back to 100 percent after his knee injury. Stacy could be the answer, too, but he's only averaged 3.9 yards per carry in a season at his best. Powell was used in passing situations in 2014, and could get more reps in that area this year with a coaching staff that will try to get him more involved in the passing game.
For now, we'll give the job to the incumbent with the caveat that if Ridley is fully healthy, he could easily overtake Powell on the depth chart.
Winner: Bilal Powell
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