Marcus Gilchrist Rising to Challenge as Free Safety in New York Jets Defense

Any more pressure on Marcus Gilchrist and the New York Jets free safety could easily be mistaken for tires on a monster truck.

But ever since entering camp, the unheralded free-agent signee has put the rubber to the road.

The Jets threw a lot of new ingredients into the mix this offseason with the signings of Darrelle Revis, Antonio Cromartie and Buster Skrine. Gilchrist's addition has been overlooked, but it will be impossible to put his name out of your mind this season—for better or worse.

Make no mistake: Gilchrist's job will be much easier thanks to the Jets' talent at cornerback. That being said, his job will be no less important. If anything, his stake in the Jets defense will be magnified. Surely, the Jets can count on Revis and Cromartie will hold up their ends of the bargain; the question is whether Gilchrist can hold up his.

"He's got very good cover skills," Jets head coach Todd Bowles said at the NFL annual meeting, according to Dom Cosentino of NJ Advance Media. "He gives us a lot of versatility from a coverage standpoint. He has that ability to go out and cover and not be mismatched as often as we would be mismatched in a normal capacity."

The stats do not support that claim, though. 

Year	Pos	Tgt	Rec	Cth %	Yds	YPA	TD	INT	PD	Rate
2011	SCB	34	26	76.5	401	11.8	3	2	1	119.9
2012	SCB	55	46	83.6	465	8.5	4	0	2	126.1
2013	SS	43	32	74.4	308	7.2	3	2	3	97.8
2014	SS	57	39	68.4	425	7.5	5	1	1	112.1
Total	SCB/SS	189	143	75.7	1599	8.5	15	5	7	115.8

Playing a mix of slot cornerback, boundary cornerback and strong safety in his career, Gilchrist has yielded no less than 68 percent completions into his coverage in any season. He has allowed a passer rating of 115.8 and more than three out of every four passes to be completed, according to Pro Football Focus.  

There are two different arguments to be made on Gilchrist's ability to play free safety: one argument for and one argument against.

• For: He has never been able to play the position because the San Diego Chargers always had All-Pro free safety Eric Weddle on the back end. A change of scenery and a change of position could be exactly what Gilchrist needs to rediscover the potential that made him a coveted second-round pick.
• Against: He has not shown the coverage skills that are necessary with playing free safety in a defense where he will be the only man in deep coverage. His inexperience at the position, coupled with what appears to be a poor positional fit, could be the making of a disastrous result. 

The coverage element is just one aspect of playing free safety. Gilchrist may not be the best coverage safety in the NFL, but he could be an effective communicator and vocal leader of the secondary.

"He's highly intelligent," Bowles said. "He's like the coach on the field, he runs everything. He understands. He communicates with guys very well, as well as he can play nickel and cover some people. His versatility is very good."

That versatility could be one of the keys to Gilchrist's role this year. In fact, it may help take some of the burden off his transition, especially if he's splitting time between free safety, strong safety and slot cornerback. As pointed out by Kieran Darcy of ESPN.com, the Jets allowed a league-high 14 touchdowns to tight ends last year. Gilchrist's experience in the slot could prove invaluable.

Besides, it appears he's showing the propensity to make spectacular plays in coverage despite his previous performance in that role. 

The Jets secondary has the potential to be one of the best in the NFL, but it has already taken some hits this summer.

The Jets placed safety Antonio Allen on injured reserve after the fourth-year defensive back blew out his Achilles tendon on Thursday, according to Rich Cimini of ESPN.com. Cornerback Dee Milliner tore a tendon in his right wrist and will miss the next six to eight weeks while recovering from his seventh career surgery. 

The Jets were already hurting for depth at safety; that just means there's even more pressure on Gilchrist to rise to the challenge, whether he's asked to be the last line of defense in deep coverage or to man up on tight ends and slot receivers. 

Unless otherwise noted, all quotes obtained via team news release.