New York Jets: Breaking Down Final Roster and Week 1 Starters
Meaningless football is finally behind us, and the regular season is less than a week away. That can only mean one thing: the New York Jets have finally submitted their cutdowns to reach a 53-man roster, and we now know exactly what the roster will look like in 2015.
That is, until they go ahead and change it.
For that reason, it feels a little foolish to label this a "final roster," since the Jets will inevitably be making changes to this lineup in short order. For example, with defensive lineman Sheldon Richardson suspended for the first four games of the season, it's only a matter of time before the Jets have to make a roster move to account for him on their roster upon his return from that suspension.
That being said, this is still our best opportunity to analyze what the 2015 Jets will look like, from the starters to the backups.
Final Roster
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Quarterback: Ryan Fitzpatrick, Geno Smith, Bryce Petty
Running back: Chris Ivory, Bilal Powell, Zac Stacy, Tommy Bohanon, Stevan Ridley (PUP list)
Wide receiver: Eric Decker, Brandon Marshall, Jeremy Kerley, Devin Smith, Quincy Enunwa, Chris Owusu
Tight end: Jeff Cumberland, Kellen Davis
Offensive line: D'Brickashaw Ferguson, James Carpenter, Nick Mangold, Willie Colon, Breno Giacomini, Brent Qvale, Brian Winters, Ben Ijalana, Jarvis Harrison, Dakota Dozier, Oday Aboushi (suspended)
Defensive line: Damon Harrison, Muhammad Wilkerson, Leger Douzable, Leonard Williams, T.J. Barnes, Stephen Bowen, Deon Simon, Sheldon Richardson (suspended)
Linebacker: David Harris, Demario Davis, Calvin Pace, Quinton Coples, Lorenzo Mauldin, Erin Henderson, Jamari Lattimore, Trevor Reilly
Cornerback: Darrelle Revis, Antonio Cromartie, Buster Skrine, Dexter McDougle, Darrin Walls, Marcus Williams, Dee Milliner (short-term injured reserve)
Safety: Calvin Pryor, Marcus Gilchrist, Rontez Miles, Jaiquawn Jarrett
Specialists: Nick Folk, Ryan Quigley, Tanner Purdum
Quarterback
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Starter: Ryan Fitzpatrick
Backups: Geno Smith, Bryce Petty
The Jets were thought to be carrying four quarterbacks into the regular season, but with the release of Matt Flynn, they appear to be set with their depth chart at the position.
With Geno Smith out of action with a broken jaw, Ryan Fitzpatrick is the starter for at least the first few weeks of the regular season. That's not the worst-case scenario, though; after all, Fitzpatrick's job will be made easier, thanks to his experience in Chan Gailey's offense with the Buffalo Bills.
That being said, his experience in the offense won't make him any better at throwing deep balls, so the Jets should still be hopeful that Smith recovers quickly.
The Jets are running a risk, however, by carrying only three quarterbacks. With Smith out of action, Bryce Petty is one injury away from playing some serious and meaningful regular-season snaps.
Running Back
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Starter: Chris Ivory
Backups: Bilal Powell, Zac Stacy, Stevan Ridley (active/PUP list), Tommy Bohanon
Chris Ivory is one of the most underrated running backs in the NFL, so there was never any doubt that he would be the starter. His hard-nosed running style (2.46 yards after contact per rush attempt in 2014, according to Pro Football Focus) makes him the obvious choice as the lead back. He may be asked to contribute more in passing situations than he has in years past, though (18 receptions in 2014).
That's why the Jets are wise to hang on to Bilal Powell, who was the team's top option on passing downs in 2014 and had more snaps on passing downs than any other back on the roster.
Stevan Ridley is still rehabbing from the knee injury that ended his 2014 season, which makes keeping Zac Stacy an easy choice. The Jets need someone who can spell Ivory and hammer the ball between the tackles. Stacy is far from the most explosive back in NFL history (3.9 yards per carry, 6.7 yards per reception) but at the very least, he's a fresh set of legs who can grind out 3rd-and-short situations.
The fullback position is not one of great value in the modern NFL, but Tommy Bohanon did enough to prove his value to the team this summer. Bohanon played only 55 regular-season snaps in 2014, and his role will probably not be much bigger than that in 2015 in Chan Gailey's spread offense.
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Wide Receiver
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Starters: Brandon Marshall, Eric Decker, Quincy Enunwa
Backups: Devin Smith, Jeremy Kerley, Chris Owusu
Brandon Marshall and Eric Decker were always the undisputed choices as the top two starting wide receivers, but the third spot has been juggled and jumbled a bit this preseason.
At first, it looked like there would be a competition between Devin Smith and Jeremy Kerley for that spot, but when Smith went down with a rib injury, the Jets started giving guys such as Quincy Enunwa, Shaq Evans and Chris Owusu some opportunities to win the job.
Smith will probably be a game-day inactive until he is healthy enough to play again, but until then, the Jets have to decide how they'll distribute the workload in the No. 3 role.
Right now, Enunwa looks like the favorite based on the preferential treatment he received in the preseason, and his role as a starter in the all-important third preseason game. He has more inside-outside versatility than Kerley, who is exclusively a slot receiver because of his size (5'11", 188 lbs).
Tight End
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Starter: Jeff Cumberland
Backups: Kellen Davis
Headed into final cutdowns, no position on the Jets roster had as much uncertainty as tight end. Jeff Cumberland appeared to be the only true lock for the roster. He started each of the first three preseason games and was held out of action in the preseason finale against the Philadelphia Eagles.
The uncertainty began with the shoulder injury to Jace Amaro that landed the second-year prospect on injured reserve. The Jets did not have another tight end quite like him on the roster, so it wasn't immediately clear how the Jets would try to fill the void.
Kellen Davis was flagged three times in one game this preseason, but as the only other capable option on the roster, the Jets had virtually no choice but to carry him. He will probably be used mainly as a blocking tight end, which means he won't get much playing time in Chan Gailey's spread offense.
Offensive Line
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Starters: D'Brickashaw Ferguson, James Carpenter, Nick Mangold, Willie Colon, Breno Giacomini
Backups: Ben Ijalana, Brent Qvale, Brian Winters, Dakota Dozier, Jarvis Harrison, Oday Aboushi (suspended)
The Jets did not have a lot of open competitions for starting spots this offseason, which is a surprise given the team's 4-12 record in 2014. The one of prominent competition took place at right guard, where incumbent Willie Colon was able to keep his spot in a battle with young backups like Brian Winters, Brent Qvale, Oday Aboushi, Jarvis Harrison and Dakota Dozier.
Of course, the Jets coaches probably would have preferred it if someone in their mid-20s had been able to wrest the job out of the hands of the 32-year-old Colon, but they'll have to wait a little bit before that happens.
The other four starting spots were never in doubt.
Winters, Dozier, Aboushi and Harrison all earned backups spots, but Aboushi is suspended for the first game of the season, so he does not count against the Jets' 53-man roster total until after Week 1. Ijalana is the only backup tackle on the roster. The Jets did not carry a backup center, which is a bit of a surprise, so someone may have to play out of position if Nick Mangold is injured.
Defensive Line
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Starters: Leonard Williams, Damon Harrison, Muhammad Wilkerson
Backups: Sheldon Richardson (suspended), Leger Douzable, Deon Simon, Stephen Bowen, T.J. Barnes
With Sheldon Richardson's suspension, the Jets' three starting defensive linemen come as no surprise. Damon Harrison resumes his spot as the team's top nose tackle, and Muhammad Wilkerson remains the top right defensive end on the roster.
The Jets' coaching staff might have preferred to let Leonard Williams develop for a year as a rotational player rather than thrusting a heavy workload onto his plate as a rookie. Unfortunately, Richardson's actions mean the Jets do not have that luxury, but as the No. 6 overall pick, there's no reason to think Williams will be overwhelmed in his first year in the NFL.
The Jets appeared to be making a choice between T.J. Barnes and Stephen Bowen, but decided to go with both. One of them may be on his way out when Richardson returns from his suspension, but for now, both men get a chance to stick around. Barnes is more of a backup to Harrison than Richardson, so his spot may be safer than the veteran Bowen.
Leger Douzable has been one of the Jets' top backups for the past several years and was one of the backups who earned the most opportunities at defensive end in Richardson's absence. He has some positional versatility to play outside in a 3-4 or inside in a 4-3, so his value to the roster is great enough to stick around as a backup option. He played 322 snaps on the defensive line in 2014, but that number could go down if Leonard Williams is a factor in the lineup.
Linebacker
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Starting outside linebackers: Quinton Coples, Calvin Pace
Backup outside linebacker: Lorenzo Mauldin, Trevor Reilly
Starting inside linebackers: David Harris, Demario Davis
Backup inside linebackers: Erin Henderson, Jamari Lattimore
The Jets' starting lineup at linebacker comes (largely) as no surprise.
The reason for the parenthetical statement is because there was some hope that rookie linebacker Lorenzo Mauldin would overthrow Calvin Pace as the starter on the strong side. That's been Pace's job over the past seven years, and it will remain his spot until the Jets are confident Mauldin has a firm grasp of the playbook and his coverage skills can hold up to the challenge of life in the NFL.
Pace has been dealing with a groin injury, but head coach Todd Bowles said Pace "will be ready" for Week 1, according to Darryl Slater of NJ Advance Media.
At inside linebacker, David Harris and Demario Davis continue to eat up the snaps in the middle of the defense. That duo has fared well as a pair at inside linebacker in the 3-4 for the past two seasons, and that should be no different in Bowles' system.
The release of Jason Babin was a bit of a surprise, since he's one of the team's more capable pass-rushing edge threats, but the Jets were able to save $1.35 million by cutting him, according to Over The Cap. Instead, Trevor Reilly gets to continue his contributions as a special teams ace and could eventually carve out a role on defense.
Cornerback
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Starters: Darrelle Revis, Antonio Cromartie, Buster Skrine
Backups: Marcus Williams, Dee Milliner (short-term IR), Dexter McDougle, Darrin Walls
With the pairing of Darrelle Revis and Antonio Cromartie on the outside, the Jets have never had any doubt about their starting cornerbacks. Cromartie's long frame is still an asset as a perimeter cornerback, and Revis is still the same matchup piece he's always been, able to line up anywhere and cover anyone.
Free-agent pickup Buster Skrine is the Jets' best option in the slot. If opponents shy away from targeting Revis and Cromartie, Skrine will have a bull's-eye on his chest. He might give up a lot of catches, but the most important thing is that he's wrapping up and tackling and not allowing receivers to get behind him on a consistent basis.
So that irons out the top three spots. The backup spots, however, have always been a little more up in the air.
Seven cornerbacks are quite a lot, but with Dee Milliner injured, the Jets will probably only carry six cornerbacks on their active game-day roster until Milliner is healthy enough to play again. Darrin Walls was a starting cornerback for the Jets in 2014, so his experience will be valuable on the back end of the depth chart. Walls also showed some special teams value in the preseason.
Marcus Williams falls into the same category as Walls, and Dexter McDougle showed a lot of promise in the 2014 preseason before he injured his knee. He'll get another chance to prove that he can play in the NFL, but it'll be strictly as a depth player coming in off the bench.
Safety
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Starters: Calvin Pryor, Marcus Gilchrist
Backups: Rontez Miles, Jaiquawn Jarrett
Head coach Todd Bowles basically answered any questions about the starting duo at safety way back in March, shortly after signing Marcus Gilchrist away from the San Diego Chargers. He said that Calvin Pryor would return to his natural position as the strong safety, after playing most of his rookie season out of position at free safety. Gilchrist, on the other hand, would be asked to move to free safety.
Whether or not this duo works for the long term, that remains to be seen. Gilchrist never had an opportunity to man the free safety spot in San Diego due to the presence of Pro Bowl free safety Eric Weddle in the secondary. Now, we'll get a chance to see whether Gilchrist's experience at cornerback can translate into the necessary coverage skills to hold up as the lone deep safety in a Cover 1 scheme.
With Antonio Allen out of the picture, the fourth safety spot was Rontez Miles' to lose. He has a lot of the same traits in terms of his size (6'0" and 202 lbs to Allen's 6'1" and 210 lbs) and his ability to contribute on special teams. Jaiquawn Jarrett knows both the strong and free safety spots, so he is poised to remain the top option coming off the bench on defense.
Specialists
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Kicker: Nick Folk
Punter: Ryan Quigley
Long-snapper: Tanner Purdum
There are no surprises here. The Jets opted not to have any competitions on special teams this year, and who could blame them?
Nick Folk had the best year of his career as a kicker in 2013 (91.7 percent conversion rate), and although he took a step back in 2014 (82.1 percent), he's still better than the unknown of picking up a free-agent kicker. Ryan Quigley has also been a steady presence; he pinned the opponent inside the 20-yard line on 44 of his 150 punts from 2013-2014, and netted an average of 39.9 yards.
Tanner Purdum has been the Jets' long snapper since 2010 and has given no indication that he'll be relinquishing that spot anytime soon.
Generally speaking, no news is good news when it comes to the specialists.
Unless otherwise noted, all quotes obtained via team news release. All advanced stats obtained via Pro Football Focus.
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