New York Jets pass rusher Haason Reddick gave a straightforward message during his first press conference.
“I don’t think anybody is prepared for what’s going to happen but it’s going to be enjoyable and exciting to watch as well,” Reddick stated on Monday, April 1.
“The aggressive style of attack is what I support. I'm all about constantly putting QBs under pressure,” Reddick said. “With the group and the front we have, we should be able to do that very frequently.”
A New Addition Has Joined the Jets’ Defense
Last season, the Jets’ defense was crucial to their team and its success.
New York allowed the third-lowest passing yards in the league last season. They ranked seventh in the NFL in total team sacks with 48.
The most interesting part of that last stat is the team-focused approach. Gang Green only had one player record a double-digit sack season and it was Bryce Huff just 10). 2023 was the first time in Huff’s career that he has ever gone over the double-digit sack barrier.
Apart from Huff, the Jets had six other defenders recorded at least three sacks each.
Reddick, the new addition for the Jets, brings a different level of production and expertise to the table. In each of the last four seasons, Reddick has tallied at least 11 sacks.
New York hasn’t had a pure multi-season double-digit sack pass rusher since the John Abraham days in the early 2000s.
“The fact that we have a group of young, talented players, we are going to make it easier for each other,” Reddick explained.
When the Jets line up a four-man front featuring Reddick, Quinnen Williams, John Franklin-Myers, and Jermaine Johnson the opposing offense can’t double-team everyone. Someone in that group is going to have a favorable one-on-one matchup.
Aaron Rodgers Boosts the Jets’ Defense to Another Level
Aaron Rodgers’ presence improves the Jets. The winner of the Captain Obvious award goes to Paul Esden Jr.
Before I give my acceptance speech, it all goes back to the defense. New York was a top-7 sack producer in the league with an offense that averaged only 15.8 points per game.
Opposing teams ran the ball 517 times against the Jets this past season. That was the third-highest total in the NFL. The Jets’ offense was so bad and rarely put the team in good positions that the other team was able to control the clock and pound the rock.
Despite that, they still produced 48 total team sacks.
Insert Anchorman meme about not even being mad but rather being impressed.
If the Jets were able to produce those kinds of numbers with an inept offense, imagine what they could do with Rodgers.
The Jets could be elite with A-Rod at the helm considering all of the offensive weapons they possess with guys like Breece Hall, Garrett Wilson, and Mike Williams. Although let’s shoot even lower, Rodgers is 40 years of age and coming off of a torn Achilles, what if they’re just an average offense?
That means the team should play with more leads or at the very least be in closer games in 2024. If that proves to be true, the Jets should produce even better sack numbers by default.
The Jets defense will encounter many more clear passing situations next season. Also, considering the improvement from Reddick to Huff, there is huge potential for this defense.
