ANOTHER SAD NEWS: New York Jets in regrets for their major departure faced

ANOTHER SAD NEWS: New York Jets in regrets for their major departure faced

The New York Jets may have to deal with a considerable absence on their defensive line with the departure of defensive end John Franklin-Myers this offseason. Franklin-Myers was traded to the Denver Broncos this winter, leaving the Jets without one of their steadiest contributors from a year ago. This may reverberate in their defensive ranks in 2024.

How John Franklin-Myers directly impacted the Jets’ defense in 2023

In 2023, the 27-year-old notched 3.5 sacks and a career-high three passes defended, contributing to his 33 total tackles on the season. He finished No. 6 on the team in sacks and also came in at No. 4 with 14 quarterback hits.

The Jets went 4-2 when Franklin-Myers registered a tackle for loss. All of this contributed to him receiving a 70.4 player grade from Pro Football Focus. He was a strong contributor to their run defense, causing SNY’s Lucas Hutcherson to forecast what the Jets may do on the edge to compensate for his absence:

“It may make a bigger difference on running downs, where Franklin-Myers played a key role on the strong side. [Haason] Reddick might end up playing more of a role on these downs than was initially expected, but he’s much smaller than Franklin-Myers — so the Jets should also use Micheal Clemons to rotate in for some of these situations,” Hutcherson said.

How the Jets’ replacement options could fill Franklin-Myers’ shoes

The Jets have several options they can deploy in Franklin-Myers’ place, but his effectiveness in containing ground attacks and getting after the QB are contributions the team will miss in his absence.

Reddick had a monster year with the Philadelphia Eagles last year, where he piled on 11 sacks and 23 QB hits comparable to Franklin-Myers, but only got his hands on one pass defended.

The Jets’ other options include Solomon Thomas and Will McDonald. Robert Saleh will have decisions to make on who to place on the outside to replace the California native, though the 2024 NFL campaign will shed light on just how much his output and intangibles are missed next season.

Jets Predicted to Cut Ties With ‘Twitchy’ Pass Rusher: Analyst

The New York Jets are dealing with a first-world problem.

Arguably the most talented and deepest positional group on the team is the defensive line. That could lead to some surprise cuts later this summer.

Jets analyst Joe Caporoso of “Badlands” predicted that a surprise cut we could see come August is Micheal Clemons.

After catching a lot of heat on social media, Caporoso added, “Not a popular tweet (and that is okay!) but convo reminds me talking [Max] Mitchell at this time last year who is also unlikely to make 53 this year, IMO (and thinking MC1 was better than he was), 4th round trend.”

Clemons Is a Polarizing Player for the Jets

The former Texas A&M product entered the league as the No. 117 overall pick in the fourth round of the 2022 NFL draft.

Clemons has appeared in 32 out of 34 possible games during his two years in the NFL. He has forced a fumble, registered seven quarterback hits, three sacks, and has totaled 63 tackles.

Clemons has a very unique personality. He has intimidating size at 6-foot-5 and tips the scales at 270 pounds.

Last year his training camp debut was walking in shirtless carrying a baseball bat wrapped in barbed wire.