Gregg Williams proved in 2019 that he can make something out of nothing. He turned around a defense devoid of top-tier talent and turned the Jets into a top-seven unit.

Joe Douglas didn’t make too many changes on defense and instead re-signed some of the Jets’ best players from last season to team-friendly deals. He traded Jamal Adams, though, and lost C.J. Mosley after the linebacker opted out of the season, but for the most part, the defense will be very similar. This means a lot of players from last year’s squad will need to step up in 2020 to earn their keep on the team – from the defensive line to the linebackers to the secondary.

With that in mind, here are four candidates for a snap increase in 2020.

DE Quinnen Williams

Williams is poised for a breakout season after a disappointing rookie year in which he played in less than 50 percent of the Jets’ defensive snaps. He missed some time with an ankle injury, but still only finished with 28 combined tackles, 2.5 sacks and six quarterback hits after the Jets took him No. 3 overall in the 2019 draft. Williams took his poor season to heart, though, changed his diet and slimmed down to 297 pounds – six pounds lighter than last year.

There is a lot of room for improvement with Williams, but he proved he can play at a high level at times in 2019. He played in over 60 percent of the Jets’ snaps in eight of the 13 games he played in last year and that number should certainly increase as he continues to learn Gregg Williams’ defense.