Gregg Williams conjured a miracle in 2019.

He took a defense devoid of top-tier talent – save for Jamal Adams – and turned them into of the better units in the league. Williams’ defense finished seventh in yards allowed, 16th in points allowed and second in rushing yards allowed. Without the help of the defense, the Jets aren’t a seven-win team in 2019.

The defense isn’t perfect, though, and Williams needs Joe Douglas to find solid contributors in free agency to improve it. Two positions of great need include outside linebacker and cornerback. Not only were those some of the weaker units this past season, but the top players for the Jets at those positions are also set to hit the open market unless re-signed. If Douglas doesn’t keep players like cornerback Brian Poole or linebackers Jordan Jenkins and Brandon Copeland, free agency will be the first place for him to look.

Williams will need a competent pass rusher as well. He didn’t really have that in 2019 – though Jenkins finished with a career- and team-high eight sacks – and instead used Adams as his primary pass rusher. The Jets blitzed on 39.2 percent of dropbacks and knocked down opposing quarterbacks on 8.9 percent of dropbacks, but finished with only 35 sacks. The Jets need to find players who can turn those blitzes into sacks.

Here are the top five free agents who fit Gregg Williams’ defense.

EDGE Yannick Ngakoue  

The Jets need a powerful pass rusher who can win at the line of scrimmage and get to the quarterback. Ngakoe has done that with ease since entering the league in 2016 with at least eight sacks in each of the past four seasons. He finished 2019 with only 27 pressures and eight sacks but would immediately inject a skillset the Jets haven’t seen in years.

Ngakoue’s regressed a bit since his torrid 2017 campaign – 12 sacks and six forced fumbles – but he still posted at least a 76.8 pass-rush grade in 2018 and 2019. He won’t be cheap but the Jets need to invest salary cap in the pass rush and Ngakoue is the best intersection of price and production Williams will need for his defense.