John Franklin-Myers went from making impactful plays on the NFL’s biggest stage to out of a job within a span of five months. Now the Jets have armed the defensive lineman with a second chance, and he’s quietly wreaking havoc and stealing snaps for a team that has few other bright spots.
A fourth-round pick of the Rams’ in 2018, Franklin-Myers showed promise as a rookie, totaling 17 pressures, 11 hurries, four knockdowns and two sacks over 301 defensive snaps. The highlight of his young career came in Super Bowl LIII, when he recorded a sack and a fumble against Tom Brady and the Patriots.
And yet, it was only months later that Franklin-Myers was waived by Los Angeles during final roster cuts before the 2019 season. Soon, however, a new chapter would begin for him.
The Jets hired Joe Douglas in June 2019, so the general manager missed out on drafting a young core for his new team. Instead, he milked New York’s priority on the waiver wire following final cuts and was able to snag Franklin-Myers. After missing his first season in green and white with a groin injury, the defender is now making the most of his increasing opportunities.
The defensive lineman has quietly shown flashes while taking snaps from players like Herny Anderson, Nathan Shepherd and Kyle Phillips. While Franklin-Myers has taken just 79 defensive snaps, which ranks 16th on the team, he leads Gang Green with five quarterback hits and six quarterback hurries. He is also New York’s highest-graded defender (82.8), per Pro Football Focus.
Franklin-Myers is winning with consistency and is doing so by getting handsy. While he has been impressive on the stat sheet, he was able to push aside Colts All-Pro guard Quenton Nelson with relative ease in Week 3, drawing a holding penalty. He later batted down a pass from Philip Rivers.
Yeah, the Jets definitely have something here in Franklin-Myers. Same thing as last week..he has some of the heaviest/best hands I've seen along the DL in the NFL this season. Beats Q clean in clip 2 + forces the hold Eyes pic.twitter.com/Ipispx9Gie
— Brandon Thorn (@BrandonThornNFL) September 29, 2020
While snaps for Franklin-Myers have been scarce, he again made his presence felt in New York’s 37-28 Week 4 loss vs. Denver. Franklin-Myers was credited with six pressures on just 19 pass-rush snaps.
On the season, he has 11 total pressures on 47 pass-rush snaps. That’s a 23.4% rate, which is the highest of any qualified interior defensive lineman this season, according to Michael Nania. Coming in at second? Franklin-Myers’ former teammate, All-Pro DT Aaron Donald, who has an 18.9% pass-rushing rate.
Franklin-Myers has yet to have a coming-out party or a sack, but he has been New York’s best-kept secret on the defensive side of the ball.
As Franklin-Myers continues to make the most out of limited playing time, the Jets should consider benching Anderson full-time. Since signing a three-year, $25.2 million extension with former general manager Mike Maccagnan, Anderson has been invisible. The 29-year-old has recorded just one pressure in 35 snaps over the past three weeks and has more roughing the passer penalties than sacks since 2019. His snaps should be going to Franklin-Myers.
While an 0-4 start for the Jets has painted a rather bleak outlook for the remainder of the season, Franklin-Myers’ ascension as a disruptive pass-rusher should be a storyline moving forward. The Jets just need to keep expanding his playing time.