Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
The #Jets D-line should look better in 2022:
The New York Jets will begin training camp on July 26. Leading up to that, Jets Wire will provide some quick hitting analysis on each position for New York.
Next up is the defensive line unit:
Curious pick:
John Franklin-Myers is well-known to New York Jets fans. The under-the-radar pickup on waivers from 2019 has slowly emerged as a serious threat on the team’s defensive line.
In fact, Franklin-Myers and former top draft pick Quinnen Williams tied for the Jets’ lead in sacks in 2021 with six. But somehow, Franklin-Myers appeared on a curious list from Bleacher Report.
B/R named a “best-kept secret” for every NFL team. The selection for Gang Green was Franklin-Myers.
Because of Franklin-Myers’ successes, it’s an interesting pick. There might’ve been a few others more worthy of such a nod.
Such possibilities include safety Lamarcus Joyner, who has a good look at starting New York’s completely revamped secondary. Another is receiver Braxton Berrios, who broke out toward the end of last season but is still behind the likes of rookie Garrett Wilson, Corey Davis and Elijah Moore on the depth chart.
Still, let’s give B/R a chance to explain. Check out their breakdown below:
It might seem odd to call a player that tied for his team lead in sacks and led his squad in pressures and quarterback hits a “secret.” But despite that career year, John Franklin-Myers of the New Jets is probably the least well known of the four starters on a front that (on paper at least) looks pretty formidable in 2022.
Myers tallied six sacks, 14 hits and 43 pressures in 2021, but per Caroline Hendershot of the team’s website, the fourth-year veteran feels like he can do much better in the final season of his rookie contract.
“Everybody wants to talk about how well I did and how I had a career year, but there’s so much meat left on the bone in the sense that I could’ve had 10 sacks,” he said. “I could have done more, and at the end of the day, hindsight is 20/20, but it is just something I look forward to next season. Something I can get better at is running to the ball. I can get better at playing consistent during that five-game stretch that I didn’t have a sack in. Those are things I beat myself up about in the offseason and I think it’s important to.”
With a healthy Carl Lawson, rookie Jermaine Johnson and veteran Vinny Curry outside and Quinnen Williams and Solomon Thomas on the interior, the Jets are both deep and talented along the defensive line. That should mean Franklin-Myers (who can play end and tackle) seeing lots of single blocks.
That 10-sack season Franklin-Myers spoke of may just be achievable after all.
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PFF: #Jets’ John Franklin-Myers is top-20 pass rusher since 2020:
New York Jets defensive lineman John Franklin-Myers had a breakout year last season. Pro Football Focus thinks things have actually been going well for him the past two years.
Franklin-Myers tied the team-high sack total with six (Quinnen Williams) and added another 43 QB pressures and 14 total QB hits in 2021.
For his efforts over the past two seasons, the football analytics outlet says Franklin-Myers has a pass rush win rate of 17 percent. That’s the 20th best of all defensive linemen in the NFL:
John Franklin-Myers: 17% pass rush win rate since 2020. 20th highest among ALL Defensive Lineman pic.twitter.com/m52CNmsRju
— PFF NY Jets (@PFF_Jets) July 2, 2022
Franklin-Myers did not only receive praise from PFF in terms of his pass-rushing prowess as well. Last season he was also graded as the Jets’ top defender against the run (80.3).
Franklin-Myers, a 2018 fourth-round pick by the Los Angeles Rams, is starting to round into an all-around defender for Gang Green on the D-line.
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John Franklin Myers on #Jets D-line: ‘We don’t have any weaknesses’
The bar for the New York Jets defensive line was raised thanks to John Franklin-Myers.
It’s early in the offseason, but from spring practice this week, Franklin-Myers said Gang Green’s defensive front has all the tools to get things done in 2022. The list of things the Jets defensive line can’t do might be shorter in his mind.
“We don’t have any weaknesses,” Franklin-Myers said via video conference on Wednesday. “Everybody brings a different element to the table.”
But Franklin-Myers did pull the reigns back a bit. He knows his words won’t mean much without execution come September.
“On paper is one thing. You can talk about what we have on paper, but we have to go out there and we have to be that and live that. That’s what our plan is,” he said.
The real trigger word for New York’s D-line is “depth.” That’s what the team sees as an invaluable tool to any potential success next season.
“It’s exciting to think about what they can become as a group,” defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich said. “We didn’t have that luxury last year because of the depth that we didn’t have, so the fact that we have some more depth now, you can get back to really the essence of this front. Let these guys just absolutely rip it.”
“A lot of depth, a lot of competition, it’ll be exciting to see who emerges from that group,” Ulbrich added.
Franklin-Myers had career-best season for New York in 2021 highlighted by his six sacks and another half-dozen tackles for loss. Other returners include Quinnen Williams and Sheldon Rankins in the middle.
Fresh faces tossed into the fire are first-round rookie Jermaine Johnson and a former No. 3 overall pick with the San Francisco 49ers in Solomon Thomas who signed during free agency.
Hard to debate the depth isn’t there, but Franklin-Myers is right: The Jets will have to prove the depth’s talent.
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Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar reveals his All-Underrated defense heading into the 2022 NFL season.
In the NFL, players are underrated for all kinds of reasons. Sometimes, they’re second banana to a superstar whose deeds take up all the oxygen. Other times, it may be that the player has to climb up the depth chart as a little-regarded contributor, and the media hasn’t caught up yet. It’s also possible that the player has an incandescent talent that’s hidden by an unfavorable scheme. And it could also be that the player has had one great season, and everyone’s waiting to see if it’s a fluke.
We’ve already assembled our list of the NFL’s most underrated offensive players; it’s safe to say that a matchup between those players and these underrated defenders would be quite something.
Jets defensive end John Franklin-Myers wants Robert Woods to join him in New York, though he’d need to be traded to leave the Rams.
John Franklin-Myers wants to play with an old teammate again.
The Jets defensive end tweeted at Rams WR Robert Woods on Friday to let him know how nice it is to play in New York. The two played together with the Rams in 2018 before Los Angeles waived Franklin-Myers prior to the 2019 season. The Jets picked up the defensive end soon after and extended Franklin-Myers midway through the 2021 season.
@robertwoods I miss you, NY is a beautiful place FYI 😅
— John Franklin-Myers (@J_FranklinMyers) March 18, 2022
Woods isn’t a free agent, but teams called the Rams to inquire about the receiver’s availability after Los Angeles signed wideout Allen Robinson, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. The Jets, meanwhile, could use a receiver of Woods’ caliber.
Woods signed a four-year, $65 million contract extension with the Rams in 2020, so he’d join the Jets on a hefty $13.75 million base salary if traded. It might also take a lot to acquire Woods after he put up two consecutive 90-reception seasons from 2019-2020.
Woods tore his ACL in mid-November, though, so that could impact his trade value. Potential suitors will want to know the extent of the injury and his recovery before making a move if the Rams want to trade Woods.
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Robert Woods is reportedly a ‘prime trade candidate’ with the Rams signing Allen Robinson and John Franklin-Myers wants Woods on the Jets.
While everyone’s March Madness brackets were getting busted, the Los Angeles Rams put everyone in a state of surprise when they agreed to terms with Allen Robinson on a three-year deal. The addition of Robinson gives the Rams a dynamic wide receiver room that could feature Cooper Kupp, Robert Woods, and Van Jefferson.
However, following the move to sign Robinson, it was revealed that Woods has been generating trade interest from teams around the NFL. John Franklin-Myers, who was drafted by the Rams in the fourth round of the 2018 NFL Draft (and is now on the New York Jets), took to Twitter to recruit Woods to the Jets.
@robertwoods I miss you, NY is a beautiful place FYI 😅
— John Franklin-Myers (@J_FranklinMyers) March 18, 2022
It remains to be seen if the Rams are even interested in the idea of trading Woods, but Les Snead has always shown a willingness to listen to what other teams have to offer. Woods is set to turn 30 years old next month and is coming off a torn ACL, so Los Angeles could view Robinson as the better long-term investment at this point.
The Rams are also refusing to rule out the possibility of re-signing Odell Beckham Jr. this offseason, which would make a trade involving Woods more likely. It’s hard to imagine a scenario where Kupp, Woods, Robinson, Jefferson, and Beckham are all on the roster to begin the 2022 season.
Meanwhile, the Jets are amid a rebuild and they are trying to put Zach Wilson in the best position to succeed. Getting a wide receiver — and leader — like Woods would be a welcomed addition for a team that hasn’t made the playoffs since 2010.
Even though Woods doesn’t have a no-trade clause in his contract, the Rams could give him the chance to deliver a list of desired teams if they elect to move forward on trading him. Despite Franklin-Myers’ desperate attempt to recruit Woods, it’s tough to believe that Woods would want to go to a team that isn’t ready to compete for a Super Bowl.
The Jets pulled off its third win of the season. Here are six note-worthy stats that helped explain the Week 12 victory over the Texans.
It wasn’t pretty, but the Jets pulled off their third win of the season Sunday thanks to a stout defense, a solid rushing attack and a conservative passing effort by Zach Wilson.
The 21-14 victory was very different from New York’s other two this season. The offense didn’t look particularly threatening and the defense locked down much better than it has all season. Nonetheless, it was a positive development for a team that still hasn’t found its identity.
The stats from the game back that up. Gang Green’s defense put up season-best numbers while the offense sputtered a bit but showed improvement in some areas. Here is a look at a few standout stats from the Jets’ Week 12 win.
The Jets sacked Tyrod Taylor five times in Week 12, and the pass rush played a huge role in New York’s 21-14 win.
No unit had a better Sunday against the Texans than the Jets’ pass rush.
New York finished Week 12 with 13 pressures, seven quarterback hits and five total sacks on Tyrod Taylor. That winning performance helped the Jets hold the Texans to just 14 points and 106 net passing yards after Taylor finished with 158 yards but gave back 52 yards in sacks.
DE John Franklin-Myers led the team with two sacks on the day, while DE Quinnen Williams, LB Quincy Williams and DE Ronald Blair added one sack apiece. Franklin-Myers also intercepted Taylor off a tipped pass.
“If we can execute on that level that we executed on today, we can be a dominant defense,” Quinnen Williams said, via the team’s website. “We’ve got to be consistent week in, week out and not let this be a one-hit-wonder.”
Quinnen Williams delivered arguably the biggest sack of the game when he tackled Taylor for a 19-yard loss late in the third quarter. The Texans were within field goal range on 3rd-and-13 at the Jets’ 37, but Williams knocked Houston back to its own 44-yard line and forced a punt to keep the Jets’ 18-14 lead.
Franklin-Myers bounced back from a bad game in Week 11 to prove once more that he deserved his new contract. Franklin-Myers’ two-sack, one-interception performance was the first by a Jets player since 1995, per ESPN’s Rich Cimini. He and Quinnen Williams are now tied for the team lead with six sacks on the season.
“He’s worth his weight in gold, JFM is,” Robert Saleh said after the game. “To much is given, much is expected. He has a very high standard for himself and I know he was beating himself up all week.”
Shaq Lawson, Foley Fatukaski and Sheldon Rankins didn’t register sacks, but they still had a presence in the backfield. Lawson and Rankins finished with one pressure each, while Fatukaski had two himself. Those moments helped fuel how the rest of the defense played and even helped Franklin-Myers grab his interception.
This was a critical performance for a group that hadn’t tallied more than two sacks in a game since the Jets’ Week 8 win over the Bengals. The Jets successfully exploited a weak offensive line, which played a major role in New York’s third victory of the season. Now the key for Gang Green will be consistency in the pass rush. The Jets still face some daunting offenses to end the year and need to continue pressuring quarterbacks to remain competitive.
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Jets QB Zach Wilson and DE John Franklin-Myers headline our studs and duds from New York’s 21-14 win over the Texans.
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The Jets’ three-game losing streak is over.
Zach Wilson’s third-quarter rushing touchdown and strong defense throughout the fourth sealed New York’s third win of the season, as it held on for a 21-14 victory over the Texans in Week 12. The Jets fell behind early to Houston, but fought back and did just enough to claim a win for the first time in November.
Who starred in Houston? Who disappointed? Here are the studs and duds from Gang Green’s first win since Halloween.
