Tag: Michael Carter II

Michael Carter II PFF’s top slot corner in coverage snaps per reception allowed

No slot cornerback is allowing fewer receptions per coverage snaps than the Jets’ own Michael Carter II.

Most that aren’t fully familiar with the Jets’ secondary at least know who Sauce Gardner is and maybe D.J. Reed. Casuals may not know about slot cornerback Michael Carter II. They should at some point because Carter has been one of the best slot corners in the NFL and 2023 is just the latest example.

Pro Football Focus currently has Carter as the No. 1 slot cornerback regarding coverage snaps per reception allowed with 17.1. In other words, Carter allows a reception once out of every 17 snaps he plays in a game. To put that into perspective, Carter played 39 snaps against the Texans, so he would allow just two receptions in that amount of playing time. Not bad for the “third cornerback” on the Jets.

Carter has allowed just 22 receptions for 171 yards and only one touchdown in 330 coverage snaps. That touchdown came way back in Week 1 against the Buffalo Bills.

Carter has an overall grade of 74.1, tied with Dallas’ Stephon Gilmore for 21st among cornerbacks in the league. Some teams don’t have a single cornerback in the top 25. The Jets have three — Gardner ranks 5th at 84.3; Reed is 9th at 82.7.

The entire Jets defense has been stellar as usual but Carter is once again showing why he is extremely underrated across the league.

Jets Wednesday injury report: Michael Carter looks unlikely for Friday, Duane Brown decision Thursday

Michael Carter II looks unlikely to play Friday while the Jets have to make a decision by Thursday on Duane Brown.

The Jets may have to try and stop Miami’s offense Friday without nickel cornerback Michael Carter II. After missing Sunday’s game against the Buffalo Bills, Carter is looking unlikely to play Friday against the Dolphins after missing practice Wednesday with a hamstring injury following him being listed as out during Tuesday’s walkthrough. It may be another week with Brandin Echols in the slot.

The other big story of the week involves offensive tackle Duane Brown (hip). The Jets have to make a decision on Brown by Thursday, as that is the final day of his 21-day practice window to be activated from injured reserve. If the Jets do not activate Brown Thursday, then he is out for the rest of the season. Brown has been listed as a full participant since having his window opened but it may be a 50/50 chance of him returning.

Mekhi Becton (ankle/knee) is pushing to play Friday but the injury was affecting him during Wednesday’s practice. He was limited Wednesday. He could be a game-time decision. The good news up front for New York is that the Jets should at least have Billy Turner available if need be. Turner practiced in full after missing time with a finger injury.

In terms of available players, everyone practiced in some capacity except for Carter and everyone who did practice was a full participant except for Becton and linebacker Sam Eguavoen (hip).

Jets Week 11 inactives: Michael Carter II out vs. Bills

Jets Week 11 inactives: Michael Carter II out vs. Bills

The Jets released one Michael Carter a few days ago and now will be without the other for Week 11 against the Buffalo Bills.

Nickel cornerback Michael Carter II is among the inactives Sunday. Carter was a late addition to the injury report with a hamstring injury and was questionable for Sunday. He is now officially out. Look for Brandin Echols to step in at the slot corner position in place of Carter.

The rest of the Jets’ inactives:

WR Randall Cobb
LB Sam Eguavoen
OL Billy Turner
LB Chazz Surratt
DL Carl Lawson
OL Austin Deculus

The Jets are indeed starting to go a bit younger Sunday. Israel Abanikanda and Jason Brownlee are both active Sunday and it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Jets start using Jeremy Ruckert more as well.

But on a day where the Jets really could use all hands on deck as they look for the season sweep of Buffalo, not having Carter in the defensive backfield will certainly sting.

Taking a look back at the Jets’ 2021 NFL draft class

The Jets released RB Michael Carter on Tuesday and we recap how the team’s 2021 NFL draft class has fared thus far.

The New York Jets are amid a two-game skid right now, being outscored by the Los Angeles Chargers and the Las Vegas Raiders 43-18 in the last two weeks. The Jets held a players-only meeting on Tuesday, and running back Michael Carter was released shortly after.

We are now in the third year of Robert Saleh and Joe Douglas being the head coach-general manager duo for the Jets. The 2021 NFL draft was the first one Saleh and Douglas took part in together, beginning a regime that had fans in New York optimistic about the future.

With the offense struggling with Zach Wilson under center, and Carter being released, now is as good a time as ever to recap how New York’s 2021 NFL draft class has fared thus far.

6 Jets to watch in Week 9 vs. Chargers

Here are six players to watch from the Jets in their Monday night matchup against the Chargers in Week 9.

The New York Jets are gearing up for another primetime game in Week 9 as they are set to host the Los Angeles Chargers on Monday Night Football. The Jets came from behind to defeat the New York Giants 13-10 in overtime in Week 8 to improve to 4-3 on the season.

On the other hand, the Chargers snapped a two-game losing streak by beating the Chicago Bears 30-13 on Sunday Night Football in Week 8. Los Angeles is a 3-4 team that has an up-and-coming star quarterback in Justin Herbert leading its offense.

Ahead of Monday night’s matchup versus the Chargers, here are six players to watch from the Jets.

6 Jets to watch in Week 2 vs. Cowboys

We have six players to watch from the Jets in their Week 2 road matchup against the Cowboys.

The outlook on the New York Jets has drastically changed entering the team’s Week 2 road matchup against the Dallas Cowboys despite beating the Buffalo Bills in overtime. Aaron Rodgers suffered a season-ending torn Achilles on his first offensive drive versus the Bills in Week 1, which has seen the Jets go from slight underdogs to nearly double-digit underdogs for Sunday’s meeting with the Cowboys.

Zach Wilson is slated to start under center for New York against an elite Dallas defense that just blanked the New York Giants to open the season. It will be a battle between two of the elite defensive units in the NFL on Sunday.

Ahead of a pivotal matchup versus the Cowboys, we have six players to watch for the Jets in Week 2.

Final Week 1 Jets injury report: Three questionable but should be good to go

Final Week 1 Jets injury report: Three questionable but should be good to go

The Jets released their final injury report for Week 1 against the Buffalo Bills on Monday night. Left tackle Duane Brown (shoulder), right tackle Mekhi Becton (knee) and running back Breece Hall (knee) are all listed as questionable for the game. However, all three were full participants in practice Saturday after being limited all week — Becton missed Friday due to an illness.

The only new addition to the injury report for the Jets on Saturday was nickelback Michael Carter II, who was listed with an elbow injury. Head coach Robert Saleh said he is fine, Carter practiced in full Saturday and he does not have a game designation for Monday.

For the Bills, safety Micah Hyde was a full participant again Saturday after being limited Thursday with a back injury but was upgraded to full on Friday. He is good to go for Monday.

The NFL’s 11 best slot defenders

Doug Farrar continues his positional lists of the NFL’s best players with the 11 best slot defenders heading into the 2023 NFL season.

In the 2022 NFL season, defenses played nickel (five defensive backs) on 12,630 opponent passing attempts. Defenses played dime (six defensive backs) on 2,715 opponent dropbacks. With just 3,206 opponent dropbacks against four defensive backs last season, base defense is no longer base defense — nickel is the new base, and has been for some time.

Moreover, the influx of three-safety looks in the NFL has increased, as has the specific “big nickel” looks with three safeties and two cornerbacks.

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The point of this preamble? That slot defenders are more important than they’ve ever been. Whether it’s in a more traditional nickel or dime look with just one slot defender, or defenses aligning two slot defenders to the strong side of the 3×1 formation, slot defenders aren’t just pre-emptive starters anymore — they’re integral parts of modern defenses, and good luck having a great defense without at least one.

Slot defenders have their own skill sets. It’s not like it was 20 years ago, when the smallest, slowest defensive back on a roster was relegated to the slot. Now, those guys need to have the coverage skills of cornerbacks, the run-stopping abilities of strong safeties, and the blitz instincts of linebackers.

It’s a fascinating gig.

As Greg Cosell of NFL Films and ESPN’s NFL Matchup said in this week’s edition of the “Xs and Os” podcast/video, the requirements for top-tier slot defenders make it a unique position.

The Xs and Os with Greg Cosell: Building the perfect secondary

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“Slot defenders are an interesting breed. They can come in all shapes and sizes. They can be smaller, like Mike Hilton, who I think is one of the best slot defenders in the league. They can be bigger; it depends on what you want. But think of it this way — I know the numbers might be going down a bit, but teams line up in 11 personnel [one running back, one tight end, three receivers] a majority of the time. And teams are playing out of 11 personnel on first down — on second-and-3. What we consider normal down-and-distance situations where the run game is part of the offense. It’s not jst a third-down situation.

“Your slot defender is not just a pass defender. Your slot defender has to be able to defend the run, because there are a lot of teams that run toward the slot defender, because they know he’s not as good a run defender as you’d see running to the other side, where you might have bigger bodies. He also has to be part of pressure schemes. How often do we see slot defenders in today’s NFL as blitzers?

“So, not only do you have to play man coverage against receivers who have a two-way go, you also have to play underneath zone coverage, which is different than playing underneath zone coverage if you’re an outside cornerback. There are different rules, because zones all have their own rules.”

As has been the case with other defensive backs on this year’s list, the transfer of power from season to season is inconsistent, at best. Just two slot defenders from last year’s list — Derwin James and Kyle Dugger — made it in the 2023 group. Sometimes, that was about positional changes; other times, the performances from last year’s top slot defenders were simply eclipsed by the new guys.

No matter how you slice it, it’s tough to be a great slot defender in today’s NFL, and here are out 11 best heading into the 2023 season.

The NFL’s 11 best cornerbacks
The NFL’s 11 best safeties

(All advanced metrics courtesy of Pro Football Focus and Sports Info Solutions unless otherwise indicated). 

Michael Carter II believes he’ll be the best nickel in NFL in 2023

Michael Carter II believes he’ll be the best nickel in NFL in 2023

With a top defense in the league and a multi-time MVP quarterback soon on his way to the roster, the confidence level throughout Florham Park is rising fast.

That includes a member of that said defense, who had himself a fine year in 2022 but has set even higher expectations for himself in 2023. Defensive back Michael Carter II took to Twitter recently to tell the world he is still underrated and that he will “be the next nickel in the league in 2023. The work will show.”

Carter was good as a rookie and even better in his second season. The 2021 fifth-round pick out of Duke has played in all but two games since joining the league and took a major step forward in 2022, recording nine passes defended and two interceptions.

A lot of the focus, understandably, is on Sauce Gardner and D.J. Reed, but more fans should start knowing Carter’s soon as well. Carter hopes that is sooner rather than later.

Jets have three of the top 15 cornerbacks as ranked by PFF

Jets have three of the top 15 cornerbacks as ranked by PFF

As down as Jets fans are on the offense, and they certainly have a right to be, one look at the defense should help perk them up. Especially at the cornerback position.

The Jets completely rebuilt the cornerback position this past offseason, signing free agent D.J. Reed from the Seahawks and selecting Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner with the fourth pick of the draft in April. So far, those additions have paid huge dividends.

Of the 72 cornerbacks that have played at least 150 snaps this season, Gardner has the fourth-highest grade from Pro Football Focus at 83.9 and Reed is right behind him in 7th with a 79.3 grade. No other team can say they have two top-ten cornerbacks in that category.

And they’re not the only strong cornerback in this category. Michael Carter II has been no slouch himself, checking in at No. 15 with a 76.7 grade. The only other team with two corners in the top 15 in this scenario is New England with No. 1 Jack Jones (87.4) and No. 14 Jonathan Jones (76.9).

Gardner is also the only corner among all 72 in this group to have at least ten pass-breakups through eight weeks. Trevon Diggs and Patrick Peterson are tied for second with eight. Reed has five and Carter has two.

The Jets will definitely need the strong play of their corners to continue as this week, they welcome Stefon Diggs and Gabe Davis to town as the Jets host the Bills. Oh, and some guy named Josh Allen throwing them the football. The Three Musketeers will be ready.

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