The Safety Battle

Edition #636

Good morning! ☕

I’m very thankful that OTA’s have given us some topics to discuss, as like we’ve been saying recently, the end of May and June are the quietest periods in the NFL calendar. We have a handful of OTA’s but only a handful are open to the media.

Today we’re going to take a look at the battle for the starting safety spots after Robert Saleh confirmed that it was an open competition.

🟢 PFF released a list of 10 players to watch who are returning to action this year following injuries and you won’t be surprised to see Aaron Rodgers #1: “Where else could this list start? Rodgers lasted a mere four snaps before tearing his Achilles against the Buffalo Bills on Monday Night Football in 2023. The wait is over, and Jets fans should finally be treated to good quarterback play in 2024. Questions loom about the mobility and sustainability of the now-40-year-old, but Rodgers’ production is undeniable when he is on the field. He has gone seven straight seasons with at least a 74.9 PFF passing grade, and there’s little reason to expect his accuracy to decline in 2024. The quality of Rodgers' weapons in his final years in Green Bay wasn’t spectacular (aside from Davante Adams), but the Jets have done well to surround him with promising pieces in Garrett Wilson, Mike Williams and Breece Hall. The bigger hurdle may be keeping No. 12 upright, given the injury-prone nature of New York’s offensive line, but additions like Tyron Smith, Olu Fashanu, Morgan Moses and John Simpson round out a deep unit.”

⚪ Who are the fastest players in the NFL? The 33rd Team took a look at the data and Breece Hall made an appearance at #16 “Breece Hall didn't look quite as explosive in 2023 when he was recovering from a torn ACL, but we know he is an exceptional athlete. During his rookie season in 2022, he recorded a top-end speed of 21.87 mph on a 62-yard touchdown run, the third-fastest in the NFL that season.” The fastest player is new Chiefs receiver and former Texas star Xavier Worthy. The Dolphins had four players inside the top 11, that is one speedy team.

🟢 Who are the top three players on this Jets roster? PFF believe it’s Quinnen Williams, Sauce Gardner and Garrett Wilson - “Quinnen Williams and Sauce Gardner remain two of the top players in the league at their positions after once again pacing the Jets' defense in PFF grade, earning 90.8 and 88.6 marks, respectively. Garrett Wilson claims the third spot instead of Aaron Rodgers because Wilson’s talent level is incredibly high, even though his 73.5 receiving grade in 2023 was a big step down from his 85.9 figure as a rookie.”

⚪ The Jets announced that they had signed TE Kevin Foelsch who went undrafted out of the University of New Haven, and in a corresponding move they released waived QB Colby Suits. He had 7 touchdowns last team and was originally signed by the Carolina Panthers on May 10th before being released three days later.

🟢 Greg Jennings who won a Super Bowl with Aaron Rodgers in 2011 thinks the NFL is in trouble if Aaron Rodgers is as focused as he seems to be. Speaking yesterday he said: “Listening to Aaron Rodgers say what he said, the league is in trouble,” Jennings told Craig Carton “When he has this mentality, there’s no one better. … I know he’s 40, I know he’s coming off of injury. But when [he has] this mindset, with how great he is — he’s one of the smartest quarterbacks, he’s going to be a great decision-maker — if his [physical] ability is still there, and he’s taking this posture, watch out.”

✈️ Robert Saleh confirmed on Tuesday that the safety spots are up for grabs, and while that competition may be largely restricted to three players, you never know if someone may come out of left field.

Safety is largely considered to be the weakest spot on the Jets roster and for good reason. Those three players who are set to compete for the two starting spots consist of:

Tony Adams - A former UDFA who has just one year of real NFL experience.
Chuck Clark - A veteran returning after missing an entire season through injury.
Ashtyn Davis - A 5th year player who’s gone from disappointing draft pick to impressive special teams player.

There are many analysts who believe the Jets could add to the position with the likes of Justin Simmons still out there looking for a team. Financially the Jets would need to do some gymnastics if they wanted to add Simmons, but everything is possible when it comes to the NFL salary cap.

If the Jets are going to go with what they have, it presents plenty of opportunities for those players listed above, as well as 2023 6th round pick Jarrick Bernard-Converse who missed a lot of time last year through injury. As well as former Miami/Duke player Al Blades Jr. and 2x First team All-AAC man Jarius Monroe who went undrafted out of Tulane this year. Not forgetting Alabama man Jaylen Key.

If I’m one of those late draft picks or UDFA’s, I’m looking at this as a tremendous opportunity. You’ve come into an environment where not only are the depth positions up for grabs, but the starting spots as well. And while I still think Adams and Clark will start, it’s not beyond the realms of possibility that one or both lose those spots.

If you break them down into the positions they’re listed as you have this