Jets’ defensive line a building block
N.Y.’S Williams leads unit that has been a bright spot this season
The big boys up front on the New York Jets’ defensive line have been a jumbo-sized bright spot this season.
Stuffing runs, pressuring quarterbacks and busting up plays in the backfield have been frequent occurrences lately — and it’s something the rebuilding franchise can point to as a building block for the future.
“Definitely,” linebacker Neville Hewitt said. “They have all the guys they need in that front. They can stop the run and they can pass rush when you let them guys go.”
Quinnen Williams is the leader of the pack, and the 2019 No. 3 overall pick had a breakout season before being forced to miss the final two games with a neck injury.
He played through a mostly quiet rookie season with a high ankle sprain, but Williams reported to camp healthy and leaner. It resulted in him being a consistent playmaker and one of the league’s top-rated D -linemen. He leads the Jets with seven sacks, 14 quarterback hits and 10 tackles for loss to go along with 55 total tackles, two forced fumbles and three passes defensed.
The Jets’ D -line has been a lot more than just Williams this season, though.
Folorunso Fatukasi, a 2018 sixth-rounder, has seamlessly slid into a starting role at nose tackle since Steve Mclendon was traded to Tampa Bay in October. John Franklin-myers, who sacked Tom Brady in the Super Bowl while with the Rams two years ago, has shown flashes of playmaking ability. Nathan Shepherd, a 2018 third-rounder, has played some of the best football of his career while filling in for Williams.
Henry Anderson has only a half-sack this season, but he has been a key part of a run defense that ranks a respectable 10th in the NFL. He has 13 run stuffs — zero or negative yards — and his 6.1 run stuff rate, according to the NFL’S Next Gen Stats, is fifth in the league among players with 200 or more snaps.
“Our guys up front have done a really good job of stopping the run and creating a pass rush,” coach Adam Gase said. “I think we’ve done a good job the last two weeks of putting the quarterback under duress.”
That has also helped lead New York to its first two wins of the season.
In victories over the Rams and Browns the last two weeks, the Jets have ranked in the top 10 in the league in average yards rushing allowed (79.5), sacks (7), average total yards allowed (301) and average points allowed (30.2).
Cleveland was missing its top four wide receivers last Sunday because of COVID -19 concerns, but the Browns still couldn’t get the two-headed rushing attack of Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt going against the Jets’ defensive front. Both had touchdown runs, but didn’t do much else as Chubb had 28 yards on 11 carries and Hunt 11 on four attempts.