MEET THE JETS
Todd Bowles gets a look at his new players as Gang Green holds rookie minicamp
They were merely positional drills on the opening day of rookie minicamp. But if all goes according to plan for the Jets, they will represent the beginning of a long, prosperous and successful partnership.
There on the turf field inside the Atlantic Health Training Center in Florham Park on Friday were the Jets’ first and second round picks, safeties Jamal Adams and Marcus Maye. They lined up shoulder-to-shoulder facing the sideline, where two Gang Green coaches waited with footballs. One coach yelled to simulate a snap, and Adams and Maye started backpedaling. After the duo retreated for several steps, the coaches simultaneously lofted passes into the air. Adams and Maye both adjusted their bodies and made the catches, standing less than five feet apart.
It was a meaningless play in the wider scope of the 2017 season and beyond. And yet it signified something important for a rebuilding franchise: The development of the Jets’ future starting safety tandem is underway.
“They tried to get the best two safeties in the draft,” Maye said before practice Friday. “They did that.”
The Jets took Adams out of LSU with the No. 6 overall selection before doubling down on safeties with the seventh pick of the second round, drafting Maye out of Florida.
The strategy turned some heads, considering last year’s starting strong safety Calvin Pryor was a first-round pick in 2014. But Pryor joined the Jets under a different regime, and now the writing appears to be on the wall for the Louisville product. Gang Green opted to not pick up Pryor’s fifth-year option for 2018, which means he’ll be a free agent after this
season.
In addition, the Jets released free safety Marcus Gilchrist earlier this week to free up a roster spot. Gilchrist, who started for the Jets at free safety last season, tore his patellar tendon in December and will not be ready for training camp. That means at least one starting safety spot is up for grabs. And Bowles said Friday “it’s feasible” Maye and Adams will be the Jets’ starting safeties in Week 1.
“If they learn it and they earn it, they’ll start at safety,” Bowles said. “I’ve seen it happen before.”
Maye — who won’t participate in team drills this weekend as he continues to heal from a broken arm he suffered in November — is prepared to fill the void left by Gilchrist.
“I’m always trying to get on the field, trying to get adjusted as fast as I can,” Maye said. “Just the fact that there’s another open spot means that someone else can step in. I’m just trying to be that guy.”
Adams and Maye have a relationship that predates their arrival with the Jets. They were actually almost college teammates before Adams chose to take his talents to Baton Rouge.
Adams was strongly considering Florida during his recruiting process in 2013, largely because his godfather, Joker Phillips, was the Gators’ receivers coach under former head coach Will Muschamp.
But Adams felt a coaching change coming, so he opted to attend LSU instead. Florida fired Muschamp and his staff in November of the 2014 season.
“I made the right decision,” Adams said Friday. “I don’t look back on it.”
The two stayed in touch, though, trading occasional texts and social media posts while facing off on Saturdays in the ultra-competitive SEC.
When the Jets drafted Maye, Adams posted on Twitter and sent his new safety partner a congratulatory text.
“He told me he’s excited to play with me,” Maye said. “I told him the same thing, and let’s get going.”