How Jordan Whitehead and D.J. Reed elevate the Jets’ run defense may not seem obvious to the average fan.
is a cornerback whose job is to defend receivers. Sure, he’ll mix it up and tackle running backs but that’s not why the Jets signed him. Whitehead is a bit more obvious since he’s known for being a thumper. But should elevate the 29th ranked pass defense out of the basement.
The Jets were 29th in rushing yards allowed (138) for various reasons. One was Robert Saleh’s defense being forced to play more two-high safety looks on early downs than he wanted.
Saleh prefers to run a one-high safety look on early downs to shut down the run game. With an extra safety hovering around the line of scrimmage it gives the defense a favorable matchup.
And if the running back squiggles through traffic, the deep safety should identify the run quickly enough. And he becomes a heat seeking missile who can barrel downhill to attack ball carriers.
Last season, because of the inexperience at cornerback, the Jets played more two-high looks to provide the young corners help over the top on early downs, just in case teams decided to throw on earlier downs. And overall safety play struggled with Marcus Maye and Lamarcus Joyner dealing with injuries.
The Jets were in a two-high look on first and second downs and for 182 rush defenses, which was ninth most in the NFL. And they were in a one-high safety look for 246 carries.
That’s a 42% to 58% comparison for first and second runs, which is unusual for a Saleh-led defense.
A two-high safety look removes a safety from the box and makes them late in the run fit, which makes running the football a lot easier for offenses.
If a team runs that type of look, their front has to wreck the line of scrimmage. But the Jets front was against the run all year in those situations, as the unit allowed 824 yards on early downs in a two-high safety look, 10th most in the NFL.
That usually puts offenses in favorable third downs, which make it significantly harder.
It was part of the snowball effect that led to the struggles across the board for the Jets.
In 2019, Saleh’s 49ers rush defense was in a one-high look on first and second downs for 83% of rush attempts.
The 49ers defense had cornerback Richard Sherman — who earned second-team All-Pro honors that season — which allowed safeties Jimmie Ward or Jaquiski Tartt to hover in the box during those situations. The unit also possessed a stout front seven that featured linebacker Fred Warner, defensive end Nick Bosa, defensive tackle Arik Armstead, and DeForest Buckner.
The 49ers were stout on early downs to force offenses into longer third downs, which is one of the reasons why their third down defense was second that season (33%).
Reed won’t need as much safety help as Bryce Hall did in his second year or Brandin Echols as a rookie.
That frees Whitehead or Joyner up to play closer to the line of scrimmage as the Jets can call more one-high looks on early downs.
This should bolster the rush defense as Whitehead and Joyner should be better at executing run fits.
What lured the Jets to Whitehead was his reputation for being an enforcer with hard hits in the run game.
“What he’s going to bring, along with his toughness and his tenacity, his ability to communicate and his mental football IQ is off the charts,” Saleh said at the NFL owners meeting last week. “To have him back there to be a stabilizing force for our young defensive backfield, again, couldn’t be happier that he’s here and really excited to see him play.”
If executed improperly that will create longer third downs, i.e. 3rd and seven or longer, which gives the pass rush more time to sack the QB. Last season, the Jets forced only 70 pass attempts for QBs, which was eighth fewest in the league.
If the Jets improve on earlier downs, it allows for easier third down opportunities, when they can utilize their exotic blitzes to get off the field.
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