Buffalo Bills: Ranking the starting safeties of the AFC East
By Rob Spehar
3) New York Jets
Expected Starters – Jamal Adams, Marcus Maye
If Jamal Adams gets his wish, the Jets secondary will be in bad shape. Adams is the anchor of that position and had a great year in 2019. Playing in 14 games, he racked up 74 tackles, 7 passes defended, 6.5 sacks, one interception, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery returned for a touchdown. He does everything so well at all levels of the defense and he keeps producing at an elite level. He also is very durable as he has only missed 2 games in three seasons since bursting onto the scene.
Opposite of Adams for the New York Jets is Marcus Maye. A very solid underrated safety whose coverage skills and support in the run game are pretty solid. Entering his fourth year with the team, another solid season would go a long way in securing himself a contract extension and as the number 1 safety if Adams leaves town. Last season he had 64 tackles, seven passes defended and one interception. He will always be compared to Jamal Adams if the Pro Bowler leaves or stays. But whoever plays in New York is under the microscope all the time anyways.
To add some depth to the safety position, General manager Joe Douglas opted to select California product Ashtyn Davis in the third round (68th overall) of the NFL draft. That pick did raise some questions because of Jamal Adams and a viable counterpart in Marcus Maye. There is nothing wrong with adding another quality safety on a roster that needed an overhaul and pretty much every position. Considering the situation with Adams, and Maye being in a contract year, this pick seems pretty smart in hindsight. If the Jets use Davis correctly, he can become one of the top coverage safeties in the division.
There are a lot of question marks in the Jets secondary heading into the 2020 season. It remains to be seen if Jamal Adams will still be a part of Gang Green, though, once the season starts. If he does leave, it will leave a big hole in not only the defense, but the hearts of Jets fans everywhere.