Lichtenstein: If Jets' Bowles Is Smart, He Will Turn Lee Loose
By Steve Lichtenstein
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With the 20th overall selection in the NFL Draft, the Jets weren't going to get a flawless football player.
A franchise quarterback was not in play, so general manager Mike Maccagnan did the next best thing on Thursday night -- he filled a glaring need by getting the best athlete available at that position.
Darron Lee, a 21-year-old linebacker from Ohio State, was chosen to add explosiveness to the Jets' defense.
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The Jets were hindered last season by their speed deficit in comparison to other teams. Lee, who ran a 4.47 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine -- the fastest of any linebacker -- will certainly make up some of it.
In college, Lee was known for his big-play ability. In his two seasons, he recorded 11 sacks, 27 tackles for loss, three interceptions and three forced fumbles.
Sure, that level of production isn't always transferable to the professional level. Heaven forbid if Lee becomes the second coming of Vernon Gholston, the Buckeye Bust who went from being drafted sixth overall in 2008 to out of football four years later.
Some of the blame for Gholston's failure to develop can be laid at the feet of the Jets' coaches, who kept trying to pound a square peg into a round hole. Gholston was an undersized defensive end who was asked to play linebacker. He proved to be a lousy fit in both Eric Mangini's and Rex Ryan's 3-4 schemes.
Lee's size -- he's listed at 6-foot-1 and 232 pounds -- was also viewed negatively by higher-drafting teams. The scouting report consensus was that Lee struggled at "point-of-attack" plays and was prone to missed tackles.
So, of course, the initial reports from Jets camp were that Lee was slated to take reps at inside linebacker, a position that would limit his strength and expose his weakness.
The New York airwaves, sports pages, and blogs have been filled with diatribes lately against a local organization that seemingly puts its system above what would be best for team success. The Jets aren't the mess that Phil Jackson's Knicks have become, but Todd Bowles has to understand that a good coach finds a scheme that suits the players on his roster instead of forcing those players to play in a system for which they are unfit.
The Jets are loaded on the defensive line, especially since they did not deal away Pro Bowl end Mohammad Wilkerson and his $15.7 million franchise tag on Thursday. Fellow ends Sheldon Richardson, provided he can stay out of trouble off the field, and 2015 first-round pick Leonard Williams are budding stars. To replace nose tackle Damon Harrison, the Jets signed former Steeler Steve McLendon in free agency. Jarvis Jenkins was also added to provide further depth.
Linebackers? Outside of David Harris, the model of consistency in the middle, there are question marks.
Two starters from last season -- Calvin Pace and Demario Davis -- were not welcomed back. Lorenzo Mauldin is expected to make a leap in his sophomore season from situational pass rusher to every-down linebacker. Erin Henderson will return after supplanting Davis on the inside by the end of last season, but at this stage of his career, he's probably better equipped to be a reserve.
Most analysts believe Lee would find the transition to the NFL easier as a weak-side linebacker in a 4-3 defense, but the bigger issue is Bowles insisting on the 3-4 base when his roster composition suggests otherwise.
To address the imbalance late last season, Richardson was asked to play more of a hybrid pass rusher/cover linebacker. What a wasteful allocation of resources.
Why reinvent the wheel? The Jets have enough big bodies up front to figure out a formidable 4-3 rotation, allowing Wilkerson and Richardson to focus on getting after quarterbacks from the ends. Bowles wouldn't need to blitz so much.
Even better, there would be one less linebacker slot Bowles would need to worry about filling.
It's not like 4-3 teams have never won before. You remember the Patriots, the team that's won the Jets' division every year but two this century? The Giants won two Super Bowls by pummeling Patriots quarterback Tom Brady using four down linemen. The Seahawks should have won another.
The only obstacle to a successful Jets' conversion would appear to be Bowles' stubbornness.
Bowles comes from the Bill Parcells coaching tree. Of course, Parcells' Giants had the benefit of trotting out big, fast linebackers like Lawrence Taylor and Carl Banks, so the 3-4 made sense.
Lee is a different breed of linebacker. He's smaller, but -- with the usual non-guarantee disclaimer that comes with every NFL draft pick -- he should be able to help address the Jets' weaknesses in coverage and pass-rush speed off the edge.
If he's put in the proper position.
Maccagnan did his part by getting Bowles the talent that could alleviate one of the Jets' biggest headaches. Now it's up to Bowles to develop that talent into a linebacking terror the Jets haven't had since, I don't know, forever.
For a FAN's perspective of the Nets, Jets and the NHL, follow Steve on Twitter at @SteveLichtenst1
