While the excitement of New York Jets fans with the arrival of rookie quarterback Sam Darnold is palpable at this point, Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News says it’s last year’s top pick, safety Jamal Adams, who is going to be turning heads in 2018.
“He has all the tools to be a consistent difference-maker” says Mehta. Adams’ “confidence is pure and his passion is genuine”. A player whose leadership was highly touted out of LSU, in his piece, Mehta says not to expect a sophomore slump from one of the team’s unquestioned leaders.
With all of the talking Adams has been doing this off-season, he’d better hope Mehta is right, because while he did do some impressive things as a rookie, Adams was far from perfect.
According to Pro Football Focus, Adams gave up six touchdowns in coverage last season, but did an outstanding job in the box, leading all safeties in run stops.
His stellar play against the run is positive, but as the sixth overall pick, the Jets and their fans are expecting Adams to become a high-level player in every facet of the game.
Is that in the cards this season? Mehta certainly seems to think so.