On Thursday, an MRI confirmed the disheartening news that the Jets will be without defensive end Carl Lawson for the 2021 season due to a ruptured Achilles tendon. Lawson, who was the Jets’ big-name defensive addition this offseason and the source of so much optimism due to his performances in camp, suffered the injury in the second joint practice with the Packers.
Clearly the loss of Lawson creates a big hole in their lineup and also causes concern for the years ahead as such an injury can affect the explosiveness of a player like Lawson in the long term. The Jets immediate priority, however, will be to regroup and decide how this changes their plans for the season ahead.
The Jets actually have pretty good depth at the position, with Robert Saleh having previously stated that his intention is to always have eight defensive linemen active and give all of them reps to keep them fresh. However, removing the best player from the group moves everyone up a spot and suddenly that depth doesn’t look quite so impressive, especially since Saleh had already confirmed that the team expects to be without Vinny Curry on opening day.
At this stage of the offseason, anyone on the open market is probably going to have injury or off-field issues or will be considered washed up. The Jets could be linked with uninspiring names such as Olivier Vernon, Everson Griffin or Adrian Clayborn, but none of these would excite a fanbase that was so looking forward to seeing Lawson make an impact. Exploring a trade for someone like Chandler Jones is not impossible, but the Jets are probably not close enough to being contenders that giving up assets for a player in his 30s would make sense.
Saleh dealt with something similar last season, as the 49ers lost Nick Bosa in Week 2. Instead of bringing in a replacement, they simply elevated Kerry Hyder to the starting lineup and, while he was never going to make up for the loss of Bosa, he racked up a career-high 8.5 sacks. It seems likely the Jets will adopt a similar approach, giving opportunities to their youngsters and hoping someone steps up and makes the role their own.
Three young Jets might now get a chance to step up in that weakside rusher role. Bryce Huff was the first defensive end off the bench in the preseason opener and responded with two sacks, including one with the starters still on the field, so he might be the best bet. Undrafted rookie Hamilcar Rashed had 1.5 sacks in the opener and 13 sacks for Oregon State in 2019, so he could be an outside bet to step up. 2020’s third round pick Jabari Zuniga has been a disappointment so far, though.
The strong side starter looked set to be John Franklin-Myers anyway and that’s unlikely to change, although he may now be viewed as the team’s top threat to generate constant pressure which could see teams scheming up ways to slow him down. In the preseason opener, the Jets also employed Franklin-Myers as an interior pass rusher in one personnel grouping, but perhaps being a man down in the defensive end rotation will mean he’s more of a full-time end than was planned.
The Jets still have Curry and Kyle Phillips to return from injury, although Phillips could be sidelined until midseason if he starts off the season on the PUP list. Curry might have played across from Lawson in some pass rushing packages but perhaps will now come off the weakside since there are reps available at that spot. Ronald Blair – a Saleh favorite – is another reliable veteran who will be expected to provide steady production in whatever role the Jets give him.
The Jets would have been relying on Lawson to win his one-on-one matchups on a regular basis so they can generate constant pressure without blitzing. Lawson led the NFL in quarterback knockdowns in 2020, so if his replacements can’t generate the same level of pressure, that will hardly be surprising. If that’s the case, then maybe Saleh will dial up more blitzes with inside linebacker Jarrad Davis historically having been productive when used in that fashion.
In either case – whether there is less pressure being generated or less players in coverage because the Jets blitz more – this will put added pressure on the cornerbacks. Losing Lawson may therefore actually cause Saleh to back away from his previous stance that his inexperienced starters will be able to hold their own due to the pressure being created up front and so it could be at this position where suddenly upgrades are necessary.