The Jets may yet again go home without a playoff berth, but they’re nevertheless going big.
The plan for the offseason included focusing on size.
“It’s a big man’s game — it will always be a big man’s game — and for us to be able to add large men that have the ability that those guys have, the agility that those guys have, it only makes us better as a team,” coach Aaron Glenn said regarding the effort to prioritize getting bigger players on defense.
Two names stand out. Linebacker Demario Davis, signed in free agency from the Saints, weighs 248 pounds. That’s 32 pounds more than last year’s middle linebacker Jamien Sherwood. (Sherwood has been moved to the weak side.)
Then there’s T’Vondre Sweat. The trade that brought him to New York meant adding a 366-pound defensive tackle. It gives them at least five defensive linemen that stress the scale with at least three spins.
As Jets defensive line coach Karl Dunbar eloquently put it this week, “I remember my coach telling me back in the day: Big men are like big women, there’s not a lot of them and everybody wants them.”
Glenn’s preference to go large traces to his connection to Bill Parcells. The Hall of Fame coach always made size a priority when gathering players.
And it’s not just on the defensive side of the ball. Running back Braelon Allen, who weighed 240 pounds a year ago, has added 10 more, making him one of the largest running backs in the NFL.
While it may not make them better, the Jets will definitely be bigger.
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