Analytics Indicate Jets Defense Features Two Elite Tandems

The New York Jets' defense is stacked with talent, especially at the linebacker and cornerback positions.

Oct 15, 2023; East Rutherford, NJ; New York Jets linebacker Quincy Williams (56) on the field after defeating the Philadelphia Eagles at MetLife Stadium. / Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports

The New York Jets defense features All-Pro performers at all three levels, so it should be no surprise that two of the unit's position groups achieved elite status from a popular analytics entity.

Pro Football Focus identified the NFL's best "duo" at five different defensive positions and the Jets were the only team to produce honorees at multiple spots. New York's linebacker duo and its three starting cornerbacks were selected as top tandems according to PFF analyst Gordon McGuiness.

Veteran CJ Mosley and Quincy Williams, both of whom carry All-Pro credentials, account for the best linebacker duo. In the secondary, the Jets boast the NFL's top-ranked trio comprised of boundary cornerbacks Sauce Gardner and DJ Reed along with slot corner Michael Carter II.

Baltimore Ravens' starters Kyle Hamilton and Marcus Williams earned top billing as a safeties duo. Dallas Cowboys' gamewreckers Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence claimed the honor at edge rusher. The Detroit Lions are home to the spotlighted interior linemen duo of Alim McNeill and DJ Reader.

Mosley, a grizzled veteran, and Williams, an ascending talent, both exceeded the 100-tackle mark in 2023. After an All-Pro Second Team nod in 2022, the former posted an 82.9 overall PFF grade last season. Williams, who emerged as an All-Pro First Team selection in 2023, graded out at 81.1 overall in the PFF system.

The highly-touted cornerbacks trio enters their third season together as a crew.

Carter was first to arrive on the scene as a 2021 fifth-round draft pick. One year later, the Jets signed Reed to a free-agent contract and subsequently made Gardner the No. 4 overall selection at the 2022 NFL Draft.

The best duos at each defensive position 🔥 pic.twitter.com/4AwSEKncy5

— PFF (@PFF) June 22, 2024

"Continuity, especially on the back end, is so critical. These guys got to know each other strengths, their weaknesses, their shortcomings, their superpowers, their kryptonites, they got to know all that. They also have to know how to communicate at the highest level," said Jets' defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich at the start of OTAs Phase 3. "The fact that we have some continuity, that we've had guys that have been here in the system for multiple years now, it's exciting to think where they could take it."

Gardner, who posted an 88.6 grade, is the headliner, having finished the 2023 as PFF's highest-ranked cornerback. The analytics website notes that the Jets' CB1 is the "only cornerback in the league who has earned a PFF coverage grade above 90.0 over the past two years, having given up a league-best 0.53 yards per coverage snap."

Carter earned the No. 9 overall ranking amongst cornerbacks while Reed landed in the No. 14 slot in PFF's position-by-position analysis.