New York Jets DB Named One of NFL's Most Underrated Players

The New York Jets have plenty of superstar talent, but might have some underrated heroes as well.

Dylan Sanders | May 18, 2024

Dec 3, 2023; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA / Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports

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New York Jets

The New York Jets have an All-Star roster full of at least one future Hall of Famer and a lot of combined All-Pros, but there still might be some unsung talent as well.

As Pro Football Focus' Zoltan Buday searched for the league's most underrated players, he landed on cornerback DJ Reed for the Jets.

Reed is entering his seventh season in the NFL and his third as a starter for New York. Last year, he had one interception to go along with a top-five finish in tackles.

There are multiple reasons that he might be overlooked, despite his consistent quality play. He's small for a boundary corner and is paired with possibly the best cornerback in football across from him.

But, despite being 5-foot-9, he doesn't allow catches easily. He finished with a 61.4% catch rate allowed, which is similar to that of more high profile corners like Rasul Douglas and Tariq Woolen.

Most of the attention on the defense goes to Sauce Gardner, and for good reason, but the other cornerbacks deserve some extra shine as well.

If the answer to this question wasn't Reed, it would be nickel corner Michael Carter II.

Carter is entering his fourth season as the team's slot corner and is coming off of his best season yet. The former Duke Blue Devil finished with the best catch rate allowed on the team, at 56.1%.

Some might look past the secondary of the Jets because they don't force a lot of turnovers, but they're one of the best units in the entire league.

As a whole, they finished with the third-least yards allowed per game. The secondary played a large role in that, finishing in second place across the league allowing just 168.3 yards through the air per contest.

They will have plenty of chances to prove themselves this season with maybe too many primetime games thanks to the draw that Aaron Rodgers brings.

Published May 18, 2024

DYLAN SANDERS

Dylan Sanders graduated from Louisiana State University with a degree from the Manship School of Mass Communication in 2023. He was born in raised in Baton Rouge, LA but has also lived in Buffalo, NY. Though he is a recent graduate, he has been writing about sports since he was in high school, covering different sports from baseball to football. While in college, he wrote for the school paper The Reveille and for 247Sports. He was able cover championships in football, baseball and women's basketball during his time at LSU. He has also spent a few years covering the NFL draft and every day activities of the New Orleans Saints. He is a Senior Writer at Inside the Marlins and will also be found across Sports Illustrated's baseball sites as a contributing writer. You can follow him on Twitter or Instagram @dillysanders