Are the Jets’ Big 3 the best in the NFL?
Darrelle Revis, Muhammad Wilkerson and Sheldon Richardson make up the Jets’ Big 3. Where do they rank in the NFL?
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Bill Barnwell ranks NFL defensive triplets all 32 teams – Seattle Seahawks, Denver Broncos top list Which trio is better: Thomas, Bennett and Sherman, or Miller, Ware and Harris? Bill Barnwell ranks all 32 teams’ sets of defensive triplets, with the Seahawks and Broncos leading the pack. |
| Source: espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/16392514/bill-barnwell-ranks-nfl-defensive-triplets-all-32-teams-seattle-seahawks-denver-broncos-top-list | |
Seahawks. Broncos. Panthers. Cardinals. These are the teams that are rated higher than the New York Jets that have their 3 best defensive players on their team. This is the correct slot based on player and team comparisons. Revis is an aging cornerback who let young and speedy receivers get the better of him in 2015. Who could forget how Sammy Watkins of the Buffalo Bills blew past him countless times with his acceleration in the critical final game that was necessary to make the playoffs? Darrelle is still a very good top 10 CB but he is no longer the dominant cover corner that he was in years past and is now a liability.
Wilkerson is the defensive star of this team and ranks behind Houston Texans’ J.J. Watt as the best defensive end in the league. His breakup of plays against the pass and run made his peers take notice and vote him as # 39 on the “Top 100 Players of 2016” list. His 12 sacks and 64 tackles helped him make the Pro Bowl and is one of the reasons offensive coordinators gameplan for him.
Richardson is another playmaker on this team and only Aaron Donald of the Los Angeles ( formerly St. Louis ) Rams is a better defensive tackle than him. Sheldon breaks through the trenches with his strength and gets in the faces of opposing quarterbacks. Playing as DE, DT and coverage linebacker last year shows how versatile he is and how his talent allows him to play multiple positions. Richardson getting behind the line of scrimmage was one of the reasons the Jets were in the top 5 against the run last season.
These triplets are not as good as the ones on the 4 teams ranked ahead of them. Arizona’s Peterson and Chandler Jones, Carolina’s Kuechly, Davis and Short, Denver’s Miller and Ware and Seattle’s Sherman, Thomas and Bennett are better units than the ones on Gang Green. Revis’ Island is declining, Wilkerson is coming off a major leg injury and Richardson has been suspended by the NFL for the 1st game of the 2016 season. Add in the fact that Muhammad has not resigned with the Jets and already there are doubts involving these 3 players. With all these question marks, it is easy to see why the Cardinals, Panthers, Broncos and Seahawks are a notch above them. Revis, Wilkerson and Richardson have health concerns and are just not as dominant a unit as the ones above them.
