The Jets open up training camp this week and there are multiple players who are in need of a bounce-back season under a new regime.
With everything that has gone down this offseason between new uniforms, a head coach and general manager change and signing two-star players to lucrative deals, the new-look Jets will be playing meaningful football for the first time starting this week.
With that, let’s take a look at four key players who need to exceed expectations between now and September.
CB Trumaine Johnson
Trumaine Johnson enters 2019 training camp with new blood.
He has a familiar face at defensive coordinator in Gregg Williams, who was key in helping Johnson land such a lucrative deal. In 2018, Johnson was anything but the shutdown cornerback he was paid to be. He was injured for parts of the season and his insubordinate behavior caused him to be deactivated late in the season.
While the expensive price tag can be placed on the previous regime, his play can no longer be. Johnson needs to inspire confidence with his play in training camp. His struggles in 2018 cannot be replicated this season if New York has any plans of contending. With the Jets already thin at cornerback and planning to have Darryl Roberts as their No. 2, Johnson needs to prove in camp that he still can be that lockdown cornerback the Jets paid him to be.
DL Leonard Williams
Leonard Williams could be entering his final training camp with the New York Jets when he reports on Wednesday.
Williams has been a reliable commodity on the \defensive front, but he has yet to live up to the hype of a top-10 pick. While it is expected that Williams will take a jump in a new defense, he has to actually prove that he’s capable of playing at a higher level this summer.
With a huge payday on the line, all eyes are on Williams to make the most out of a contract year.
C Jonotthan Harrison
Jonotthan Harrison enters training camp as the Jets de facto starter at center.
He didn’t earn the job from his play in 2018, although he held his own. Instead, he’s merely a product of the previous regime ignoring the position during the draft and free agency.
For better or worse, Harrison is the starting center right now. In camp, he will have the pressure of being a starter on his shoulders, a title he has not yet had in his NFL career.
Harrison’s ability to work with Sam Darnold will be key to the offense’s success in 2019 and the building of that relationship starts in camp.
TE Trevon Wesco
It may not be fair to put any type of expectations on a rookie, but the suspension of Chris Herndon means that Trevon Wesco is going to have to grow up fast.
Wesco is already an established blocker, but in order to exceed expectations this summer, he’s going to need to prove himself as a pass-catcher. Signing Ryan Griffin on Monday helps take some of the weight off of Wesco’s shoulders, but Griffin, 27, has failed to be a reliable option as a pass-catcher over the course of his career.
