Heading into the 2022 season, it was fairly obvious that the Jets’ biggest defensive weakness was up the middle.
Exiting the season, it’s even clearer that, of that general weakness, the biggest hole in the defense was and is the safety position.
Joe Douglas took a “plug and pray” approach to safety prior to the season. Knowing that he had too many holes to possibly fill in one offseason, he chose to prioritize some and try to hide others. Robert Saleh clearly decided that safety was a position he could mask with elite corner play and a strong pass rush.