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One of the biggest holes that new General Manager Mike Maccagnen and new Head Coach Todd Bowles had to fill ahead of this upcoming season for the New York Jets was the secondary. It was one of the worst units in the league under former Head Coach Rex Ryan, where it was mainly comprised of a group of practice squad players. They gave up 30-plus touchdowns through the air and often times looked confused as to what coverage they were supposed to be in.
During free agency, Maccagnen has addressed the cornerback position by bringing back Darrelle Revis from the New England Patriots, Antonio Cromartie from the Arizona Cardinals, and Buster Skrine formerly of the Cleveland Browns. Adding these three players to current players Dee Milliner, Dexter McDougle, Darrin Walls and Phillip Adams, the secondary has become one of the more talented units. The question still remains at the safety position where they added Marcus Gilchrist, who is currently recovering from offseason surgery, to the underwhelming duo of Calvin Pryor and Jaiquawn Jarrett. Jarrett has shown flashes of good play but has not been able to maintain it in order to cement a starting position while Pryor was exposed while adjusting to the pro game throughout his rookie season.
The wildcard in the whole secondary is Antonio Allen who underwent what could only be classified as abuse last season. He was asked to switch from safety to corner which ended up being a disaster and caused him to be on the bench towards the end of the season. Prior to this past season he was an up-and-coming talent at the safety position, finding a niche in covering big, athletic tight ends. In a league where the tight end position is becoming more valuable, having a safety that can shut them down would be a weapon most teams don’t possess. This all hinges on how Coach Bowles plans on using Allen.
If Allen can return to the form that he had toward the end of his second season, then there should be no reason that he shouldn’t get significant play time on the field, if not be the starter over Gilchrist. His ability to cover bigger and stronger athletes will make him a great defensive weapon along with his sure tackling and good hands. So while the Jets front office continues to look for answers at the position, he may already be sitting in the locker room with the last name “Allen” on his Jets jersey.