Jets 2023 Position Breakdown: Will Jordan Whitehead and Chuck Clark form a good safety tandem?
Heading into the 2023 season, the Jets have made a series of moves to improve the state of their roster and overall depth, but are they ready to compete for a playoff spot?
In this series, we’ll break down the depth chart for every position group. This time, we’ll go in-depth on the safeties…
Projected depth chart
Starters: Jordan Whitehead, Chuck Clark
Backups: Tony Adams, Ashtyn Davis, Will Parks
Key additions/losses: Acquired Clark via trade, opted not to re-sign Lamarcus Joyner
Top Performer in 2022: Whitehead 89 tackles, eight pass breakups, four tackles for loss, two interceptions.
2022 ranking via PFF: Whitehead 50th (out of 96 qualifiers at safety).
What Jets’ safeties have going for them
Whitehead started every game for the Jets last season and made good contributions to a much-improved run defense. He also made some plays in coverage, including two interceptions, but did have a few costly mistakes, including his missed tackle on Tyler Boyd that led to a crucial Bengals touchdown in Week 3.
Clark was an interesting pick-up and could prove to be a bargain. He’s been a solid starter for a good Ravens defense over the past few years but became surplus to requirements when Baltimore signed Marcus Williams to a big-money deal and then drafted Kyle Hamilton in the first round.
Adams, Davis and Parks all bring athleticism and versatility to the bench. Parks and Adams started four games between them last season and although Davis didn't play much in 2022, he had started 16 in the previous two seasons.
Key concern for 2023: The deep middle
Clark and Whitehead give the Jets a reliable starting tandem, but both are known more for their abilities in the box than ranging in coverage. The Jets could therefore opt to employ one of their reserves in that role in certain situations this season rather than play Clark or Whitehead out of position in key moments.
One possibility is that they will operate some three-safety sets which will enable both Clark and Whitehead to play closer to the line of scrimmage while someone like Adams enters the game to range deeper.
Last year’s starter at the deep safety position, Joyner, was not retained despite leading the team with three interceptions.
Player who must step up in 2023: Davis
Davis was a third-round pick back in 2020 and is now entering the final season of his rookie deal. The team will create some cap space if it lets him go, so he’ll have to impress during camp and preseason to earn a roster spot.
It looked likely that the team would part ways with Davis last season, but he was surprisingly retained over Jason Pinnock despite being behind him on the depth chart all summer. Head coach Robert Saleh said that the Jets had a plan for Davis, but he played only 13 defensive snaps all year.
Biggest camp battle: Trey Dean III vs. Marquis Waters vs. Jarrick Bernard-Converse vs. Derrick Langford
As things stand, there could be room at the bottom end of the roster for a rookie to make the team. As usual, any contributions they could make on special teams could be a major factor in their roster chances.
The Jets drafted Bernard-Converse in the sixth round and added three undrafted rookie defensive backs to the mix after the draft. Although Bernard-Converse and Langford are listed as cornerbacks, they have some experience at safety, so they could factor into the mix at this position. Dean and Waters, who each received $100K guaranteed in their contract, could ultimately be candidates to convert to linebacker.
Adams, who also played both cornerback and safety in college, made the roster as an undrafted free agent last year and saw his role increase toward the end of the year, so that will be the goal for this year’s rookies.
Overall 2023 outlook
The Jets have a solid group with Clark’s reputation as a good communicator being something that will hopefully have a positive impact. At the same time, some fans have identified this area as a potential weakness and may have some concern that the Jets lack the depth and impact players at this position that they are able to enjoy at other spots. The safeties might not make many headlines during the season and it might end up being one of those situations where if people aren’t talking about them, that’s a good thing.
The longer-term outlook is less certain with Clark, Whitehead, Parks and Davis all free agents at the end of the season. The Jets would probably like at least one person from outside that group to step up as a viable low-cost option for 2024 and beyond.
