Buffalo Bills
Stephon Gilmore, CB: Get ready for Gilmore to join the elite group of cornerbacks in 2015. Health has held him back these past couple of years, but if he can stay injury free then he is in for a huge year. Gilmore has the size, athleticism and ball skills to join the upper tier of cornerbacks, and he is in a terrific position with Buffalo to do just that. Rex Ryan has had a lot of success with defenses in general, and he often relies on great cornerbacks (Revis and Cromartie) to anchor his defenses. Ryan will be able to get the most out of Gilmore, and the Bills have arguably the best front 4 in all of football (between them and St. Louis) to aid Gilmore even more. I'm predicting a big jump from Gilmore, and for him to have 5 interceptions by seasons end.
Miami Dolphins
Jelani Jenkins, OLB: Jenkins has games where he is the best player on the field. He can be a tackling machine that plays all over the field. The problem is that there are games where he is very quiet and has such a small impact on the field. I'm going to bet on the former becoming more of a regular appearance in 2015. Jenkins is very good in coverage, and he also looked solid as a pass rusher too. Where he struggled at times was against the run, but lucky for him the Dolphins invested in Ndamukong Suh to beef up their D-line. This should give Jenkins more space to operate, and allow him to use his athleticism to flourish. I'm predicting Jelani Jenkins to have 135 combined tackles, with 3 interceptions and 4 sacks.
New England Patriots
Dominique Easley, DT: Easley is another year removed from his ACL tear, and should be in line to play a lot of snaps for New England. Alan Branch and Sealver Siliga are not good starters to have, and the Patriots have two very talented young players in Easley and Malcolm Brown waiting to replace them. Since I don't mention rookies as breakout candidates, I won't talk about Malcolm Brown, but Easley is a talented interior pass rusher and penetrator, and can be a key cog in a talented Patriots front seven. New England will rely on him to step up because they lost Vince Wilfork in the middle, and need another threat in between their ends. Even though he won't play nose tackle like Wilfork, he can eat up space in the middle to give the Pats linebackers space to work their magic. What's working against him is his health. He has torn both of his ACL's in his career but if he can stay healthy I'm predicting 4 sacks, and for him to be an impact run stuffer too.
New York Jets
Calvin Pryor, SS: What better way to retool a struggling secondary then by signing Darrelle Revis, Antonio Cromartie and Buster Skrine. They also have an incredible defensive line to support their secondary. This puts Calvin Pryor in a perfect position to do what he does best, hit hard, make plays and strike fear into opponents. Todd Bowles has a better Deone Buchanon to use in Calvin Pryor, and with a substantially better secondary, this allows Bowles to play Pryor to his strengths. He had a solid rookie season, but at times he struggled with consistency and went through expected rookie struggles. If he can fix a few technical issues, he could turn into a terrific safety. This kid is a flat out playmaker and he should begin to realize his potential next season. I'm predicting 80 total tackles, 3 interceptions, 1.5 sacks and a handful of bone crushing hits.
No comments:
Post a Comment