John Franklin-Myers is well-known to New York Jets fans. The under-the-radar pickup on waivers from 2019 has slowly emerged as a serious threat on the team’s defensive line.
In fact, Franklin-Myers and former top draft pick Quinnen Williams tied for the Jets’ lead in sacks in 2021 with six. But somehow, Franklin-Myers appeared on a curious list from Bleacher Report.
B/R named a “best-kept secret” for every NFL team. The selection for Gang Green was Franklin-Myers.
Because of Franklin-Myers’ successes, it’s an interesting pick. There might’ve been a few others more worthy of such a nod.
Such possibilities include safety Lamarcus Joyner, who has a good look at starting New York’s completely revamped secondary. Another is receiver Braxton Berrios, who broke out toward the end of last season but is still behind the likes of rookie Garrett Wilson, Corey Davis and Elijah Moore on the depth chart.
Still, let’s give B/R a chance to explain. Check out their breakdown below:
It might seem odd to call a player that tied for his team lead in sacks and led his squad in pressures and quarterback hits a “secret.” But despite that career year, John Franklin-Myers of the New Jets is probably the least well known of the four starters on a front that (on paper at least) looks pretty formidable in 2022.
Myers tallied six sacks, 14 hits and 43 pressures in 2021, but per Caroline Hendershot of the team’s website, the fourth-year veteran feels like he can do much better in the final season of his rookie contract.
“Everybody wants to talk about how well I did and how I had a career year, but there’s so much meat left on the bone in the sense that I could’ve had 10 sacks,” he said. “I could have done more, and at the end of the day, hindsight is 20/20, but it is just something I look forward to next season. Something I can get better at is running to the ball. I can get better at playing consistent during that five-game stretch that I didn’t have a sack in. Those are things I beat myself up about in the offseason and I think it’s important to.”
With a healthy Carl Lawson, rookie Jermaine Johnson and veteran Vinny Curry outside and Quinnen Williams and Solomon Thomas on the interior, the Jets are both deep and talented along the defensive line. That should mean Franklin-Myers (who can play end and tackle) seeing lots of single blocks.
That 10-sack season Franklin-Myers spoke of may just be achievable after all.
