Who has early lead at cornerback?

For the New York Jets, one of the most intriguing roster battles is the one happening at the cornerback spot. Here’s a breakdown on who has the lead thus far.

On Friday, New York Jets’ team reporter, Eric Allen, joined Bud and the Manchild on ESPN Radio to talk about their cornerback battle. The Jets didn’t have the same amount of cap space they had last year, so they had to have a different strategy.

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A strategy that required the Jets to make some tough decisions, which included releasing veteran Antonio Cromartie. With that release new opportunities arise, which leads to one of the most interesting position battles on the Jets’ 2016 roster.

While there is a multitude of options for the Jets, Allen had an interesting pulse on the cornerback position battle. Buster Skrine? Marcus Williams perhaps? No, the x-factor to watch out for is Dee Milliner? That’s who EA thinks is the player to watch throughout training camp.

Which is music to Jets fans ears around the globe, because the team invested a top-10 pick in Milliner and would like nothing better than for him to finally realize his limitless potential. Again, talent was never the question for Milliner, it has always been about his health.

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In mandatory mini-camp, head coach Todd Bowles spoke about the fact that Milliner is finally healthy and he’s hoping he continues to stay that way.

Here’s what he said, courtesy of Media Relations Department of the Jets:

On Dee Milliner’s first team reps and progress…

Well the big thing is he’s healthy and the more reps he gets the better. And I guess his confidence will grow because he hasn’t played in a while. So I’m hoping that continues once training camp starts.

The Jets declined his fifth-year option, which means Milliner is set to be a free agent after the 2016 season. So on top of the injuries, Milliner has plenty of chips on his shoulder.

While he’s the guy to look out for, the Jets also have the versatile Skrine, who is one of the better inside slot corners in the NFL. There’s also Williams, the former undrafted free agent, who registered six interceptions for the Jets last season.

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So from what EA had to say, it’ll be Skrine’s job to lose at the start of training camp at the end of July. But if Milliner can build off of a strong showing from earlier in the offseason, he could take the reins opposite of Darrelle Revis this upcoming season.