NY Jets: 5 breakout performers the team should build around

The NY Jets took care of business on Sunday to secure their first victory of the Robert Saleh era. 

An energized MetLife Stadium crowd celebrated a thrilling 27-24 win over Mike Vrabel’s Tennessee Titans, as ex-Jets kicker Randy Bullock’s 49-yarder sailed wide left with 19 seconds left in overtime. 

This game was a significant victory for the franchise because it was a character-building win. Jets fans want to see progress; this was progress. 

The head coach’s defensive impact — with seven sacks on Ryan Tannehill — is unmistakable. But, as planned, Saleh and his defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich are getting a lot out of relatively little.

Most tremendous was Zach Wilson’s flashes of potential greatness. The wild young gunslinger has the rare ability to make throws, unlike few others.

Their play was hardly perfect. Corey Davis fell on Wilson’s interception, Nathan Shepherd had three awful penalties, Sharrod Neasman isn't Marcus Maye. Meanwhile, the offensive line is gelling but still can’t open rushing lanes.

Sunday’s most dominant contributors were holdovers from the Mike Maccagnan 'error' — C.J. Mosley (13 tackles, one sack), Jamison Crowder (7 catches, 61 yards, one TD), and Quinnen Williams (7 tackles, two sacks).

Jets diehards know Joe Douglas acquisitions like Wilson, Davis, John Franklin-Myers, Alijah Vera-Tucker, Elijah Moore, Michael Carter, and Michael Carter II, but there is much more on the horizon.

Here are five rising Jets with Week 4 breakout performances — names you’ll hopefully be hearing in the games and seasons ahead.

1. Bryce Hall, CB, NY Jets

When people say that the Jets’ young defense is ahead of schedule and keeps them in games, they talk about talents like Bryce Hall. 

The Jets may have finally found their lockdown corner. The former Virginia star, a projected first-rounder before a season-ending injury dropped him to Round 5, might be the finest NFLer of Joe Douglas’ 2020 NFL Draft class.

Sure, the Titans were without Julio Jones and A.J. Brown (or defenders Bud Dupree and Caleb Farley).

But Hall did it all, playing all 100 defensive snaps, with physical tackling (five tackles) including two big stops of Derrick Henry, relentless coverage (PFF coverage grade of 74.0), two QB hits, and a big corner blitz sack.

He was targeted nine times and allowed just two catches for 27 yards. “Bryce Hall Island,” anyone?

2. Quincy Williams, LB, NY Jets

To fill in for injured free agent linebacker Jarrad Davis, the Jets signed Quinnen Williams’ older brother off waivers from Jacksonville after the preseason. Within one game, he was their starting linebacker.

Against Tennessee, the 2019 third-rounder out of Murray State gave a brilliant performance, flying all over the field with monster hits, including 12 tackles, two tackles for loss, and his first NFL sack. 

The latter stat made history, with Quincy and Quinnen’s the first sibling with sacks in a game (the NFL made sacks an official stat in 1982; brothers Lee Roy and Dewey Selmon achieved that three times in the late '70s for Tampa Bay).

This game was part of the NFL’s “Crucial Catch: Intercept Cancer” campaign and the brothers dedicated their work to the memory of their mother, Marquischa, who died of breast cancer in 2010.

Williams also saved the Jets' victory in overtime, batting down a Ryan Tannehill downfield laser to one-time Jet Anthony Firkser on the game’s final drive. 

Jarrad Davis will now have to earn his playing time over Quincy. 

3. Javelin Guidry, CB, NY Jets

At the 2020 NFL Combine, the undrafted free agent out of Utah ran the second-fastest 40-yard dash after Henry Ruggs III. 

Guidry got waived after Jets training camp and signed the next day to the practice squad. By the end of the year, he was one of the few bright spots in a miserable Adam Gase season. 

NFL insiders questioned why the team never offered a contract to Brian Poole. But in these first four games, the slot combination of Guidry and rookie Michael Carter II has looked outstanding.

Guidry continues to elevate his game, particularly in terms of field awareness. Against the Titans, Brandin Echols went down early with a concussion, so the former Utah star played 85 percent of the snaps, in all types of coverage schemes.

He was in on many big plays, including a decisive open-field tackle in overtime on Derrick Henry. Saleh and Ulbrich love what they’ve got in Javelin Guidry. 

4. Isaiah Dunn, CB, NY Jets

The franchise’s highest-paid undrafted free agent to date (guaranteed base salary of $160,000 with a $25,000 signing bonus) was a head-scratcher to most. Isaiah Dunn was not even on most draft boards.

The four-year starting cornerback for perennial Pac-12 whipping boys Oregon State recorded 115 total tackles, 18 pass breakups, 1.5 sacks, one forced fumble, and zero career interceptions in college. 

Experts recognized his coverage skills and athleticism — a track star who played football with Najee Harris at Oakland’s Antioch High, but those zero interceptions raised questions of his gridiron instincts.

In the end, his development and potential upside were the biggest reason for coach Saleh jettisoning Blessuan Austin before final cuts.

On Sunday, Dunn made his regular-season debut, only on the field for three snaps — yet he made his presence felt, especially with a pass breakup on a critical third-down late in the fourth quarter.

Expect this coaches’ favorite to work into the cornerback rotation as this season moves forwards.

5. Matt Ammendola, K, NY Jets

The Jets of the recent past made a mockery of the kicking game, cutting five current NFL starting booters (Jason Myers, Nick Folk, Cairo Santos, Randy Bullock, and Chase McLaughlin).

So it was only a matter of time before they got things right.

In the season opener, Matt Ammendola got forced into emergency punting detail when Braden Mann went down with a serious knee injury.

In that game, the first-team academic All-Big 12 recipient in all four of his years at Oklahoma State averaged a stellar 48.5 yards on six punts, with two inside the Carolina 20-yard-line, including a booming 68-yarder.

The former soccer star with little gridiron fanfare — undrafted in 2020 and later cut by Carolina — has been a money placekicker and untouchable on kickoffs.

On Sunday, he made both field goals and three extra points. His only miss this season was a desperation 53-yarder that hit the upright against the Patriots.

Even more impressive, unlike most wiry or stubby kickers, Ammendola looks like a football player, a fully jacked workout warrior.