Why Jamal Adams is the best safety in the NFL-by Matt Byrnes
If you are reading this and you aren't a football fan I would advise you to not continue reading as you will most likely get bored reading this. It is also very long. Like super long. However, if you are a football fan, you will probably find this interesting but will most likely disagree with my argument.
As pretty much everyone knows, I'm a big New York Jets fan. As a fan, I've been through a lot. My interest started at the beginning of the last decade. The Jets were actually good back then. It was 2010. The future looked bright with their defense led by a fiery head coach in Rex Ryan, a future hall of fame cornerback in Darrelle Revis along with a presumed franchise quarterback in Mark Sanchez on the offensive side of the ball. The team was coming off back-to-back AFC championship appearances. However, after 2010, everything fell apart. Sanchez went downhill ever since the butt fumble. There were some solid years where they were just average like in 2013. Some years where they were actually good like in 2015. But most of the time, they were terrible. Now in 2020, the team still isn't that great. I mean they've got another USC QB(Sam Darnold). I believe in Sam. He still has to prove himself though. The only person who's young enough and has proven themselves is safety Jamal Adams. They have Le'Veon Bell at running back and C.J. Mosley at linebacker. They are very very talented players but they are in their late 20's. Jamal, on the other, is 24 years old. He's the reason why I continue to watch the Jets. He's the best safety in the league and that's a pure FACT!
As pretty much everyone knows, I'm a big New York Jets fan. As a fan, I've been through a lot. My interest started at the beginning of the last decade. The Jets were actually good back then. It was 2010. The future looked bright with their defense led by a fiery head coach in Rex Ryan, a future hall of fame cornerback in Darrelle Revis along with a presumed franchise quarterback in Mark Sanchez on the offensive side of the ball. The team was coming off back-to-back AFC championship appearances. However, after 2010, everything fell apart. Sanchez went downhill ever since the butt fumble. There were some solid years where they were just average like in 2013. Some years where they were actually good like in 2015. But most of the time, they were terrible. Now in 2020, the team still isn't that great. I mean they've got another USC QB(Sam Darnold). I believe in Sam. He still has to prove himself though. The only person who's young enough and has proven themselves is safety Jamal Adams. They have Le'Veon Bell at running back and C.J. Mosley at linebacker. They are very very talented players but they are in their late 20's. Jamal, on the other, is 24 years old. He's the reason why I continue to watch the Jets. He's the best safety in the league and that's a pure FACT!
The third-year pro is already a 2x pro bowler, 1x first all-pro, and 1x second-team all-pro(he was robbed of the first team all-pro back in 2018). Adams also has a 1st round pedigree(drafted 6th overall in 2017). Plus, the NFL is in his bloodline. His dad, George Adams, was a running back drafted in the 1st round by the Giants back in 1985. Over the past two years, I've compiled tons of stats to help prove my case. I've separated the stats based on the 2018 season and the 2019 season. I will start with the 2018 season.
Here's just a list of all of the stats I've collected for the 2018 season(when I did this 2 years ago, I, unfortunately, forgot to state the source for most of them):
-Only safety in the NFL to rank top-10 in run-stopping percentage and top-10 in passer rating.
-Allowed a 53.6 passer rating(10th among all safeties).
-Never allowed a TD in coverage all year.
-In the red zone, he ranks 1st among all safeties with a 39.6 passer rating allowed(via ProFootballFocus- aka PFF).
-In the red zone, he ranks 4th among all safeties with a forced incompletion percentage of 37.5%(via PFF).
-Ranks 3rd among all safeties in passes defended with 12.
-From 2017-2018, he ranks 7th among all safeties in passes defended with 18.
-When the Jets were down by 7 points in the 4th quarter, Jamal Adams has allowed 4 catches on 12 targets which equals a 33.3 catch percentage.
-Among all safeties with 30+ targets in coverage, Jamal Adams has allowed the lowest completion percentage among all safeties with 50%(via NFL.com)
-From 2017-2018, Adams ranks 1st among all safeties in third-down stops versus the pass with 21.
-Since 1999, Adams has the most tackles for a loss, forced fumbles, fumble recoveries, and passes defended in their first 2 seasons that totals up to 43.
-Since 1999, among all safeties in their first 2 seasons, Adams ranks 1st in tackles for a loss(18), 1st in QB hits(10), 3rd in sacks(5.5), tied for 6th in forced fumbles(4), tied for 7th in fumble recoveries(3), and 11th in passes defended(18).
-Since 1999, regardless of position, Adams is only one of two defensive players to have 18+ tackles for a loss and 18+ passes defended. The other person is J.J. Watt(a defensive lineman).
-His pressure rate was 28.2% which ranks 3rd among the 19 safeties that have at least 25 pass-rush attempts.
-Adams is the first player in NFL history to have 115+ tackles, 10+ passes defended, 3+ sacks, and 3+ forced fumbles in a season.
-Jamal Adams has the most offensive success stops among safeties with 46(via NFL.com)
-Jamal Adams has the most disruptions among all safeties with 24(via NFL.com)
-His run stopping percentage of 6.8% ranks 2nd among all safeties with a minimum of 50% of snaps played in the 2018 season.
-An all analytic team was made by NFL.com. They had a numeric value created that either adds or subtracts each player's impact on their team's ability to win games for every snap. The analysts from NFL.comlooked at every player's individual contribution metric. The team that they created was made up of the top players according to their contribution metric. Jamal Adams is on that highly touted list and had the best contribution metric among all safeties. (via NFL.com)
If you think that's a lot, you're right. All of the stats I listed show that Jamal Adams can stop the run, stop the pass, rush the QB, and tackle. Now, I would be foolish to just include these stats without context. Stats are meaningless without context. Throughout the whole 2018 season, Adams was playing with a poor team around him. He had no pass rush help. If he actually had pass rush like other safeties in the league, Adams would be universally recognized as the best safety in the league because his play would be even better with a good pass rush. Keep in mind, this is just for the 2018 season. I didn't even get to this past season(2019). The 2019 season shows that Adams isn't a one-trick pony.
Side note: I actually remembered to list all my sources this time when collecting the stats :)
Here are the stats for the 2019 season:
-Over the last 2 seasons, Adams has permitted no better than a 55 percent completion percentage(via Bleacher Report).
-Allowed 2.9 yards after the catch per reception which ranks 1st among all safeties(via Michael Nania).
-Allowed 4.5 yards per target which ranks 2nd among all safeties(via Michael Nania).
-Allowed 0.31 yards per cover snap which ranks 2nd among all safeties(via Michael Nania).
-Allowed 7.5 yards per reception(via Michael Nania).
-Has 6.5 sacks which ranks 1st among all safeties(via NFL.com).
-Accumulated 23 pressures which rank 1st among all safeties and is 10 more than any other safety in the league(via Michael Nania).
-Over the past 2 seasons, Adams has totaled 41 pressures which is two times as much as any other safety in the league(via Michael Nania).
-This is Jamal Adams' second straight year leading the league in pressures(via Michael Nania).
- Jamal has created pressure on the QB on 25.6% of his pass rush attempts for the 2019 season. That is the best among all safeties AND the best among ANY player in the league with 50+ pass-rush attempts. There 353 players from the 2019 season with 50+ pass rushes(via Michael Nania).
-Adams just missed just 3% of his tackle chances which is 2nd among all safeties(via Michael Nania).
-Adams missed only 4 tackles all season. Only 3 more safeties who have played at least 750 snaps have missed fewer(via PFF).
-Adams led all safeties with 10 tackles for a loss(via ProFootballReferance-aka PFR).
-Led all safeties with 44 defensive stops(via PFF).
-Shows extreme versatility by playing 401 snaps in the box, 297 at free safety, 131 at slot cornerback, 34 at boundary cornerback, and even 96 snaps as a legitimate 3-4 edge rusher(via PFF).
-Since 2017, Adams ranks 1st among all safeties in sacks(12), QB hits(14), and QB hurries(27)
As you can see, Jamal checks every box. He clearly can cover, tackle well, be great in run support, and even rush the quarterback. Remember how I said in the 2018 season that Jamal had no help around him? Well, the same thing happened this past season. Again, he has no teammate that consistently rush the passer. Jamal is the Jets' best pass rusher and he's a safety. I mean that's good because it means you have an asset to use when rushing the passer but it's bad the same time because it means you have a lot of work to do as an organization to add more pieces to the team. Having pass rush help is critical. The big knock on Jamal is that he doesn't get many interceptions(2 career picks). A big part to that is that he doesn't a good pass rush. A good pash rush directly correlates to interceptions. When you look around the league, the safeties with a ton of interceptions have a good pass rush from the players around. For example, in 2018, Eddie Jackson on the Bears was tied for the league in picks. The Bears had the best pass rush that year though led by Defensive Player of the Year candidate Khalil Mack. In 2019, Minkah Fitzpatrick on the Steelers had 5 picks. He also had one of the best pass rushes this past year. The Steelers led the league in sacks(54) and 3 players with 1-+ sacks on the year. They were also the only team to have 4 players with 40+ pressures led by Defensive Player of Year candidate T.J. Watt. To further prove my point, Fitzpatrick spent 2 games with Dolphins this past year before getting traded to the Steelers. Based on the 2018 season and the 2 games this past season with the Dolphins, Fitzpatrick wasn't even close to playing at the level of he was with the Steelers. Also, is it just a coincidence that the Dolphins happened to produce one of the worst pass rushes in the past 2 years? I think not.
So let's back to Jamal Adams. The man does pretty much everything at an elite level. We've established that. We've also established that with actual talent around him, he will get even better(mainly a better pass rush from his teammates). I've clearly shown that Jamal Adams is the best safety in the NFL as of right now and it's not even a debate.
Jamal Adams 2019 season highlights
-Only safety in the NFL to rank top-10 in run-stopping percentage and top-10 in passer rating.
-Allowed a 53.6 passer rating(10th among all safeties).
-Never allowed a TD in coverage all year.
-In the red zone, he ranks 1st among all safeties with a 39.6 passer rating allowed(via ProFootballFocus- aka PFF).
-In the red zone, he ranks 4th among all safeties with a forced incompletion percentage of 37.5%(via PFF).
-Ranks 3rd among all safeties in passes defended with 12.
-From 2017-2018, he ranks 7th among all safeties in passes defended with 18.
-When the Jets were down by 7 points in the 4th quarter, Jamal Adams has allowed 4 catches on 12 targets which equals a 33.3 catch percentage.
-Among all safeties with 30+ targets in coverage, Jamal Adams has allowed the lowest completion percentage among all safeties with 50%(via NFL.com)
-From 2017-2018, Adams ranks 1st among all safeties in third-down stops versus the pass with 21.
-Since 1999, Adams has the most tackles for a loss, forced fumbles, fumble recoveries, and passes defended in their first 2 seasons that totals up to 43.
-Since 1999, among all safeties in their first 2 seasons, Adams ranks 1st in tackles for a loss(18), 1st in QB hits(10), 3rd in sacks(5.5), tied for 6th in forced fumbles(4), tied for 7th in fumble recoveries(3), and 11th in passes defended(18).
-Since 1999, regardless of position, Adams is only one of two defensive players to have 18+ tackles for a loss and 18+ passes defended. The other person is J.J. Watt(a defensive lineman).
-His pressure rate was 28.2% which ranks 3rd among the 19 safeties that have at least 25 pass-rush attempts.
-Adams is the first player in NFL history to have 115+ tackles, 10+ passes defended, 3+ sacks, and 3+ forced fumbles in a season.
-Jamal Adams has the most offensive success stops among safeties with 46(via NFL.com)
-Jamal Adams has the most disruptions among all safeties with 24(via NFL.com)
-His run stopping percentage of 6.8% ranks 2nd among all safeties with a minimum of 50% of snaps played in the 2018 season.
-An all analytic team was made by NFL.com. They had a numeric value created that either adds or subtracts each player's impact on their team's ability to win games for every snap. The analysts from NFL.comlooked at every player's individual contribution metric. The team that they created was made up of the top players according to their contribution metric. Jamal Adams is on that highly touted list and had the best contribution metric among all safeties. (via NFL.com)
If you think that's a lot, you're right. All of the stats I listed show that Jamal Adams can stop the run, stop the pass, rush the QB, and tackle. Now, I would be foolish to just include these stats without context. Stats are meaningless without context. Throughout the whole 2018 season, Adams was playing with a poor team around him. He had no pass rush help. If he actually had pass rush like other safeties in the league, Adams would be universally recognized as the best safety in the league because his play would be even better with a good pass rush. Keep in mind, this is just for the 2018 season. I didn't even get to this past season(2019). The 2019 season shows that Adams isn't a one-trick pony.
Side note: I actually remembered to list all my sources this time when collecting the stats :)
Here are the stats for the 2019 season:
-Over the last 2 seasons, Adams has permitted no better than a 55 percent completion percentage(via Bleacher Report).
-Allowed 2.9 yards after the catch per reception which ranks 1st among all safeties(via Michael Nania).
-Allowed 4.5 yards per target which ranks 2nd among all safeties(via Michael Nania).
-Allowed 0.31 yards per cover snap which ranks 2nd among all safeties(via Michael Nania).
-Allowed 7.5 yards per reception(via Michael Nania).
-Has 6.5 sacks which ranks 1st among all safeties(via NFL.com).
-Accumulated 23 pressures which rank 1st among all safeties and is 10 more than any other safety in the league(via Michael Nania).
-Over the past 2 seasons, Adams has totaled 41 pressures which is two times as much as any other safety in the league(via Michael Nania).
-This is Jamal Adams' second straight year leading the league in pressures(via Michael Nania).
- Jamal has created pressure on the QB on 25.6% of his pass rush attempts for the 2019 season. That is the best among all safeties AND the best among ANY player in the league with 50+ pass-rush attempts. There 353 players from the 2019 season with 50+ pass rushes(via Michael Nania).
-Adams just missed just 3% of his tackle chances which is 2nd among all safeties(via Michael Nania).
-Adams missed only 4 tackles all season. Only 3 more safeties who have played at least 750 snaps have missed fewer(via PFF).
-Adams led all safeties with 10 tackles for a loss(via ProFootballReferance-aka PFR).
-Led all safeties with 44 defensive stops(via PFF).
-Shows extreme versatility by playing 401 snaps in the box, 297 at free safety, 131 at slot cornerback, 34 at boundary cornerback, and even 96 snaps as a legitimate 3-4 edge rusher(via PFF).
-Since 2017, Adams ranks 1st among all safeties in sacks(12), QB hits(14), and QB hurries(27)
As you can see, Jamal checks every box. He clearly can cover, tackle well, be great in run support, and even rush the quarterback. Remember how I said in the 2018 season that Jamal had no help around him? Well, the same thing happened this past season. Again, he has no teammate that consistently rush the passer. Jamal is the Jets' best pass rusher and he's a safety. I mean that's good because it means you have an asset to use when rushing the passer but it's bad the same time because it means you have a lot of work to do as an organization to add more pieces to the team. Having pass rush help is critical. The big knock on Jamal is that he doesn't get many interceptions(2 career picks). A big part to that is that he doesn't a good pass rush. A good pash rush directly correlates to interceptions. When you look around the league, the safeties with a ton of interceptions have a good pass rush from the players around. For example, in 2018, Eddie Jackson on the Bears was tied for the league in picks. The Bears had the best pass rush that year though led by Defensive Player of the Year candidate Khalil Mack. In 2019, Minkah Fitzpatrick on the Steelers had 5 picks. He also had one of the best pass rushes this past year. The Steelers led the league in sacks(54) and 3 players with 1-+ sacks on the year. They were also the only team to have 4 players with 40+ pressures led by Defensive Player of Year candidate T.J. Watt. To further prove my point, Fitzpatrick spent 2 games with Dolphins this past year before getting traded to the Steelers. Based on the 2018 season and the 2 games this past season with the Dolphins, Fitzpatrick wasn't even close to playing at the level of he was with the Steelers. Also, is it just a coincidence that the Dolphins happened to produce one of the worst pass rushes in the past 2 years? I think not.
So let's back to Jamal Adams. The man does pretty much everything at an elite level. We've established that. We've also established that with actual talent around him, he will get even better(mainly a better pass rush from his teammates). I've clearly shown that Jamal Adams is the best safety in the NFL as of right now and it's not even a debate.
Jamal Adams 2019 season highlights
You've compiled a very thorough argument!
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