Aaron

Maybin

Looking for depth at defensive end, Tennessee also worked out former Panthers second-rounder Everette Brown, journeyman Alex Hall, former Ravens defensive lineman Lamar Divens, and former Chargers OLB Antwan Applewhite.

Don’t write off Maybin as a bust just yet. He was flying around the field last night, violently stripping at the ball. “I love the way he runs all over the place,” coach Rex Ryan said. “He has a relentless motor and he’s always thinking about getting those takeaways. ... Eventually, he’s going to learn our whole defense and that’s really going to be exciting.”

Maybin’s inability to keep weight on was the root of his undoing in Buffalo. He says he’s already added six pounds since the beginning of Jets OTAs, and thinks he could be more than a passing-down specialist if he keeps his weight up. “I’m just trying to make sure that through this offseason, our coaching staff sees exactly what I see,” Maybin said. “And that they’re confident putting me out there on first and second down.”

Maybin was the Jets’ most effective per-play pass rusher last season, racking up six sacks and 16 QB pressures in 239 snaps. The team will hold off on a long-term contract until Maybin proves capable of a bigger role.

Maybin is trying to lock down a role in the team’s base package. He’s penciled in currently as the Jets’ No. 3 outside linebacker, but projected starter Bryan Thomas is recovering from a torn Achilles’. While Thomas is an established veteran, we wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if Maybin beat him out in camp.

Maybin often struggled to keep weight on as a Bill. He intends to play closer to 250 during the regular season, but this is a good start. The Jets did not emerge from the draft with an edge-rushing outside linebacker, so Maybin should be given a legitimate shot on the weak side, across from LOLB Calvin Pace.

Rather, Maybin signed a “separate deal with up front bonus money.” He’ll make a base salary of $615,000. The bonus is likely a mechanism for the Jets to spread the rest of Maybin’s cap hit across more than one season.

Maybin was never going to end up elsewhere after being tendered at the first-round level. Maybin was the Jets’ most effective per-play pass rusher last season, notching six sacks and four forced fumbles in 239 snaps. Still just 24, the former first-round bust could position himself for a multi-year deal if he takes another step forward in 2012.

Used sparingly but as a situational pass rusher, Maybin has also forced three fumbles in eight games with the Jets. Extrapolated over a full season, Maybin would be on pace for double-digit sacks and six fumbles forced. Pro Football Focus has also graded out Maybin as a consistent pass-rushing force during his time with the Jets. He’s averaging about 18 snaps per game.

“I don’t think there’s any doubt,” Ryan said Friday of the Jets’ 2011 sacks leader. Maybin was limited to situational pass-rushing duties last season, but estimates he’s been added to “eight or nine more defensive packages” in camp. He’s also up to 245 pounds after reporting to camp at 228 last season and playing at 240. Maybin’s “bust” label is fading further into the past.