The Jets finished tied for sixth in sacks last season with 45 and are essentially banking on the same cast of outside linebackers again for 2015. They passed on Clemson edge rusher Vic Beasley at No. 6 overall in April’s draft, instead opting to bolster the defensive line with Leonard Williams.
Gang Green may have to rely on a pair of long-in-the-tooth veterans to generate heat off the edge once again this season. Calvin Pace will turn 35 in October. Jason Babin already turned 35 earlier in the offseason. But the coaching staff believes “there’s plenty of football left” in each of their bodies.
That’s not to say both Pace and Babin are guaranteed to make the 53-man roster. The Jets hope to get a lot more out of 2012 first-rounder Quinton Coples, who has mostly been a disappointment to this point in his short career. Mauldin is trying to make the switch from college defensive end. The pressure on this group is even further ratcheted up following defensive end Sheldon Richardson’s four-game suspension.
