Scouting Jamal Adams
Yesterday, the Jets selected LSU safety Jamal Adams with the sixth pick in the 2017 NFL Draft.
Adams is 6'0" and 214 pounds and was a two-year starter at LSU. He was a second-team all-American last season in his junior year before opting to enter the draft early.
Background
After attending high school in Texas, Adams was a five-star recruit to LSU. He started two games in his freshman year, but still racked up 66 tackles. Over the next two seasons, he was the full-time starter, earning second-team all-SEC honors as a sophomore and first-team honors as well as being a second team all-American as a junior.
Over the course of his three year career, Adams recorded 209 tackles, including 18 for loss. He added five interceptions, 14 passes defensed, two sacks, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries.
Measurables
At the combine, Adams posted workout numbers that were good but not great.
However, he turned heads at his pro day when his 40-yard dash was unofficially recorded at a blazing 4.33. According to reports, teams had clocked him at between 4.40 and 4.45, which was a more modest improvement, but still significant.
Adams' agility and strength numbers were good, but his explosiveness numbers were let down by a poor vertical leap.
Usage
At LSU, Adams usage would change from week to week and sometimes over the course of a game. This image, from ProFootballFocus sums up how he was used last season:
That arguably doesn't tell the whole story though, because against certain opponents he would play deep most of the time, whereas against others he might be required to play more in the box or have a specific match-up on passing downs. At other times, his role would vary from series to series.
It was actually difficult to chart his position in some games because he did a lot of moving around before the snap, obviously as part of an effort to distract or confuse the offense.
Run defense
Adams was a productive tackler throughout his career and would regularly come up into the box to help out in run support.
One thing that is immediately apparent is how consistently disciplined he is. Adams stays in his lane, rarely loses contain and plays consistently sound assignment-based football. After some of the defensive execution last year, this could be exactly the type of player the Jets needed to find.
Tackling
Missed tackles have been a minor area of concern for Adams, but his consistency improved last season and he improved his tackle efficiency to the point where he was missing less than one tackle in every 11 attempts, a perfectly acceptable number for such a productive player.
Technically, his footwork when approaching a ball carrier and breaking down in space is flawless. You can tell he has worked hard at refining his fundamentals and trusts them in game action, which is rare for someone so young.
In space, Adams does an excellent job of not over-committing himself and breaking down in front of the ball carrier to line him up and make the tackle. Here's an example of him doing this, which also showcases his range and a good pursuit angle:
In executing the tackle itself, Adams has good reach so he is usually able to make a solid form tackle. In open space, he does sometimes have a tendency to go low to bring down bigger players. Against more athletic NFL-level players, that could make him susceptible to being hurdled, but that didn't seem to be an issue in college, so maybe he picked his spots.
This was one of the worst missed tackles he had, but he is initially in coverage and then fails to get the runner squared up as he reacts to the scramble, making him susceptible to the open field juke. This was from a 2015 game and was something that was less likely to happen in 2016:
Because he always stays in his lane, most of the time when Adams did miss a tackle, there weren't many extra yards given up. On this play, he was hit with a missed tackle, but the bigger problem was that the other safety overran the play, preventing Adams from being able to pursue outside and forcing him to make a diving attempt with limited support outside him:
On this short yardage play, Adams made a good read, got to the ball carrier quickly and angled his pursuit so there was no chance for the runner to bounce outside for a big play. He almost stopped the runner short, but allowed him to squeeze past him to the marker:
In terms of hitting, there are a few big hits on his highlight reel, but I didn't see much of that side of him in all the game footage I watched. As noted, he did force two fumbles in college.
Coverage skills
In some places, Adams seems to have a reputation as a box safety, but he was employed in coverage a lot and played deep or in man-to-man match-ups as you can see from the previous graphic. So how did he fare?
There was a definite positive trend in terms of his numbers, with the completion percentage when he was targeted dropping from 66% over the first two seasons to 50% last year. He also gave up just 5.3 yards per attempt, down from 7.2 over his first two years, and didn't surrender a touchdown.
It's apparent that he wasn't as technically smooth in coverage in other areas of his game, but he has been developing that aspect and did perform outstandingly well in coverage last year, so this may just be a case of his old reputation preceding him.
On this YouTube breakdown, which is well worth a watch, Brett Kollman points out and breaks down in detail a specific play where Adams gave up a big catch due to poor footwork.
I saw one other play from the previous season where Adams did pretty much exactly the same thing, although this time he was able to recover before the throw was completed. However, Adams' footwork is so fundamentally sound in the running game, it gives me great confidence that he'll work on this technique until he masters it.
As Kollman's video points out, this is something they specifically drill you on at the combine and the fact he's been through that work-out and came out of it still just as highly regarded also suggests that teams were impressed enough with what they saw that they feel confident it can be - or already has been - worked on and fixed.
Other than that play, Adams didn't give up a 40-yard pass in his entire college career and was only once beaten for a touchdown. Here was one rare big play that he gave up from 2015. It's a well-executed play and Adams is drawn to the outside by the slot receiver and when the linebacker passes off the eventual recipient of the pass to Adams, he is unable to recover in time:
He also allayed concerns that he won't be able to cover NFL-level players when he faced Evan Engram and OJ Howard - two fellow first round picks - in consecutive games last season. Adams was given man-to-man assignments against both, particularly in obvious passing situations, and they each had a season-low output, combining for just 12 yards on four catches.
When playing deep, Adams displays adequate range. In fact, he seems to coast around like he knows he's got another gear if he needs it. In that respect, he reminds me of Darrelle Revis who tended to do exactly the same thing on deep balls, but was always able to find that extra gear to recover (until this year).
Physicality/Penalties
I can foresee that Adams will, at times, be someone who draws criticism because he "shies away from contact" or is too passive in pursuit or taking on blockers. However, on plays where he might be accused of this, I noticed that he constantly kept his head up, watched the play develop and ensured the play was safely contained rather than recklessly barrelling in and leaving himself susceptible to being beaten as he left his feet.
Back in 2009, the Jets went to the AFC title game with a starting free safety by the name of Kerry Rhodes who drew similar criticisms and that, coupled with fan and media complaints that he wasn't making many "impact plays" caused him to change his style of play and temporarily led to him being more reckless and gambling more. The result was a mid-season benching.
However, the Jets had been the number one defense in the league at the time and the fact that Rhodes played conservatively and kept everything in front of him was a big part of that and something they struggled to replace once he had left.
Again, this is disciplined football and it's something the Jets need from their last line of defense.
They didn't use the sixth pick in the draft on a guy who is just going to rack up tackles by shepherding people out of bounds 30 yards downfield though, did they?
Fortunately not, because when Adams isn't the last line of defense, he plays differently. If a run is contained and he has a chance to make a play in his lane, that's when you're more likely to see him pursue the runner, navigate traffic and explode to the ball to make a play.
He does a good job here of being quick enough to knife inside a pulling blocker and get in on the short yardage stop:
Here's a good example of him showing that short area quickness to blow up a run in the backfield. The runner was ruled down otherwise this would have been a touchdown:
In coverage, it didn't seem like Adams was employed close to the line very often until last season. In 2015, he would match up against slot receivers a lot, but nearly always in off-coverage. Sometimes he'd line up behind a slot cornerback to pick up that player's man downfield and allow the slot corner to blitz or drop off to another man. Off-coverage is something Adams fares well at because of his positional sense, awareness and ability to latch on.
In 2016, however, he was increasingly employed in coverage closer to the line. While he didn't play traditional bump and run by jamming at the line, he was effective when lining up a couple of yards off his man and making contact with the first five yards to slow him up, so this is a developing part of his game.
As a further sign of his discipline, he hasn't had a single defensive penalty since the opening day of his sophomore year.
Ball skills
One potential criticism that could be levied at Adams might be that he doesn't make enough plays on the ball. After all, he was only credited with one interception and three passes defensed last year. However, the previous year saw him intercept four passes and break up another six.
This was perhaps more a case of quarterbacks learning their lesson and being more reluctant to test him, but he has shown he can make plays on the ball. Here's an example of that, as he reads a play from center field and breaks on the ball to pick it off:
Adams seems to have pretty reliable hands, although there was one break-up where he perhaps should have come up with an interception and he also booted an attempt at recovering a fumble. On his lone interception of 2016, he did well to get his hands under a low throw and keep it off the turf.
Blitzing
Blitzing has not been something Adams does a lot of, although he has two career sacks and generated pressure just under 25% of the time when he did rush.
A lot of the times where he rushed the passer were on react blitzes, primarily where his coverage responsibility stayed in to block. Even in these situations, he would keep his head up and twice was able to get in the passing lane to bat down a pass:
Instincts
This is regarded as one of Adams' best strengths, but it was rewarding to see that for myself.
He does a good job of diagnosing the play and immediately breaking to the ball with no wasted motion. You can tell that he puts a lot of time into his film study, just as you can tell the hours and effort he's put into his fundamental footwork drills.
Note how he takes off immediately here, doesn't assume his teammate will make the stop and gets across to ensure the receiver doesn't make it to the marker on third down:
In coverage, Adams' positional sense is good and I didn't see him blow any assignments. Here's a good example of him anticipating and recognizing the play and being in perfect position to almost intercept it:
The one play where he was completely fooled was a gadget play that probably would have caught out most defenders:
The overriding key here though is that Adams consistently has good pursuit angles, which has been the main negative to Calvin Pryor's game since the Jets drafted him in 2014. He doesn't overrun plays, or peek into the backfield and I never once saw a receiver burned because he was expecting help that wasn't there.
Here's another great example. Not only does he recognize the receiver screen immediately, he gets across far enough that he'd be in position if the receiver was able to go outside of his block, but then recovers back inside to blow up the play:
Attitude
The Jets have already praised Adams' character. He's a fiery leader, but full of positivity and an infectious personality. He will bring leadership, accountability and, as I've already mentioned a few times, discipline to a Jets secondary that needs exactly that to replace the void created by Revis (both in his departure and his presence).
Adams talks a lot on the field, getting his teammates into their correct assignments and engaging in mild trash talk with his opponents. He can be excitable and demonstrative but doesn't tend to cross the line in terms of his behavior being unacceptable.
This flop was absolutely hilarious though.
Special teams
The Jets might be hoping that Adams can start right off the bat, in which case they perhaps won't want him playing special teams all the time. However, he has produced well on special teams in college, which speaks to his overall effort and football acumen.
In a full-time special teams role as a freshman, Adams recorded 11 special teams tackles. He played less on special teams as a starter, but still sometimes contributed there. In the Ole Miss game, he took out two defenders with a crunching double-block on a punt return and also downed a punt at the one yard line.
He also saw work at the gunner position and typically did a good job of being the first man down the field, although the return man slipped his tackle on this play:
Injuries
Adams played 37 games in three seasons at LSU so injuries haven't been an issue.
One thing that could be a factor down the road is that he might take after his father, former first-round pick George Adams, whose career was ultimately cut short due to hip and pelvis injuries. Hopefully, that won't be an issue because Adams attributes it to the wear and tear of being a running back, which is why he advised his son to play safety.
Scheme Fit
With his versatility, Adams could fit into either safety role and would essentially be compatible with any other safety they might decide to pair him with.
I'd expect Adams to adjust to the pro game quicker than some prospects because LSU was already doing a lot of pro-style disguising and scheming.
Conclusions
In three drafts, Mike Maccagnan has used his three top picks to solidify the "spine" of his defense. By bringing in a long, athletic and versatile player with great character, he's provided Todd Bowles with an interesting toy to play with next year.
Adams is such a high-character player that this pick probably has a pretty high floor, as long as he can stay healthy. Ideally, if you're spending a pick as high as number six on a safety, then you need him to be elite to justify that, though.
As I was watching his film, I saw a sound, reliable player, but wasn't sure if I could see that potentially-elite spark in him.
But I watched the film in chronological order and he got better and better with each game I reviewed. By the time I got to the middle part of last season, I started to think that maybe he does have that potential after all.
Back in 2014, when the Jets drafted Pryor in the first round, I hadn't been paying much attention to college football during the season so I wasn't altogether familiar with him. When I saw his highlight reel, I was excited, but once I reviewed his actual game film, his questionable instincts and propensity to take bad angles had me worried. After his performance in 2015, I was hopeful my concerns had been unwarranted but he regressed last year.
When I watched Adams' game film, I was encouraged. Maybe even a little excited. Let's hope that my excitement is warranted too.