Three on D: Thomas, Bailey, Briggs

After each game, we typically highlight three defensive and three offensive players and look in detail at their performance. We'll start today with the defense:

(Stop) Doubting Thomas

The Jets expressed confidence in the ability of Azareye’h Thomas to develop into a number one cornerback during the offseason and he’s delivered on that so far, as he’s kept Nahshon Wright (and D’Angelo Ponds) rooted to the bench, while arguably outperforming Brandon Stephens so far.

He held up well again on Sunday, as he only gave up two catches on four targets, one of which was stopped for a loss.

He was flying around in the early stages of the game, as he also almost blew up a run in the backfield, drawing a holding penalty, and extended his string of games with a pass breakup to eight with this impressive third down play.

There were only a few minor blips in terms of negatives for Thomas, who missed a tackle and was called for a 38-yard pass interference penalty, although he was arguably unlucky on the latter because he was in a pretty good position had the ball not been underthrown, creating the contact.

This weekend will represent a bigger challenge for Thomas and the Jets’ secondary, though. The Lions have one of the best passing games in the league with quarterback Jared Goff and wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown each leading the league in some key categories. We’ll see how Thomas responds.

Where there’s a will, there’s a Bai

David Bailey’s second NFL game got off to a nice start as he was credited with another fairly cheap sack on the very first Packers snap of the game.

However, his overall contribution ended up being fairly disappointing, given how much pressure the Packers had surrendered in week one - and also considering the fact that they lost top lineman Zach Beko-Bewele early on.

Still, he wasn’t a total zero, as he generated a few pressures, including one on a bull rush as he drove Beko-Bewele’s replacement Anthony Belton back on an impressively strong bull rush.

Bailey also drew a holding penalty as Jordan Love was flushed from the pocket by a Will McDonald pressure and Bailey tried to spin off Belton’s block to get to him.

On another play, Belton again got called for a hold, which saved a touchdown. Bailey generated pressure with a crisp spin move on the play.

Bailey had two other tackles, on a five-yard run and a four-yard pass, but the latter was also a forced fumble, so he’s showing some playmaking chops.

One area that may need work is dropping into coverage, which he never really did at Texas Tech following his move to an edge role. He moved out into the slot as a receiver went in motion and dropped back with Christian Watson on a 20-yard pass down the seam but couldn't stay with him as the catch was made in front of the safety.

On the whole, Bailey is yet to impress with physical domination and, even though advanced metrics suggest his get-off has been very good, it’s arguably been more with his strength than his speed where Bailey has impressed most.

He should keep improving, though, and the fact he’s produced as much as he has so far without fully imposing his will on his opponents is probably an encouraging signing.

What’s the Brigg idea?

After last season, it seemed like Jowon Briggs had established himself as one of the Jets’ more promising young building blocks.

However, following the offseason additions of T’Vondre Sweat and David Onyemata, it wasn’t entirely clear what their plan was for him. Briggs was employed as a nose tackle in preseason - not a role he seems ideally suited for - and was listed as Sweat’s backup at the position on the unofficial depth chart.

Since the season began, he’s been undertaking a more logical role as a rotational lineman and has done well so far. Now his role looks set to expand following Onyemata being placed on injured reserve.

On Sunday, he was again among the better performers for the Jets with his performance highlighted by this strip sack.

In 35 snaps, he also was in on three impressive run stuffs near the line of scrimmage. One saw him beat his man on a spin move, one saw his shed a block cleanly and this one saw him hold up to and then split a double team.

The Onyemata injury is certainly a blow for the Jets, especially in terms of their depth. However, if it means Briggs plays a bigger role, that might not be the worst thing. By the time Onyemata returns, he could provide a useful boost to the rotation rather than returning to fill a void his absence created.

Three-on-O will follow tomorrow.