The New York Jets have arguably been the most talked about and hyped up team in the NFL this season following their acquisition of four-time MVP winner and future Hall of Fame quarterback Aaron Rodgers. While the attention has mostly been on Rodgers and the offense, cornerback D.J. Reed thinks the defense can be special.
“I’m very confident, I think we have the potential to be the best defense in the NFL. Honestly, I think we can be historical,” Reed told ESPN’s Rich Cimini.
Not only did Reed express his faith in the Jets’ defense, but he compared them to arguably two of the scariest and most ferocious defensive units in NFL history, the 1985 Chicago Bears and the Seattle Seahawks’ 2013 “Legion of Boom.”
The 1985-86 Bears defense allowed 12.4 points per game that season, which led the league at the time and would pace the NFL in 2022 (San Francisco 49ers allowed league-low 17.6 points per game). Players such as Richard Dent, Mike Singletary, William Perry, and Dan Hampton made life hell for opposing offenses.
During the 1985-86 playoffs, the Bears famously shut out the New York Giants and Los Angeles Rams en route to the Super Bowl before allowing only 10 points to the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XX.
With that said Reed has lofty expectations for himself and the rest of the Jets’ defense. “I think we can be that dominant if we just put all the things together.”
Even if the defense doesn’t produce at the historic levels Reed believes they’re capable of, the Jets’ defense has an opportunity to be one of the best defenses in the NFL led by two 2022 All-Pros, Quinnen Williams and Sauce Gardner.
