3. Sione Pouha: We've already touched on Sione's contributions, but he certainly belongs on this list. Pouha did the dirty work, drawing double teams and holding the point of attack consistently. The way he tied up blockers opened things up for everybody else. When the Jets lost Kris Jenkins for the year, there was plenty of reason to think the defense would suffer. The unit actually played better from that point because of Pouha.
2. David Harris: Harris took half a step back in 2008 after a brilliant rookie season.. His play was much improved in pass coverage. He did his trademark excellent work in traffic to snuff out running plays, leading the team with 127 tackles. He set a new career high with 5.5 sacks as a blitzer. He's an ideal 3-4 inside linebacker, extremely versatile. It's a shame he couldn't make the Pro Bowl.
1. Darrelle Revis: This is no real surprise. If Harris missing the Pro Bowl is a shame, Revis losing the Defensive Player of the Year award to Charles Woodson is a travesty. Revis shut down top flight receivers every single week with minimal help. He lined up against the best the opposition had to offer on every play. While Woodson's advocates say he made more of an impact because he lined up at more positions, Darrelle made an impact on almost every single play by taking away the opponent's best weapon. He also made his teammates better in ways Woodson didn't. The Jets could roll coverages to secondary targets. By taking away the first look of every quarterback, he bought the pass rush extra time. He was so dominant taking away one half of the field, playing Cover 1 was like playing Cover 2, and the Jets could use an extra guy to blitz or play coverage underneath. Gang Green had the top defense in football this year because of Darrelle Revis. Given the caliber of competition and the way the rules benefit receivers today, you could argue it was the greatest season ever by a cornerback.