Jets 2017 Roster Breakdown: How Good Is Darryl Roberts?

Let’s take a look at Darryl Roberts as our Jets roster countdown moves forward.

Name: Darryl Roberts

Number: 27

Year with Jets: 2nd

Projected Role: Competing for third cornerback spot

His 2016: After missing his entire rookie season with an injury, Roberts was waived by the Patriots at the end of his second preseason. The Jets claimed the former Marshall cornerback off waivers. Due to injuries, Roberts got 285 snaps on defense featuring at least 20 snaps in 7 different games.

How good he was seems to be a subject of debate. I thought he was pretty inconsistent. It felt to me like defenses left some throws on the plate. Another writer on this site named his a nominee for Blame Balls after multiple Jets losses.

Here is the other side of the coin.

How do we reconcile the two? Sometimes advanced stats shine a light on underrated players. Other times they mislead us. I tend to think this is the latter. The cornerback position can produce some screwy numbers. In a bad passing defense, sometimes the opponent will pick out a weak link, and a few guys don’t get tested. Those guys will see their stats look good even if their coverage isn’t top caliber. At the very least, this was too small of a sample size to conclude Roberts is starting material.

You can use the numbers to say we should keep an eye on him, though.

2017 will be a success if: Roberts can earn some playing time in subpackages. That would seem like the natural progression.

Odds of making the roster: More Likely Than Not (50-75%)