Jamien Sherwood Continues to Shine Through First Five Weeks

The NY Jets are off to a rocky 2-3 start through the first five weeks of the 2024 season. Their only two wins came against the Tennessee Titans and the New England Patriots. After losing in Week 1 to San Francisco, the Jets won their next two games before dropping their next two to the Denver Broncos and Minnesota Vikings. After an impressive 2-1 start, the Jets lost their momentum, and their head coach all in two weeks.

Aug 12, 2022; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Eagles running back Jason Huntley (32) is wrapped by New York Jets linebacker Hamsah Nasirildeen (45) and linebacker Jamien Sherwood (44) during the fourth quarter at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

While there have been many underwhelming or downright disappointing players, there have also been quite a few surprising standouts. From Allen Lazard to Will McDonald, we’ve seen our fair share of surprises this season. However, perhaps none have been bigger than Jets linebacker, Jamien Sherwood.

Jamien Sherwood has been the NY Jets’ most surprising standout through five weeks

Sherwood, who played safety at Auburn, was drafted by the Jets in the fifth round at 146 overall of the 2021 NFL Draft. In his debut season, Sherwood only played five games before he tore his Achilles, needing to be sidelined for the remainder of the year. In his five games, Sherwood started four and picked up 15 combined tackles from eight solos and seven assists. In the next two seasons, Sherwood played every game and started making a name for himself.

Fast forward to this year, Sherwood has been on a tear. Having stepped in for the injured CJ Mosley, Sherwood sits at a team-leading 40 total tackles, which came from 28 solos and 12 assists. Sherwood is currently PFF’s second-highest-rated linebacker in the entire NFL. His 83.4 PFF grade and 87.0 coverage grade come second to just Fred Warner. On top of that, Sherwood’s 4.1 yards per catch allowed ranks first in the league and it’s not close.

There is truly an argument to be made for Sherwood and Quincy Williams as the best linebacker duo in the NFL. They are the only linebacker duo to both be ranked in the PFF Top 10. This comes as a massive surprise after Mosley went down with a sprained right toe. What makes this even more impressive is Sherwood making the transition to linebacker from safety which he played throughout his entire college career.

Sherwood has shown fans flashes of just how good he is in previous years, but he is finally getting the time on the field this year to show how good he is. In the absence of Mosley with his consistent production week in and week out, Sherwood has been the Jets’ most surprising standout through the first five weeks of the new season. If this has any implication for how the Jets’ defense will be in the coming weeks, 2024 could be the year of Jamien Sherwood.

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