If it wasn’t obvious before, it certainly is now. Rookie safety Jamal Adams is the real deal.
And for a Jets organization in the early stages of a rebuild, that is perhaps the most positive takeaway from their 20-6 win over the Dolphins on Sunday.
Heading into the season, expectations were almost unfairly high for Adams. As the sixth-overall pick in the 2017 draft, he was immediately hailed as a centerpiece of the defense before lining up for his first snap in the NFL.
That was partly a result of the Jets cleaning house. The team got rid of some of the staples of its defense from last year — linebacker David Harris, safety Marcus Gilchrist and later defensive end Sheldon Richardson — leaving vacancies for others to step up and making it possible for Adams to become the second highest-paid player on the team.