Watch Mark Barron play and what you see is a perfect fit for Jets coach Rex Ryan’s defense.
In the second-to-last game last season, the Alabama safety separated cartilage in between his ribs, an injury so painful he said he had trouble breathing, but he played on.
“There are guys that can play in pain and guys that can play at a top level when they’re in pain,’’ Mark Cochran, Alabama’s director of strength and conditioning coach, said. “That’s what Mark can do. We’ve had some great players come through here that have played with pain, but Mark might be the best.
“It’s almost impossible to keep him off the field because he has the ability to block out the pain and play. He’s really an amazing athlete in that sense.’’
Listen to Barron speak and what you hear is a player perfectly suited to play for Ryan.
“I haven’t seen a player make a play I can’t make,’’ Barron said. “Until I see someone do something I can’t do, that’s just the way I feel. I don’t play peacefully. When I’m on the field it’s chaos.’’
Are you convinced yet?
If not, then consider the Jets’ needs as the first round of the NFL Draft approaches on Thursday night.
They have just three safeties on their roster (Eric Smith, LaRon Landry and Tracy Wilson) and just one of them (Smith) has played with the Jets. Jim Leonhard, coming off a second surgery in two seasons, and Donald Strickland remain unsigned free agents.
So why not pick Barron with the 16th overall selection in the first round? The Jets have not drafted a defensive back since 2006 when they picked Smith in the third round.
Barron, at 6-foot-1, 213 pounds, has small linebacker size, can cover tight ends (a major Jets weakness), and he was the signal caller in the secondary at Alabama. He’s projected as a player who could come in and start immediately in the NFL.
Sure, the Jets need pass rushing help, but Ryan loves defensive backs — especially tough, physical secondary players who can wreak havoc on opposing receivers.
All you need to do is look at the Jets’ games against the Patriots to see their inability to cover tight ends. New England’s Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez have lit them up.
Joey Clinkscales, the Jets vice president of college scouting, said he’s impressed with Barron’s coverage skills.
“The kid has [12] career interceptions,’’ Clinkscales said. “He’s physical. He’s tough. He’s very bright. He’s a space player. He can make one-on-one tackles. He has a lot of the skill set that every team is looking for at safety. He has the skill set to be effective in some of the things we do.”
The Jets’ primary competition for Barron, who had 12 interceptions, 235 tackles and 34 passes defended in his Alabama career that included 38 starts, likely will come from the Cowboys, who pick 14th and whose defensive coordinator happens to be Ryan’s twin brother, Rob. The Eagles, who pick 15th, also need secondary help.
Barron, who played strong safety his junior year and free last season, is versatile, another plus for the Jets, whose scheme doesn’t really differentiate the two. The defense he played in at Alabama, which was the top-ranked defensive team in the country, is a very pro-style operation because of head coach Nick Saban’s NFL experience.
“That’s something I knew when I first went to ’Bama. That we had a complex defense and an NFL-type scheme,’’ Barron said. “Going into it, I knew it was going to prepare me for the next level. That was one of the reasons why I wanted to go to Alabama. I feel like that has prepared me for the next level.
“We played in a very difficult defense — did a lot of different schemes. As far as communicating, I had a lot to do with that on the back end. I feel like sometimes I brought some energy with the hits that I made.’’