As the Jets get close to training camp, I am going to examine the roster and give you my top 25 players. Each weekday, we will reveal another person on the list, leading right into camp. I am not including rookies on this list because I do not feel it is possible to fully evaluate them before they play a game.
No. 11: Quinton Coples
Last year’s ranking: 8
Position: Outside linebacker
Age: 24
How acquired: Selected in the first round of the 2012 Draft
Years left on contract: 2
2014 salary cap figure: $2.4 million
Looking back at 2013: The Jets moved Coples from defensive lineman to outside linebacker before last season and he was learning on the job. That learning curve was slowed after he broke a bone in his ankle during the preseason. That caused him to miss the end of training camp and the first two games of the season.
It took awhile before Coples looked like he was back to 100 percent. His play picked up at the end of the season as he began to look fully healthy and more comfortable at the position.
Coples finished his second season with 38 tackles and 4 ½ sacks. The knock on Coples — restated recently by Jets legend Joe Klecko — is his effort is not consistent. That showed in 2013, when it appeared he took plays off.
Outlook for 2014: Coples returned to the Jets this spring leaner and more comfortable playing on the outside. He lost some weight, which was a must, and worked with pass-rushing specialist Chuck Smith during the winter.
The Jets have not had a consistent outside pass rusher since John Abraham left almost 10 years ago. It feels like a topic Jets fans and media talk about every year. Coples could be that guy if he figures out the linebacker position and can raise his effort level.
This is a big season for Coples. It is time for the potential the Jets saw when they drafted him to start translating into production. The Jets must make a decision next spring whether to exercise their fifth-year player option on Coples. He can make that decision easy on them.
Coples is a very easygoing guy and did not say much publicly after Klecko said he “looks like Tarzan, plays like Jane.” But you have to think the comment irked Coples and maybe lit a fire under him.