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. 23: Dimitri Patterson
Last year’s ranking: Unranked – not on team
Position: Cornerback
Age: 30
How acquired: Signed as a free agent on April 1
Years left on contract: 1
2014 salary cap figure: $2.7 million
Looking back at 2013: Patterson played just six games for the Dolphins last season, but managed four interceptions. He was sidelined by a groin injury.
Patterson played both in the slot and on the outside, but the Dolphins preferred him playing inside. According to Pro Football Focus, teams completed 58.1 percent of the passes thrown Patterson’s way. Quarterbacks had a 51.1 rating on throws in his direction.
Outlook for 2014: The Jets are counting on Patterson being a major player for them. He is penciled in as the starting cornerback opposite Dee Milliner right now. While many Jets fans are concerned about the cornerbacks, the Jets feel good about the combination.
The biggest question with Patterson is his health. He has struggled to stay on the field throughout his career. Jets coach Rex Ryan has done a good job of keeping older guys with durability issues on the field, and that will be his challenge with Patterson.
Some people around the league wonder how Patterson will do playing on the outside. He is viewed as more of a nickel corner, but all indications are the Jets will keep him lined up on the outside.
The Jets are Patterson’s seventh team in his nine-year career, so he clearly is not nearly the elite corner the Jets are used to having when Darrelle Revis and Antonio Cromartie roamed their secondary. But he may not have to be elite. The question is: Will he be good enough?