Breaking Down The New York Jets' 2018 Draft Picks Not Named Sam Darnold: Parry Nickerson, CB, Tulane (Round 6, Pick 5)
We’re officially close enough to the NFL season to start talking about it. You can taste it in the air when you wake up in the morning (if you’re homeless or sleep outside a lot), and you can feel it in your bones when you lay down to rest at night.
For us Jets fans, the feeling in our bones is a little more painful than most, because we’re stuck rooting for a usually-incompetent franchise that always seems to do just well enough to get our hopes up before they rip our hearts out. It is what it is. This is a new year and we’ve got a whole new crop of players around camp to get excited about.
All we’ve heard about since the draft has been about Sam Darnold out of USC, who fell into our lap after the teams ahead of us in the draft made some questionable decisions, and how much potential he has and what that could mean for the future of our franchise. Don’t get me wrong, having someone with his pedigree is exciting as hell and I really want to see him succeed, but I’ve seen this movie before. I know how it usually goes for us when we’re gifted someone as talented as Sam Darnold could be. I guess what I’m saying is I’ll believe it when I see it. As for the other guys we drafted? It’s completely safe and rational to get fired up over what type of potential they have in the greatest league on Earth. That’s what this is about.
I present to you a breakdown of all the guys the New York Jets drafted who aren’t named Sam Darnold, because it’s time to start getting excited about watching backups play in the NFL Preseason.
Parry Nickerson: Cornerback, Tulane, Round 6, Pick 5 (No. 179 overall)
We’re getting into the thick of this shit now gang. It’s been cool for me because each day I write one of these, we get more reports coming out of camp on these guys, what they look like with pads on, and tape of them actually competing against other professionals. Parry Nickerson is a guy who people have been raving about at training camp since the players put on numbers and started running around.
An undersized corner at 5’10” and 180 lbs, Nickerson was a 4-year player at Tulane, despite redshirting after a season-ending knee injury Week 1 as a freshman. He’s a 3-time All Conference selection and put up impressive numbers as a senior, ending last year with 6 INTs and 8 pass deflections on top of 55 tackles including 2 TFL (tackles for loss).
The conversation about him going into his rookie year starts and ends with his speed. The boy can straight up fly.
Parry Nickerson ran a 4.32 at this year’s NFL Combine, giving him the fastest time of any athlete along with Denzel Ward (Round 1, Pick 4), formerly of THE Ohio State University (RIP), and Donte Jackson (Round 2 Pick 23) outta LSU.
Anytime you see someone dominate a 40-yard dash like a fucking gazelle, it’s gonna get the blood flowing. Obviously Nickerson’s 40-time isn’t breaking news and the Jets not only knew about it, but probably drafted him because of it. However after spending a handful of hours watching game clips and reading about this guy, he’s a lot more than just an elite 40-time. He’s got the stats over 4 seasons to back it up, and he fucking flies around the field in shoulder pads and a helmet too. There’s a reason he’s created this much buzz already after like a week of camp.
The coolest part about all the Parry Nickerson buzz isn’t how he’s been flashing his athleticism all over the place, but how impressive his football IQ and understanding of situational responsibilities have been.
One of the guys who covers the Jets for “The Athletic” tweeted this quote out from Nickerson on what camp has been like so far for him and how he’s been able to be so successful.
“Everyone has athletic ability,” Nickerson said. “But 90 percent of the game is mental. As soon as I hear the play, I’m going through my mind my responsibility, everything that can happen on the play, and how I’ll react if the receiver does this, or if the receiver does that.”
“I’ve had great coaches in the past. They’ve helped me understand the game, and the need to spend as much time in the film room as possible. The No. 1 thing for me has always been to watch film and understand an offense and what they want to do every down. The more you prepare? It’s like having an answer to the test.”
So you’re telling me, the New York Jets, the fucking NEW YORK JETS, drafted a cornerback in the 6th round who put up 16 INTs in his 3 healthiest seasons of NCAA football, ran the fastest 40 at the combine with a 4.32, AND is by all reports and in his own opinion an absolutely film junkie who reads the defensive playbook the same way Tim Tebow reads the bible? How the fuck did this guy drop so far?
The obvious response is that he did all of this at Tulane, a college not exactly known for their reign as a college football powerhouse, and his production shouldn’t be valued as highly because of that. I get that. But NFL scouts aren’t taking guys off their lists because of the name of a college, that’s amateur scout shit.
The only other obvious flaw in Nickerson is that he might be too small and frail to be successful working up close, on an island against bigger NFL receivers. Any scouting report leading up to the draft mentioned that immediately when they begin discussing his weaknesses.
I imagine NFL GM’s had concerns as well with how he’ll be able to compete against the run, getting off blocks and wrapping up powerful RBs as they turn the corner upfield. These are all fair concerns, but I have no issue with the Jets taking a shot on this guy, given all of the upside he demonstrated for 4 years at Tulane and at the 2018 NFL Combine.
Here’s the thing. There are plenty of defensive backs in the NFL who are able to stay on the field in all situations and be successful against the run, despite consistently demonstrating poor form as tacklers. If a guy is athletic enough, and more importantly gritty enough, he’s gonna make plays. Plain and simple.
I am absolutely NOT COMPARING PARRY NICKERSON TO DARRELLE REVIS IN ANY WAY. But he’s a great example of a guy who had success against the run during his Jets career by pretty much just throwing his body at ball carrier’s ankles and knees and hoping for the best. You could sit around and watch every single NFL game on any given weekend and you’d see guys on both teams making tackles the same way.
Am I making excuses for Parry Nickerson before he’s even played a real game in green and white? Absolutely. But I don’t really think of it as making excuses. I’m just not gonna lose any sleep over his tackling ability just yet.
Besides, look at this hard-nosed effort on a screen play!
That’s an undersized athlete who’s not afraid to get down and dirty to make a fucking tackle if I’ve ever seen one. As a guy who’s been playing his whole life with the deck stacked against him due to his size, it’s apparent he has incredible instincts and a nose for the ball, as demonstrated in this clip, in the 2017 Tulane Football stat book, and in all the reports coming out of Jets’ training camp so far. You don’t rack up 55 tackles in 12 games as a CB if you’re hiding from contact.
It’s officially time to get fired up over this kid’s ceiling.
I chose this one next because I think it shows his complete upside in a nutshell. Lined up outside against a WR from East Carolina University named Jimmy Williams (now with the Broncos as an UDFA), Nickerson is backed off about 10 yards in a man-to-man situation.
He’s completely on an island and actually initially makes his turn out of a backpedal in the wrong direction, forcing him to completely 360 to recover and catch up with the receiver who breaks inside on a post pattern.
Despite his sloppy form or read on the route or whatever you wanna call it, he recovers effortlessly (Jimmy Williams ran a 4.50 at ECU’s Pro Day) then makes an incredibly athletic play on the ball to come down with the interception.
Thinking back to Nickerson’s quote from camp this week about how knowing his responsibilities on the field is like “having answers to the test”, I can’t help but think that having recovery speed like Nickerson is more similar to having blackmail against the guy who grades the test and hanging it over his head with threats to go public unless he gives you straight A’s.
It doesn’t matter what Nickerson does before the ball is thrown, because unless the guy he’s covering is Usain Bolt or already 40 yards away, he can probably chase it down and make a play on the ball.
Another thing I really like about Nickerson’s game is despite his size and projection in the NFL as a nickel or slot corner, he flashed ability at Tulane to be really effective in press coverage, locking guys down outside and knocking them off their routes, then staying with them while keeping his eyes in the backfield.
Here he’s matched up against Anthony Miller out of Memphis, who went in the 2nd round this year to the Chicago Bears and weighs in at 200 lbs, 20 lbs heavier than Nickerson. Nickerson shows press pre-snap, which I think actually plays into the Memphis offense’s hands because they run a little run/pass option, hoping that the threat of a handoff will freeze at least one of the defensive backs as their eyes wander into the backfield.
Nickerson does a great job of maintaining balance and position, meeting Miller at the LOS and redirecting him off his line initially, but Miller is able to use his size advantage to swim through and get a bit of separation about 5 yards downfield, prompting the QB to lob the ball into a window he didn’t realize was about to get shut in his face.
Nickerson recovers, turning his head and actually getting back in front of his man to beat him to the ball, before making a play on the pass like a WR and almost coming down with the tough pick. I wish he woulda caught it, but even without the turnover, it’s undeniable Parry Nickerson is a straight up ball hawk.
Recovery speed is turning into the theme of these GIFs, and I’m not talking about Peyton Manning’s wife. If I had to turn all of my Parry Nickerson takes into one thesis, it would be something about how when evaluating a flawed defensive back prospect, his ability to recover after seemingly getting beat and make a play on the ball should be valued above all. It’s very rare that a guy comes into the league and just dominates from day 1. There’s gonna be growing pains; guys are gonna make incorrect reads and then turn their heads to see the guy they’re supposed to be covering sprinting away 8 yards down the field.
What makes Parry Nickerson so impressive is he has such rare speed and game awareness, he can literally bait QBs into throwing the ball his way with soft coverage before exploding back into the picture to make a play.
Watch how Nickerson so obviously fucks up his coverage on this play, jamming the slot receiver before quickly bouncing to his right to pick up the outside receiver, only to realize it’s the wrong guy and immediately making up about 7 yards of distance on a receiver in full sprint behind him to eventually break up a pass 30 yards downfield.
There are little things that some NFL corners do that always drive me crazy, but nothing bothers me more than a DB who does a good job covering a receiver, but fails to turn his head around quick enough to make a play on the ball.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, some guys just know when to turn around and look for it, and Parry Nickerson seems to be much further on that end of the spectrum. Recovery speed and ball skills like this will play at ANY level. Don’t @ me.
Here’s another prime example of that. We’ve got Parry Nickerson matched up out wide against USF receiver Darnell Salomon, a 6’3″ rising-junior who caught 32 passes for 512 yards including 5 TDs last season, ranking 3rd on the team.
It’s a straight up fly route, and although it looks like Nickerson might’ve had some safety help behind him, Nickerson and Salomon are long gone by the time the safety recognizes the route and tries to get over there.
(This GIF includes a replay from a different angle so BE PATIENT)
It looks like the receiver has a step out Nickerson out of the gates, leading to the QB unleashing a bomb down the sideline, but Nickerson keeps with his man and is on the ball the whole way.
A lot of guys (on the Jets and all around the NFL) make a lot of $$ as defensive backs but fail to consistently make this play. It’s instinctual as an athlete to put your head down when you’re trailing your man and trying to recover, but Nickerson is able to make up quick ground and still turn his head at the perfect time to see the ball and get a hand on it, all without losing any speed.
Of all the guys the Jets drafted this past year, Nickerson might be the one I’m most excited about getting to watch Week 1 of the preseason vs. Atlanta. He just fits the “undervalued late round pick with a lot of potential” narrative too perfectly. His combination of speed and ball skills, paired with an apparent addiction to watching film, should continue to translate extremely well to the league and I expect him to flash all of these God given gifts throughout the preseason. As I said prior, there’s a reason he’s created so much buzz already around the Jets’ training facilities, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the buzz keeps getting louder and louder.
We’ve had an up and down history with drafting CBs in any round of the draft, so there aren’t exactly any trends in either direction or any reason to doubt our ability to scout the position, but I have to believe we ultimately fell in love with Nickerson’s tremendous upside, and I bet he was incredibly impressive in interviews as well.
At the very least, we’re gonna get to watch how the Jets manage to screw this incredibly talented individual up. Best case scenario though, Nickerson emerges this year as a viable option in the slot, and is able to put on some weight and adjust to the speed of the NFL with time, ultimately developing into a legitimate starter on the outside who leans on his elite recovery speed and athleticism to make up for his small stature. I can’t wait to watch either way.
Stay tuned for the next New York Jets 2018 Draft Pick Not Named Sam Darnold Breakdown. Preseason football is coming. It’s time to educate yourself and get ready for Week 1.
