Positional Storylines: DL

"We haven't played or practiced. In shorts and t-shirts on paper, it looks good, but looks aren't anything," said head coach Todd Bowles. "You got to practice. You got to work at it day-in and day-out, work at your craft and there has got to be cohesiveness there and that's what we are trying to build so time will tell."

Since Damon Harrison entered the starting lineup in 2013, opponents have gained an NFL-low 3.56 yards per carry. Harrison registered 68 tackles in addition to nine QB hits in 2014. "I'm not expecting to be a household name, but I hold my own in the middle," he said. "Muhammad and Sheldon are excellent players - I'm a good player in my own right as well."

Defensive end Muhammad Wilkerson, who racked up 6.0 sacks and 65 tackles in 2014, has amassed a team-high 16.5 sacks the past two seasons. After not taking part in the Jets voluntary OTAs, Wilkerson participated in the team's mandatory minicamp. "Muhammad is a pro," said head coach Todd Bowles. "This is not street ball coming in. He understands what his job is. He understands what he has to do. He's ready to go."

Sheldon Richardson had a sensational sophomore campaign, earning 2014 Curtis Martin Team MVP honors after leading New York's AFC representative with 8.0 sacks & 41 QB hurries and adding 84 tackles. Richardson, who was been suspended without pay for the first four games of the 2015 regular season, will be able to participate in all offseason and preseason practices and games.

Quinton Coples has collected 16.5 career sacks and registered 106 QB hurries while playing DE, DT & OLB. Coples finished second on the team last season with a career-best 6.5 sacks and he believes he will be rushing more in this new system. "I still have situations where I'm dropping and stuff. It's not all pass-rushing," he said. "But I definitely have more of a pass-rushing role than I've had before."

Pleasantly surprised, the Jets added USC product Leonard Williams with the No. 6 overall selection in April's NFL Draft. "I think he held his own," said head coach Todd Bowles this spring of Williams. "The big thing is going to come in pads when you can get hands on people and shoulder pads and you can really show your strength, but from an assignment standpoint, he wasn't a fish out of water, obviously. I thought he held up pretty good."

Leger Douzable, who played in all 32 of the Jets' games in 2013-14, registered 2.5 sacks, 2.0 tackles for loss/no gain and 38 tackles last season. He also has participated in more than 800 special teams plays during his Green & White tenure.

The Jets boosted their depth in free agency, signing a trio of veteran defensive linemen in Stephen Bowen, Ronald Talley and Keith Vickerson. Bowen, a Hofstra alum who attended Half Hollow West HS in Dix Hills, NY, has 12.5 career sacks. He began his NFL career as an UDFA with the Cowboys in 2006 when Todd Bowles was a Dallas assistant coach.

Deon Simon, who prepared for the NFL Draft with Jets OLB Ikemefuna Enemkpali, became one of 16 FCS players drafted when the Jets selected him in the seventh round. The 6'4", 321-pound Simon led all defensive linemen with 35 reps of the 225-pound bench press at the NFL Scouting Combine. He appeared in 35 games over four seasons at Northwestern State-Louisiana, totaling 93 tackles and 13.5 tackles for loss.

T.J. Barnes, a second-year pro from Georgia Tech, and Davon Walls, a Brooklyn native who finished school at Division II Lincoln University, are two of the six players on the roster listed at 6'7".  In 21 games at Tennessee, Jordan Williams amassed 6.5 sacks and 10.5 tackles for loss.