The Jets' new defensive lineman DL Tyler Baron said that his best trait is that he can do everything.
"I think the strength is really just the versatility in terms of the run game and the value I bring in terms of the pass rush," Baron said. "Just being able to work for a bunch of different spots and just be whatever [the coaches] need me to be on that given day."
Baron played four seasons with Tennessee before his one season in Coral Gables, FL. He said the Hurricanes' defense allowed him to showcase a new element of his game since he was asked to stand up as a pass rusher in addition to putting his hand on the ground. Baron led the team with 5.5 sacks and 11 tackles for loss.
Baron (6-5, 258) grew up in a football household. His older brother, Woody, played defensive line at Virginia Tech and has played the last seven seasons in the Canadian Football League.
His father, Patrick Abernathy, was an all-state linebacker in high school before he played at Tennessee State with NFL Hall of Fame DL Richard Dent. Abernathy then coached a youth football team and won multiple national championships before he became an assistant at Brentwood Academy where he coached three-time first-team All-Pro and seven-time Pro Bowl CB Jalen Ramsey.
At Miami, Tyler Baron's position coach was Hall of Fame defensive lineman Jason Taylor, who played for the Green & White in 2010 .
"For me, [he] kind of just helped me become more of a professional at an earlier age, so I feel like I was able to develop that mental aspect of myself," Baron said of Taylor, whose son, Mason, was drafted by the Jets in the second round. "I'm really forever indebted to Coach Taylor and I'm just really honored to be a Jet."
Over the course of five college seasons, Baron totaled 139 tackles, 38 tackles for loss, 19 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, 4 pass defenses in 61 games (28 starts). In the NFL, he wants to be more consistent with the details.
"I feel like when I'm consistent with the things from the ground up, I feel like that's when you get the best plays out of me," he said.
Head coach Aaron Glenn said of Baron: "If you watch him on tape, he actually showed really good pass rush ability, so now it's just nudging him a little bit more to get him over that hump to be a really good player for us and we expect our player to do that for us."
Baron was general manager Darren Mougey's final pick of in his first draft with the Jets, but Baron believes the Green & White killed multiple birds with one stone.
"I think you get somebody that can kind of check three to four spots off that 53-man roster," he said. "I think with me the biggest thing is just value. Then you get a guy that just wants to be in the Jets building, wants to be a part of everything it means to be a Jet, so I think you get the right type of person and someone that looks forward to being there."
