Mo Wilkerson is a heck of a player.
I have covered the Jets for 20 years now, and he’s one of the better players I’ve covered.
I think perhaps his significant talent lost some luster because he missed a bunch of games last season due to a serious turf toe injury.
Also, he’s pretty quiet, and doesn’t say much to the press, which probably lowers his profile somewhat.
People are so obsessed with sacks, but 3-4 ends have so much more on their plate than that. They can’t just come off the edge and go after the quarterback. There’s more to the job than that.
Mo commands a lot of double teams, which frees up other players to make plays, whether it’s Calvin Pace next to him or David Harris behind him. Ask those guys what Mo does for them.
But aside from consistently taking up double-teams, he does make myriad impact plays of his own, and is so intimidating, he often makes offensive linemen opposite him jump offsides. They get really antsy when No. 96 lines up over them.
Wilkerson plays with really good technique and does a nice job of shooting his hands and getting them under offensive linemen’s pads. He has so much base strength it’s hard for offensive linemen to move him off his spot. He also has very good instincts, a terrific feel for the game.
I’m not easily impressed, but I find this player very impressive.
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