When the Jets signed Marques Douglas to a one-year deal for the veteran’s minimum in March, it was a move that received little fanfare. However, with the trade of Kenyon Coleman last week end, the 32 year old veteran arguably now sits atop the depth chart at the DE position.

Seeking some more detail about Douglas, who was a reserve for Rex Ryan’s Ravens defense last year and had started 78 out of 80 games for the Ravens and 49ers over the previous five seasons, I e-mailed my friend, Sam, a 49ers fan (whose opinion I trust) for his unbiased opinion:

Marques Douglas was good for us as a 3-4 end. He is very good against the run and holding up at the point, but offers virtually nothing in terms of pass rush. He is a bit undersized but makes up for it in hustle and hand fighting.

I would have liked to have seen him kept as depth when he signed for Tampa, but at that point he wanted to be a starter.

The part in bold is my emphasis - doesn’t it sound somewhat familiar? Essentially, Sam has described a smaller, more dynamic, version of Kenyon Coleman, which sounds like it would be a better fit for Ryan and Pettine’s flexible, attacking, defense.

On the other hand, if the 49ers only wanted to keep him for depth, then can he really be counted on to start for what we all hope will develop into an elite defense? When he joined Tampa (a 4-3 team), he signed a four year deal, but was eventually traded back to the Ravens for a draft pick, just a few months later.

Speculating somewhat, I would consider that Douglas, although the most experienced option at that position and the de facto “starter” at this time will probably be part of a rotation as the Jets look set to run a scheme with as much versatility as possible. The buzz over the weekend was that the Jets are also high on Mike Devito, who they may be keen to promote, or they may yet be able to dip into the free agent market to pick up a higher profile name.

Until they do, though, Douglas appears to be your starter for the time being. He was still relatively productive statistically despite coming off the bench for the Ravens last year and I was impressed with his performances in the Baltimore games I watched. Also, as TheJetsFan24’s recent TJB article investigated, has actually been among the more productive players in the league when given playing time.

Looking back at when Douglas first joined the 49ers, he was specifically brought in to aid the conversion to a 3-4 scheme and led the league in tackles behind the line of scrimmage. Although the 49ers were not successful in that period, Douglas is obviously a player that exhibits leadership and sounds like an ideal candidate to assist Rex Ryan in implementing his 3.5/3.5 scheme with the Jets.

Let’s have your thoughts on Douglas - Have you seen him play? Is he good enough? What are the other options?

From thejetsblog.com. Please read the complete article and let us know what you think below.