Veterans are supposed to teach and lead the younger players, not the other way around.
But Jets safety Tony Adams is unlike most young players.
After signing with the Jets as an undrafted free agent last year, Adams’ energy and fearlessness on the field helped him carve out a pretty significant role by the end of his rookie season, despite others at the position having a higher stature.
Now, entering his second season, the 24-year-old is competing for the starting role at free safety.
Beyond competing, he’s influencing some of the Jets’ most experienced players.
“Every day, there’s things that you guys don’t see,” said Jordan Whitehead, who is entering his sixth NFL season, is expected to start at strong safety and watches Adams up-close every day. “It’s little things that brought Tony to where he is today. He takes to coaching, he’s a great listener, he’s a great leader, he wants to be better every day, and you can see it.
“He actually made me realize, in Year 5 last year, you kind of just get lost. … But when a guy’s hungry, and he wants to make the team and fight for a starting position, it gets you back to the little things you did when you first got back to the league. Him practicing as hard as he does every day, it got my mindset on that same level, so I appreciate it.”
Adams, who played five seasons at Illinois, started one game last year and appeared in 11, totaling 118 defensive snaps despite beginning the season having to fight his way onto the roster.
He mostly played special teams until the last few weeks of the season, when he saw more time at safety and recorded 17 total tackles as well as one quarterback pressure.
His first NFL start came in Week 18, and 104 of his 118 defensive snaps, as well as 12 of his 17 tackles, occurred across the last two weeks.
The Jets traded for former Ravens safety Chuck Clark in March and expected him to start alongside Whitehead, but he tore his ACL during organized team activities and will miss the entire season.
They subsequently signed former Bears and Packers safety Adrian Amos, who along with Ashtyn Davis, will provide Adams’ greatest competition for a starting role or significant playing time.
“I have grown a lot this year, but I keep that same undrafted free agent mindset,” Adams said. “I think every year you need to set goals and embark on that journey. I think of it as climbing a mountain and every year you want to keep climbing.
“And my coaches never let me settle for anything other than the standard, and the standard is excellence.”
Adams’ teammates and coaches rave about his demeanor.
He has largely worked with the second unit in practice and rotated in with the starters, and they point to his constant trash-talk and the dialogue he engages in, as well as a constant obsession to go as hard as he possibly can, no matter the drill.
Head coach Robert Saleh did not expect Adams to make the team at the start of training camp last year, but said he made it “impossible for us to cut him” and is seeing the same thing unfold this year.
“His mental makeup [has most impressed him],” Saleh said. “He checks all the boxes. Physically, he’s got red-line-to-red-line speed, he’s physical in the box, he’s got great instincts in the run game, he’s got great feel for the pass game, he checks all that stuff.
“But there’s a lot of people in this league that check those boxes, but there’s only a few that check his mental makeup. Everything about him, he’s excited about everything.”
Adams intercepted Aaron Rodgers during practice on Wednesday, though it came on a free play as a result of a defensive penalty.
Rodgers took notice and sought out Adams on the sideline to praise him for the play.
Commanding attention like that as an undrafted free agent is often difficult. Not for Adams.
“It’s so simple, it’s just doing your job every play,” Adams said. “It’s focusing on your details, where you’re supposed to be, when you’re supposed to be there, it’s just listening to your coaches and just locking in on the details.
“I think we overcomplicate this simple game we’ve been playing since we were a kid. All I’ve done to get this far is listen to my coaches and keep being a dog, keep being that person, that little kid I was growing up. That got me this far.”
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