Jets Joe McKnight Expected To Play Exclusively At Corner With Revis Out

I wrote about Jets running back Joe McKnight getting to play some cornerback against the Steelers a few weeks ago.

That never really materialized, but now with Darrelle Revis out for the year, the New York Daily News is reporting that McKnight will see an increased role at cornerback and could possibly remain in that role.

Rex Ryan spoke briefly about the position switch earlier.

“We’ll do that this week with Joe McKnight,” Ryan said. “He’ll have a role on offense, but we’re also teaching him how to play corner…. Not quite a full-time capacity, but he’s going to be over there a ton in the meetings and everything else.”
“He’s a guy that we saw on scout team when he was a rookie,” Ryan said. “He has the necessary skills to be able to play corner. He’s got the speed, the size, the athleticism, the ball skills. Everything you look for in a corner. So, I don’t think there’s any reason not to think that Joe McKnight couldn’t be a corner.”
“It’s just going to take time, obviously,” Ryan added. “But I think with (defensive backs coach) Dennis Thurman and (assistant defensive backs coach) Jimmy O’Neil over there, I think we got great teachers of the game. It’ll be interesting. I would not bet against Joe McKnight becoming a good corner.”

McKnight is not foreign to playing cornerback.  He hasn’t played it in some years but he has played the position.

Ken Norton Jr. who recruited McKnight to USC as a defensive back once said that if Joe McKnight focused on playing defensive back in college, he could have been the No.1 pick.
 

Robert Littal

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