By Dom Cosentino/NJ.com The Star-Ledger Gil Brandt made his bones as a talent evaluator, most notably for the Cowboys during their first 29 seasons of existence. During Brandt's time in Dallas, the Pokes won two Super Bowls and five NFC titles. They also reached the NFC championship game 10 times. Brandt worked behind the scenes for the entirety of the Tom Landry era, but he was very much a big deal. Now a senior analyst for NFL.com, Brandt isn't shy about making judgment calls on current players. Just last month, he was complimentary of Jets quarterback Geno Smith, saying he saw Smith "grow a lot" as a rookie a year ago. On Thursday, Brandt turned his attention to other players coming off their rookie campaigns. Specifically, he listed 10 he described as "candidates to have breakout seasons as second-year pros." And among those making the cut was Dee Milliner, the cornerback the Jets drafted with the first of their two opening-round picks last year. Milliner, like Smith, had his share of ups an downs as a rookie. But, also like Smith, he finished by playing well in the season's final month. Brandt's take: Milliner didn't initially live up to the hype that came with being the No. 9 overall pick in last year's draft—missing a handful of games in the first half as he dealt with injury issues—but he really showed something toward the end of the season, specifically in Weeks 16 and 17. In those two games, Milliner broke up 10 passes—that's practically unheard of, the equivalent of having four interceptions in one game —and snagged three picks. Milliner has the size, speed and long arms needed for the position. He's also a very good tackler and blitzer. Being viewed by many as the replacement for Darrelle Revis didn't make Milliner's rookie year any easier. While I don't know if you can ever truly replace Revis, Milliner has turned it around, and I think he has a better-than-average chance of making the Pro Bowl within the next two years. Brandt's right that Milliner was exceptional in Weeks 16 and 17. But it also must be noted that in those games, Milliner was tasked with guarding the Browns' Josh Gordon and the Dolphins' Mike Wallace—a pair of dangerous playmakers. Defense certainly takes a total team effort, but Milliner was not just some beneficiary of great play on the other side of the field. The Jets, of course, chose to say goodbye to Antonio Cromartie, replacing him with journeyman Dimitri Patterson, much to the consternation of many fans. Brandt projects Milliner to break up 25 passes and grab five interceptions this season. If he can do that, the Jets will be far better off at corner than most observers now think they will. http://www.nj.com/jets/index.ssf/20..._milliner_due_for_breakout_second_season.html
Let us all hope he's right. That said, I'm not convinced that we signed Patterson to be Cromartie's replacement.
We shall see. It sounds nice to hear Brandt shower praise on the Jets, it means nothing unless it actually happens.
This is the Jets biggest question mark on defense. Dee Milliner. If he struggles there will be problems big time in terms of coverage. If he improves then we have a possibly very good cover corner. And most teams don't even have one. Plus maybe we'll even draft someone. Idzik would take a corner at 18 I think if the other guys he wants are selected. Assuming he doesn't trade up. Patterson and Walls should be ok. Esp. Patterson.
I think he turned a corner the last 6 games of the season, not just the last 2. I'm confident this guy is going to be a good #1 corner for us this year.
If Milliner breaks out, the draft we had last year would be insane. The defensive rookie of the year and a breakout elite corner. God that would be sick
I get a bit scared when people predict our players to have breakout years. Last year Hill and Gates were tabbed to have breakout years. The CS raved about both all camp. Usually when people predict breakout years for a player its because they played so poorly the year before. In this case I will give Milliner some slack as CB is a tough position to do well as a rookie. Hopefully we will see an improved and better Milliner next year. We definitely need him to come through.
I get that "patience is a virtue" as applied to Millner & to certain degree, he did display a modicum of adequate cover skills towards the end of the season. He will greatly benefit participating in full voluntarys, OTA's, pre-season, etc. sessions he missed entirely last season. I REALLY hope for the best for Dee this season otherwise the only "break-out" he'll have this season might be a bad case of the mumps/measles.
Rootin' for the guy and He should be better than Kyle but that's not saying much.. oan, Don't we see these articles every off season about Player 'X'?
Yes, it's formulated by editors of NFL.com and they say write an article about sophomore breakout candidates. Gil Brandt may have been good scout back in the day but now he writes fluff for a cushy media job. I expect Milliner to be pretty good in 2014, but certainly not because Gil Brandt says so.
We definitely see these types of articles about players every offseason - Aaron Maybin immediately comes to mind, heh - but I just have a better feeling about Milliner than a lot of other guys that have been hyped up over the years. He didn't just show some flashes toward the end of the season, he seriously stepped his game up. I know there's a lot of concern about the CB position at the moment but I have a hunch that Milliner is going to put a lot of people's concerns to rest in 2014. I do agree that they need to do something more to bolster the CB unit this offseason (most likely through the draft) but I don't see the desperate need at this position that others seem to.
No reason to think he won't pick up where he left off or be even better. He has had more time to get completely healthy, more time Rex's system and now he'll have a full camp under his belt. The issue is going to be that he's likely going to be our default #1 CB and have to cover the best receivers on each team...I think he'll be better than last year but is he really at that point in his career? I'm not so sure. I guess we'll find out.
That's right, Clyde Gates was supposed to be the 2nd coming of Don Maynard. Right now I would take Donald Duck over Gates. Left over hype from the 2012 offensive coordinator who brought Gates in from Miami.
Totally agree with this. And if Geno improves from the last few games last year it might put this draft over the top.
if he wants a big payday, he`ll play better. Thats what it comes down to. If the player wants more ca$h in his account, he`ll play better, which may, or may not, lead to the Jets winning more games. The Jets need money hungry players at every position if they want to win a SB. That doesn`t bode well for Woody, or the fans.
