The Jets are starting to see what they envisioned.
Nose tackle T’Vondre Sweat, impossible to miss, clogging the interior during his second practice of training camp since returning from a hamstring injury. Joseph Ossai, flashing out wide, also participating in his second session since being removed from the physically unable to perform list with an undisclosed injury.
There was defensive end Kingsley Enagbare and defensive tackle David Onyemata — two other offseason acquisitions — contributing to an intriguing front, which features No. 2 overall pick David Bailey, Will McDonald IV and Harrison Phillips.
There has been so much change, enough to fuel belief within a group that had no connection to a defense that finished last season ranked 29th against the run, 31st in sacks and produced a league-worst four takeaways.
“You see all those boys flying around? It’s exciting,” Ossai said following Tuesday’s practice. “There’s a lot of dogs in that room for sure. … I’m not trying to say too much, but we got something.
“I just want to pop out Week 1 and people see what we’re all about.”
Sweat, listed at 366 pounds, is an intimidating sight and analytics darling, ranking fifth among 127 interior defensive linemen (according to Pro Football Focus) last season after being credited with 13 stops, 14 quarterback hurries, 34 tackles and two sacks for the Titans.
The 25-year-old former second-round pick met with the media Tuesday for the first time since he was acquired from Tennessee in a Feb. 26 trade for Jermaine Johnson II.
“It is what it is,” said Sweat, who will face the Titans in Week 1. “I’m in a happy place. That’s all I have to say about that. … I’m back out there now, and I’m feeling good. I’m ready to go.
“I feel like the potential of the group is gonna be great. We got great run stoppers. That’s what we preach, stopping the run. I feel like we got a great group of guys for that.”
Ossai, 26, spent his first five seasons in Cincinnati, then signed a three-year, $34.5 million contract with the Jets on March 12, reuniting him with Sweat, his former teammate at Texas.
“Big boy,” Ossai said. “Love him to death.”
Ossai, a former third-round pick, appeared in 14 games last season (starting nine), finishing with 43 tackles (nine for a loss), five sacks, two forced fumbles and 12 quarterback hits.
“After [missing practice] the last three weeks, it feels really good to be out there,” Ossai said. “It was frustrating because I do want to be out there, but it was needed … making sure I’m ready for the season.
“I’m a perfectionist. I want stuff right now. But I have to run my own race and get stuff done one day at a time. … By the end of the day, we’ll be right where we need to be.”
For now, Aaron Glenn is keeping Sweat and Ossai on “pitch” counts as they work their way back from lengthy absences.
“We have a management plan for those guys,” Glenn said. “They just got back. It wouldn’t be wise to just throw them out there and let them go.”
But that day isn’t far away.
“The energy [Glenn] brings, the fire he brings, there’s no way you leave a room or a defensive meeting and you don’t want to run through a wall,” Ossai said. “I can’t wait to run through a couple walls this year.”
