Taking a look at a Jets pass rusher
The Jets recently signed former Buffalo Bills edge defender Kingsley Jonathan. Today we break Jonathan down in detail.
The 27-year-old Jonathan is listed at 6’4” and 260 pounds and was undrafted out of Syracuse in 2022. He has played in 20 NFL games, 15 of which were with the Buffalo Bills, and has racked up 10 tackles, three quarterback hits and a tackle for loss. He has also spent time with the Chicago Bears and Houston Texans.
Background
Jonathan was a three-star high school recruit, who played outside linebacker and defensive end before being recruited to Syracuse in 2017. However, his background was uniquely complicated according to a Daily Orange report.
He grew up in Nigeria before his parents opted to send him to the USA, where he was mentored by a couple from North Carolina. As a teenager, Jonathan didn’t question the fact that he was much bigger than everyone in his class, was attending a different school than the one his parents paid for him to attend and had his name incorrectly listed as Jonathan Kingsley on all his documents.
It turned out that he was the victim of a money-making human trafficking scam, where the couple had become the guardians for a number of children and falsified documents to change their identities, age and other details.
As this case was unfolding, the popular Jonathan got plenty of local support and was able to stay stateside and resume his football career within the correct age group.
Once he arrived in Syracuse, Jonathan made some contributions as a true freshman, playing in eight games and registering four tackles and a sack.
In 2018, he made the first two starts of his career and racked up 21 tackles and five sacks in 13 games, then remained in a rotational role in the following season and registered 24 tackles and 1.5 sacks.
He was a full-time starter for the first time in his career in 2020, racking up career highs for tackles (32) and pass breakups (three) along with three sacks.
However, his final season saw him back in a rotational role as he made just one start. He was productive despite this with 20 tackles and 4.5 sacks.
Jonathan was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Bills after going unselected in the 2022 draft, but was released in final cuts and landed on the Bears practice squad. He would ultimately play five times for them in his rookie season, recording four tackles, but was released in November. The Bills then re-signed him to their practice squad and he played in one game for them before the end of the season, recording a tackle for loss.
Having returned on a futures deal, Jonathan made the Bills’ roster in 2023 and was active 13 times in a special teams role that also saw him get some defensive reps, mostly in garbage time. He had five tackles and two quarterback hits for them.
In 2024, he failed to make the final roster but landed on the practice squad. He was elevated for one game, in which he recorded a quarterback hit, but that was his only appearance of the season.
He signed a futures deal with the Texans after the season but they released him in May.
The Jets signed Jonathan early on in camp, after they had announced Jermaine Johnson would start off on the PUP list.
Let’s move on to some more in-depth analysis of what Jonathan brings to the table as a player, based on extensive research and film study.
Measurables/Athleticism
Jonathan has decent size and excellent length. He posted good numbers across the board at his pro day workout in 2022 with a 4.76 in the 40-yard dash, 28 bench press reps and solid explosiveness and agility numbers.
Usage
Jonathan has played primarily on the edge, on both sides of the formation and both standing and with his hand(s) in the dirt. In college, he would occasionally line up across from a tackle and even took some reps on the inside.
Motor
Jonathan is known for having a good motor as he battles in the trenches and hustles in pursuit. When he surprisingly made the Bills’ roster in 2023, general manager Billy Beane specifically praised his motor and cited that as one of the reasons the Bills retained him.
He only has one year as a full-time starter, in which he played less than 550 snaps, so he hasn’t much experience of handling a starter’s workload, although he did play over 50 snaps five times that year.
At the NFL level, Jonathan once played 44 snaps in a preseason game but the most he has played in regular season action is 26.
Pass rush
Although he never had more than five sacks in a season at Syracuse, Jonathan entered the league with some impressive pass rushing abilities. Notably, he had impressed during his career in a three-sack performance against Boston College and a game against Louisville where he beat future Jets first round pick Mekhi Becton a few times.
His pressure rates in college and preseason action were solid, but – as you’d expect – they were lower in his limited regular season action. Despite this, he still put some good moments on film coming off the edge.
He has a decent get-off and has flashed the ability to go from speed-to-power and move his man off his spot.
He has also been useful at creating interior pressure on stunts and inside moves from time to time.
Run defense
Jonathan was a consistent run defender in his college career and has held his own when asked to play against the run in NFL preseason and regular season action, although he has generally played more on passing downs in the pros.
At 260 pounds, he is big enough and has the physicality to set the edge on runs to the outside.
Technique
Jonathan wins with a variety of pass rush moves and displayed good technique in terms of his footwork and hand fighting, which he has shown he can operate in sync with each other.
He has the strength to hold his ground against a lineman while he resets his position to maintain a leverage advantage.
Special teams
Jonathan wasn’t a full-time special teamer at Syracuse, but did gain experience on every unit during his career. He was credited with one special teams tackle and did not have any penalties while in college.
In 2023, he had a big special teams role as he played 177 special teams snaps with his roles including blocking on the return units and rushing kicks and punts. He has had one special teams tackle along with a couple of missed tackles and penalties at the pro level.
Tackling
Missed tackles haven’t been a major issue for Jonathan, who never missed more than five in a college season. However, he did miss an opportunity to complete a sack on a few occasions.
He forced one fumble during his college career.
Coverage
It has been rare for Jonathan to drop into coverage over the course of his career. He does have four passes defensed but these all came on batting or deflecting passes as he rushed the quarterback.
He intercepted a pass in the state final in high school, though.
Instincts/Intelligence
Jonathan was a late starter in terms of his football career, but has been described as a “thinking player” who is careful and deliberate despite having some explosiveness to his game. He shows some good examples of play recognition and reaction on film.
He was an impressively decorated student with consistent all-ACC academic team, ACC academic honor roll and SU Athletic Director honor roll selections throughout his college career. He was also the 2020 Jim Tatum award winner, which recognizes the ACC student-athlete of the year.
His only defensive penalty in regular season NFL action was a pre-snap penalty as he jumped offside.
Attitude/Demeanor
Jonathan is a popular character who is described as cheerful and a vocal leader. Obviously, he showed character and determination to get to where he has considering his past.
In addition to all the academic honors, Jonathan has also been a semi-finalist for the Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year award, a nominee for the Wuerffel Trophy and a two-time semi-finalist for the William V. Campbell Trophy. He also won the Joseph Alexander award for excellence in football, scholarship and citizenship. He has done plenty of work in the community and was a member of both the Syracuse student athlete advisory committee and their diversity and inclusion student athlete board.
On field discipline was not an issue for Jonathan who has had one penalty in NFL regular season action, one in preseason action and just eight in five years while in college.
Injuries
Jonathan hasn’t been dramatically affected by injuries throughout his career as he played 56 games in college and hasn’t missed any time at the pro level.
He did have some knee and hamstring injuries in college, though, and had to have surgery ahead of the 2019 season.
Scheme Fit
Jonathan adds to the Jets’ rotation on the edge with his ability to be a situational rusher and hold his own in the running game. He’s probably competing with the likes of Rashad Weaver to earn a roster spot and potential rotational role.
He was a teammate of current Jets players Andre Cisco while in college and Justin Fields while with the Bears.
Conclusions
Jonathan has some talent and is the kind of player who will make some noise on the third unit in camp and then produce in preseason. He has two sacks in eight career preseason games already and could add to that this year as he’ll be facing backups many of whom are less experienced than he is.
Whether he has much upside remaining as he enters his prime remains to be seen but he’s someone who has held his own in a rotational role at the NFL level and hopefully bolsters the level of competition at this position.