Begin to type the name Aaron Maybin on Google and the search engine immediately recommends that your search may in fact be for “Aaron Maybin Bust.”
Such is the life of Maybin, a former first-round pick of Buffalo who was unceremoniously waived by the Bills last week.
Jets head coach Rex Ryan confirmed on Wednesday following the morning walkthrough that his team was close to signing the defensive end who has registered just 23 tackles in his two-year NFL career.
“We will give him the opportunity to see what he can,” Ryan said. “He has the ability to rush the passer.”
He has the “ability” to rush the passer, as Ryan puts it, but Maybin’s two years in the NFL have shown no proclivity toward actually being able to do it. Maybin’s ability has failed to translate to actual sacks and pressure so far.
Maybin came into the league with promise. He was the No. 11 overall pick in the 2009 NFL draft and had been a finalist for the Bednarik Award, given to college football’s top defensive player. But as a professional, he’s been a huge disappointment.
There is plenty for Maybin to prove, something he acknowledged in his comments made yesterday, but he tried to downplay his own personal motivation for this season.
“At the end of the day, I never went out to prove naysayers wrong or anything like that. Whenever I step onto the football field, I want to be the best player I can be and I want to help my team win football games,” Maybin said. “That’s always been my focus, and that’s what it’s going to continue to be here.
Despite signing to play with the Jets in New York, a pressure cooker Antonio Cromartie called “the toughest media market in the country,” expectations are low for Maybin. He doesn’t come in as a highly coveted draft pick, just a down and out player on the low end of the salary totem pole.
“No one expects him to come in and start,” Ryan said.
Follow Kristian Dyer on Twitter @KristianRDyer for live updates and breaking news from Jets camp.
