Ryan compares lightweight pass rusher to Fred Dean. Jeff Fedotin
The Buffalo News called him one of the NFL’s worst players.
The 11th overall pick in the 2009 draft never started a game or recorded a sack during his 27 games with Buffalo and he collected just 24 tackles.
ICONMaybin has found a home with Rex Ryan and the Jets after his release from the Bills.
So it is no surprise that the Bills released LB/DE Aaron Maybin on Aug. 15.
Maybin, though, has found new life with the Jets.
He leads them in sacks (six) and forced fumbles (four.) A pass rush specialist, he has not started any of his 12 games for the Jets. But Maybin, 23, fills the biggest hole on an otherwise strong defense.
“He gives us something,” Jets coach Rex Ryan said, “a trait we really need.”
That need became dire after the Jets lost LB Bryan Thomas to a season-ending Achilles injury in Week Four.
How can Maybin seem worthless for one team and valuable to another?
“I’m not real sure,” Ryan said. “We just take guys and really focus on what they can do and not focus so much on what they can’t do.”
Too small for the Bills, just right for the Jets
During his two years with the Bills, Maybin was dogged by weight issues. At the 2009 NFL Scouting Combine, Maybin bulked up to 250 pounds, but he has not approached that weight since.
He is listed — perhaps generously — at 6-4, 228 pounds, a weight more typically suited for a safety than a linebacker — let alone a defensive end, the position for which he was drafted.
“We never cared what Aaron weighed,” Ryan said. “We just want him to be able to rush the passer.”
Actually, Ryan does not want him to put on too much mass and impair his explosion off the line of scrimmage.
When Ryan first saw Maybin’s tall, angular body, he thought of a former Chargers and 49ers defensive end.
“He kind of reminds me of Fred Dean,” Ryan said. “Now I’m not saying he’s Fred Dean. Fred Dean’s a Hall of Famer, but (he has) the same kind of body.”
Because of his Dean-like long arms, loose hips and great burst, Maybin earned the nickname “Mayhem” at Penn State. And he is beginning to resemble the player who racked up 12 sacks and 20 tackles for losses during 10 starts as a Nittany Lion.
Ryan said that offenses are accounting for Maybin, turning their protection toward him.
“He really puts these tackles in a bind,” Ryan said. “He’s got a great knack to rush the passer.”
Maybin showcased that ability during a Week 13 Jets win.
Using an up-and-under move, he sacked and stripped Redskins QB Rex Grossman with less than five minutes left to seal the victory.
Family woes
Maybin’s unconventionally light weight is not the only reason for his struggles in Buffalo.
Under a constantly changing Bills staff, Maybin never found the right scheme.
The Bills drafted him as a 4-3 defensive end, and he had two head coaches — Dick Jauron and Perry Fewell — during his rookie year. The next season the Chan Gailey-led regime tried him as a 3-4 linebacker.
His professional struggles mirrored his personal ones. During July of 2010, his girlfriend delivered twins, but the boy, David, did not survive.
Life is tough, and we all must persevere and work hard at our jobs even during the most tragic of times.
But David’s death bore resemblance to another delivery-related passing. When Maybin was six, his mother, Connie, died while giving birth to Maybin’s sister.
By all accounts Maybin is now in a better place professionally and emotionally. He has said he’s having the most fun playing football since high school.
Though the Jets coaching staff deserves credit for helping Maybin fulfill his potential, they also passed on him too, releasing him on Sept. 4. Ryan said he was “way behind” at that point.
Maybin’s life continued to spiral downward. Weeks later, his aunt, Dolores, died from leukemia.
But hours after her passing, Maybin received a text from his agent.
Ryan wanted him back.
After troubling lows, Maybin’s personal life and NFL career are now soaring with the Jets.
Jeff Fedotin has written for Packers.com, Pro Football Weekly, ESPN The Magazine, the Lawrence (Kan.) Journal-World and Rivals.com. After graduating from Northwestern University, he interned for the Buffalo Bills.
Thanks for the recall, Sirscorps. I weigh in about 230 these days. Not quite as fast as I used to be, but there are days I still think I can play. /EJ
@sirscorps.
Fred Dean HOF WORTHY?
Fred Dean was apparently HOF worthy to those who actually vote.
He was part of the 2008 HOF inductees.
@sirscorps.
Fred Dean HOF WORTHY?
Fred Dean was apparently HOF worthy to those who actually vote.
He was part of the 2008 HOF inductees.
Dec 29, 2011
03:48 PM
Let this be a lesson, if you draft a very young player (i.e. Maybin, Jermichael Finley), you might want to give them an extra year to show what they can do. Along w/doing the obvious things like, don't overload them mentally, use their "strengths" early on....
Maybin kind of reminds me of one of the ex-Packers' pass-rushing greats, Ezra Johnson. He was 6'4" 240lbs. & ran a 4.49. Once Bart Starr had drafted him in near the end of the 1st round in '77, he received a call from Al Davis, congratulating him on the pick & telling him that if GB hadn't taken him, he would've. GB had also wanted Johnson to bulk up a bit & tried everything they could to put weight on him but he couldn't gain weight no matter what they tried. Come to find out, Ezra just had a very fast metabolism, so he played @ about 240lbs. until he was in his late 20's. After having 3.5 sacks in '77, he came out like gang-busters & put up 20.5 sacks in '78 (including a 5 sack game v. Detroit) & is still the unofficial leader in sacks in GB w/about 95 sacks, although Willie Davis might have something to say about that, lol. Johnson would've put up better numbers if it wasn't for a few high-ankle sprains & lower back injuries. Very under-rated pass-rusher & better than Fred Dean. Dean was a very good DE, but HOF worthy? I don't think so.
I'm happy to see Maybin having a breakout season, I just wish it was w/Buffalo, lol.