Gang Green Nation
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....
