This was the vision Isaiah Oliver signed up for.
His versatility had become a strength by the time he inked a one-year deal with the Jets in the offseason.
Then-defensive coordinator and current interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich knew about Oliver’s skill set, too, from their three years of overlap with the Falcons.
It would be a long season. Gang Green could use someone able to shuttle between nickel corner, outside corner and safety — “whatever the case may be,” Oliver said Friday.
So entering their Week 7 game against the Steelers, Oliver’s versatility has made him an indispensable piece of a Jets secondary — at least for now, until the starters return — trying to cobble together a rotation with starting nickel corner Michael Carter II (back) already ruled out, safety Chuck Clark (ankle) on injured reserve and D.J. Reed (groin) a game-time decision after not practicing all week.
He logged 60 and 54 percent of the defensive snaps the last two weeks, and will likely play the bulk of them at the nickel spot again Sunday.
But, if needed, the Jets know they can shift Oliver around to other spots, too.
“Whether that’s me playing safety, me playing nickel while [Carter’s] out, going to corner because D.J.’s down, whatever the case may be, just really just maximizing that opportunity in that sense to where you can play good defense and then hopefully play good football as a team and get a win,” Oliver said.
When Oliver signed with the Jets, through OTAs and into training camp, he focused on learning the safety portion of their defensive playbook.
The former second-round pick spent the 2023 season with the 49ers — where he went after five seasons, 62 games and 38 starts with the Falcons — mostly playing nickel, and given their system’s similarities to the one used by Gang Green, he focused on another position to start.
Still, the nickel spot was where his first major opportunity ended up materializing.
Oliver played the majority of the Jets defensive snaps during their loss to the Vikings in London when Carter exited after one snap, and during their loss to the Bills eight days later, he produced a critical pass breakup with the game tied in the fourth quarter and Buffalo driving.
He lined up inside against wideout Mack Hollins and needed to recover after the snap, knowing that the ball would likely head to Hollins with the Bills blitzing Josh Allen.
Oliver forced an incompletion and the Bills eventually settled for a field goal, giving the Jets offense a final chance.
It marked the latest example of Oliver being the Jets’ “Swiss Army knife,” as Ulbrich called him earlier this week. And Sunday, they’ll need it again.
“He’s such a valuable asset in that way,” Ulbrich said Friday.
