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The heat will be on the entire Jets franchise when they begin their quest to make the playoffs for the first time since 2010, but a few of them will feel it a little more than the others. So SNY made a list of the five Jets who'll be under the most pressure this season.

No. 5 was running back Le'Veon Bell. No. 4 was defensive coordinator Gregg Williams.

The countdown continues with No. 3 …

Safety Jamal Adams

The 24-year-old Adams doesn't just want to be the highest-paid safety in the NFL, he wants his money now. And he also wants to be thought of as not just a top safety, but as one of the most important players in the NFL.

Just listen to what he said back in November, a few days after the Jets angered him by listening to teams that wanted to trade for him when they called:

"The Rams don't take calls on Aaron Donald," he said. "The Patriots don't take calls on Tom Brady. That's where I hold myself in that regard."

That's Aaron Donald, one of the 2-3 best defensive players in the NFL. And Tom Brady, one of the 2-3 greatest quarterbacks in NFL history.

So yeah, he's set his own bar pretty high.

If that's the company that Adams wants to keep, he has to play like he belongs there -- all the time, in every game. And along the way he has to make his defense and his team better. He has to constantly earn the money he's seeking, even before he gets it. And he can't disrupt his team just because the money doesn't come fast enough.

Whether he likes it or not, every move and sound Adams makes will be dissected this season, and the intensity of the scrutiny is only going to grow from there. Already, every absence, every tweet has been interpreted as a mood check and as a potential harbinger, and it likely will be until he gets the contract he so desperately wants.

That's a problem, too, because the Jets almost certainly aren't going to give him that contract any time soon. They appear sincere in their desire to make him a "Jet for life" and they understand they'll have to pay him at least $15 million per year, and probably a lot more to make it happen. They just don't want to do it now for a variety of reasons.

One is that players rarely get big contract extensions after just the third year in a five-year contract. And the other is there is legitimate fiscal uncertainty in the NFL due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which could lead to games with no fans, a huge drop in revenue, and maybe a decrease in the 2021 NFL salary cap.

So Adams will have to wait. But how quietly and patiently will he do it? Will he express his unhappiness and anger? Will he hold out from training camp? Will he try to force a trade? All of the above could prove to be an unwanted distraction for the entire franchise.

And then, more importantly, how will he play? If he's demanding to be the highest-paid safety in the NFL and to be treated like Donald and Brady, he better play like it. He probably won't like that every play, every game will be scrutinized more than ever. But it comes with the territory of being in the company he wants to keep.

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