Analyzing each position on initial 53-man roster for Jets
Getting to 53 players from 80 is never an easy task. Especially when you have a bunch of talented players like the Jets did. Having to cut 27 players in a short time makes for some interesting decisions and makes each position a fascinating puzzle to figure out.
Let’s run through each position and share some thoughts on the groups and how we got to this point.
Quarterback
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The main competition at the quarterback position revolved around the third quarterback spot. Would the Jets keep Mike White? Would they go with preseason darling Chris Streveler? Would they keep both and roll with four quarterbacks?
They ultimately decided to keep White over Streveler, which certainly upset a few Jets fans, who wanted Streveler over White, or at the very least, for the Jets to keep four quarterbacks.
The Jets still have hopes of White being the long-term backup to Zach Wilson down the line and he may end up being the backup to Joe Flacco in Week 1 against the Ravens, while the Jets hope to stash Streveler on their practice squad and may end up having him as the QB3 for Week 1, depending on the status of Wilson.
Wilson should be back no later than Week 3, which allowed the Jets to keep him on the 53-man roster. And while there may still be a chance he plays in Week 1, the likelihood remains it will be Flacco going against his former team to start the season.
Wilson holds the key to the season. After missing four games due to injury in 2021, the Jets hold Wilson can take a step forward in his second season. If he does, with the weapons he now has surrounding him, the Jets, as a whole, can take a step forward.
Flacco gives the Jets a viable backup. He performed fairly well in the preseason and in practice since Wilson went down with that knee injury against the Eagles. The Jets could do a lot worse with their backup quarterback.
Running Back
(Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
One of the minor surprise cuts came at the running back position, when the Jets decided to release Tevin Coleman. But as a result, it allowed the Jets to keep both Ty Johnson and undrafted rookie Zonovan Knight.
The Jets have a strong stable at the running back position. Michael Carter and Breece Hall will be one of the better 1-2 punches in the league, Johnson can provide a quick spark from time to time and Knight showed flashes in the run game and on special teams, making him a nice RB4. Look for the Jets to improve in the run game.
The Jets also placed FB Nick Bawden on injured reserve during their final cuts, ending his season, unless the team and Bawden come to an injury settlement. It’s unclear what the injury was.
Wide Receiver
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Head coach Robert Saleh called Denzel Mims “one of our six best wide receivers” after Sunday’s game against the Giants. Based on the initial 53-man roster, Saleh stuck to his word, as the Jets kept Mims as one of six wide receivers. Whether Mims stays all the way remains to be seen.
As for the group as a whole, there’s a lot to be excited about. Corey Davis, Elijah Moore, Braxton Berrios and Garrett Wilson help the Jets go a solid four-deep at receiver. Berrios will quietly be a very intriguing slot option.
Then you have a good special-teamer in Jeff Smith to round out the group.
Cutting Calvin Jackson had to be very difficult, but you have to imagine he’ll land on the practice squad. And if the Jets do eventually move on from Mims, Jackson can then easily be moved up to the active roster.
It’s been a while since the Jets had this much talent at the wide receiver position. Let’s see how they go about utilizing everyone.
Tight End
(AP Photo/Adam Hunger)
Like the wide receiver position, it’s also been a while since the Jets had a legitimate weapon at the tight end position. You can argue they currently have three or four legitimate weapons, depending on how you feel about Jeremy Ruckert right now.
Even with Ruckert still developing, you have C.J. Uzomah, Tyler Conklin and Lawrence Cager all with the ability to make a difference over the middle of the field. Conklin looks like he’ll be a favorite in the red zone, while Cager displayed a ton of athleticism and can be used all over the field. And of course, Uzomah brings the experience of playing in the Super Bowl and can still be a nice weapon to move the ball.
The Jets cut Trevon Wesco and Kenny Yeboah to get down to their four tight ends.
You cannot say the Jets are lacking in weapons anymore. It’s a great problem to have.
Offensive Line
(AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
The Jets won’t have Mekhi Becton this season. But they’re still in a good position up front, especially with the starting five. Duane Brown, Laken Tomlinson, Connor McGovern, Alijah Vera-Tucker and George Fant should open up holes for the running game and will, hopefully, keep Zach Wilson upright, especially after already seeing him injured this year.
The Jets are also very high on their fourth-round pick Max Mitchell. He is currently the only backup tackle on the roster. It wouldn’t be a shock if the Jets add another tackle at some point, but the confidence the team has in Mitchell is clear. He was already splitting first-team reps with Chuma Edoga when Becton got hurt and before Brown came to town. Edoga is gone, Mitchell sticks around.
New York also has two interior reserves for the moment in Dan Feeney and Nate Herbig.
Along with Edoga, the Jets cut Conor McDermott, Ross Pierschbacher, Grant Hermanns and Chris Glaser.
Defensive Line
(AP Photo/Adam Hunger)
The Jets are hoping extra bodies on the edge will equal more pass rush and, hopefully, more sacks.
The team kept seven defensive ends (Carl Lawson, John Franklin-Myers, Jermaine Johnson, Jacob Martin, Bryce Huff, Micheal Clemons, Vinny Curry). In a sense, the Jets have three newcomers, as Lawson didn’t play at all in 2021 and Johnson and Clemons are exciting rookies. Defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich will have plenty of possibilities and combinations to attack opposing quarterbacks as they look to improve from just 33 sacks last season, seventh-fewest in the league in 2021.
An eighth edge defender may also stick around on the practice squad, if the Jets are able to bring back Bradlee Anae, who had himself a nice camp.
Jonathan Marshall and Tanzel Smart made a good run, but the top four defensive tackles head serve all the way through. It will be, at least for now, Quinnen Williams, Solomon Thomas, Sheldon Rankins and Nathan Shepherd.
This line group has a chance to really make some noise and really help set the tone for the defense. It will be very interesting to see how they get after Lamar Jackson in Week 1.
Linebacker
(AP Photo/John Munson)
The Jets only kept four linebackers, as they’ll run out of nickel quite often. But these four linebackers can play.
Quincy Williams, C.J. Mosley, Kwon Alexander and Jamien Sherwood are about as physical as you can get at the linebacker position and will be huge tone-setters on defense. It’s only a matter of time before Alexander sees more time with the first team. And Sherwood can tackle. If anything happens to Mosley or Williams, the Jets can feel very confident about their replacements.
Among the cuts Tuesday were Marcell Harris, Del’Shawn Phillips, Hamseh Nasirildeen and DQ Thomas.
Cornerback
(Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images)
A lot of youth highlights the six cornerbacks on the initial Jets roster. Four of the six corners were drafted within the last three drafts and five of the six are 25 years old or younger (Justin Hardee is 28).
Rookie Sauce Gardner earned a starting role by beating out 2020 fifth-round pick Bryce Hall to start opposite D.J. Reed, while 2021 fifth-round pick Michael Carter II will start at nickel. Brandin Echols, a 2021 sixth-round pick, will be one of the key reserves at corner, along with Hall.
Hardee is one of the core special-teamers for the Jets.
Javelin Guidry was likely one of the tougher cuts for the Jets. He appeared in all 17 games last season. But the emergence of Carter II put Guidry on the outside looking in. The Jets also cut Rachad Wildgoose and Isaiah Dunn.
Safety
(AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
If there was a position chock full of surprises for the Jets, it was the safety position. Jason Pinnock looked like a lock for the roster. He was cut. Will Parks looked like he had a good shot at the roster. He was cut.
Instead, it was Ashtyn Davis and Tony Adams making the 53, along with Jordan Whitehead and Lamarcus Joyner.
Whitehead and Joyner will be an intriguing safety duo and Adams had a strong preseason and earned a roster spot as an undrafted free agent, giving the Jets two UDFAs, with the other being RB Zonovan Knight.
Keeping Davis is certainly an interesting decision on the Jets’ part. Davis hasn’t worked out as well as the Jets would have hoped after being a third-round pick in 2020 and looked like he was kicked down to fifth on the depth chart, at best. But the Jets still see something in Davis. Could he be cut during waiver wire claims? Absolutely. The Jets may very well look for other safeties to bring in. But for now, they still like Davis.
Specialists
(AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
The Jets had a competition at kicker and not much else. Greg Zuerlein beat Eddy Pineiro to be the Jets kicker for 2022. Braden Mann returns for his third season as punter and Thomas Hennessy, the longest-tenured Jet, is back for his sixth season as the Jets’ long snapper.
Hennessy leads all long snappers in special teams tackles (18) since entering the league in 2017 and hasn’t missed a single game yet.
Mann missed seven games in 2021 but finished the season on a high note, ranking in the top ten over the final four weeks of the season in punt average (9th), net average (4th) and opponents’ return average (2nd). He also led the league during that time in touchback percentage at 89.5 percent.
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