With training camp here, Jets Wire has been taking a close look at the makeup of the Jets’ roster entering the 2020 season. Last up is special teams.
While Brant Boyer’s unit has been one of the most reliable in the league for the past two seasons, New York didn’t exactly get much out of its kicking specialists last season. After Chandler Catanzaro abruptly retiring and the nightmare experiment that was Kaare Vedvik, the Jets finally landed on Sam Ficken after multiple workouts. Ficken was serviceable, but New York will need more reliability out of the kicking position in 2020. As for Lachlan Edwards, the Aussie punter was replaced this offseason.
Let’s break down the specialists at One Jets Drive.
The Starters
After the departure of long-term punter Edwards in free agency, Jets’ sixth-round pick Braden Mann enters the picture as the team’s lone punter.
Mann won the Ray Guy Award as the nation’s top punter in 2018. Over his last two seasons at Texas A&M, he netted a gross average of 51.0 and 47.1 yards per punt, respectively. Mann should have no problem making his presence felt. In addition to his punting duties, he will be New York’s kickoff specialist, according to Boyer.
Returning at long snapper is Thomas Hennessy, who has been one of New York’s more reliable special teamers since arriving via trade from Indianapolis in 2017.
Depth
Going through three kickers before the second week of the season, the Jets didn’t exactly nail down the position in 2019. Ficken was signed off the street and was unable to consistently make his kicks. He was average at best, making 19 of 27 field goals and missing three extra points.
That’s exactly why Joe Douglas brought in former Dallas Cowboys kicker Brett Maher as his competition. Maher is notorious for his big leg, but he’s not very accurate. He hit just 66.7 percent of his field goals in 2019 after making 80.7 percent the season before. After being waived midseason by the Cowboys, Maher appears to be the Jets’ latest kicking reclamation project coming over from Dallas.
Back deep for the Jets in 2020 should be some combo of Ashtyn Davis, Vyncint Smith and Braxton Berrios. Although it was a small sample size, Smith took full advantage of returning kicks for Gang Green in 2019. Smith’s 29.9 yards per kick return would have ranked second in the NFL, but the third-year wide receiver only returned 10 kicks — too few to qualify for league leaders. As for Berrios, he was one of the more reliable punt returners across the league last season . His 11.4 yards per punt return was second in the NFL.
George Campbell and Trenton Cannon could push as competition, but both are looked at as roster bubble players entering training camp.
Outlook
With Boyer in charge of the unit, the Jets should see continued success from their special teams in 2020. While Mann and Hennessy are locked in as starters, the kicking competition between Ficken and Maher should be a battle to watch over the duration of training camp.
If Smith’s and Berrios’ numbers from 2019 are any indication, they should be the favorites for the returns jobs.
See more from Jets Wire’s Position Previews series: