Joe Douglas’ work with the 2021 rookie class wasn’t done when the Jets made their final pick in the sixth round. There were two more novices he wanted to bring to Florham Park that he was willing to break the bank for.
CB Isaiah Dunn and TE Kenny Yeboah received handsome salaries to pick the Jets over other suitors. Neither was deemed worthy of a pick in the draft, but both were hot commodities on the undrafted free agent market. Dunn received $185,000 from the Jets, while Yeboah inked a contract worth $200,000.
Those contracts swell in comparison to the millions draft picks and traditional free agents make, but they were still top of the UDFA market for two sought-after players.
High expectations accompanied Dunn and Yeboah’s paydays. Some undrafted free agents don’t come close to receiving six digits. The salaries the two received indicated that they were expected to produce as if they were late-round draft picks.
Unfortunately for the Jets, that didn’t come close to happening.
Dunn was an offseason sweetheart of New York’s coaching staff. His work in coverage was praised on a near-daily basis, and he made a strong case for a spot on the 53-man roster in the spring. The only questions being asked about Dunn entering training camp were how high he could potentially climb on the depth chart.
Yeboah, on the other hand, lost his luster early in the offseason. He struggled with drops throughout rookie minicamp and OTAs, quickly falling down a thin tight end depth chart. The hope was that Yeboah would turn things around in training camp, but his performance during the spring was concerning nonetheless.
The Jets were faced with reality once the summer rolled around. Dunn managed to break camp with the team, but he spent the preseason getting torched in coverage. Yeboah continued to struggle with drops, and while he starred in New York’s preseason finale against the Eagles, he started the regular season on the practice squad.
It didn’t get any better for either of Gang Green’s prized undrafted free agents once the games started to count. Dunn was a liability in coverage and spent most weeks as a healthy scratch. Yeboah worked his way up to the active roster here and there, but didn’t do much to take advantage of a putrid tight end room. He caught just two passes for 36 yards.
Douglas went all-in on these undrafted free agents, but they produced next to nothing. Nobody is expecting an undrafted free agent to develop into a starter right off the bat, but the high-quality ones are thought to have the ability to become rotational players. Dunn and Yeboah couldn’t even manage that.
Douglas won’t catch a ton of criticism for it because there are bigger issues at hand than the performance of two undrafted free agents, but it is discouraging that two players he deemed worthy of lucrative contracts under the circumstances flopped as hard as Dunn and Yeboah did.
Perhaps the duo will get another chance to make major strides in 2022.
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