Brant Boyer’s unit got some much-needed help this offseason when the Jets signed Justin Hardee.
According to Lineups.com, Boyer’s special teams unit ranked 31st in opponent punt return yards, allowing 446 of them in 2020. Punter Braden Mann bailed out the Jets’ gunners on multiple occasions, as he recorded four tackles in his rookie season. However, with Hardee aboard, there should be some stability to the gunner position.
That’s why Boyer was giddy when he heard about the signing back in March.
“I was ecstatic on that one, I have to be honest with you,” Boyer said Thursday. “We played 13 different gunners last year, so it was a real struggle. He’s been fantastic, and what he’s done is he’s taken over a leadership role in the room, and that’s what the biggest thing we needed in our room especially losing a bunch of our core guys and things like that… He’s done a great job. I expect big things out of him. Now we just need somebody to emerge at that other gunner, so they can’t double him every time and things like that, and we’ll see what happens, which I fully expect someone will do.”
Hardee has been one of the NFL’s best gunners over the past few seasons with the Saints. He ranked seventh in the NFL with 32 special teams tackles from 2017-2020. The Saints also allowed the fewest punt return yards last season (46), and Hardee played a big part in that with eight total tackles.
As a result of Hardee’s strong play with the Saints, the Jets gave him one of the top contracts in the NFL for a special teamer. New York signed Hardee to a three-year deal worth $5.25 million with $1 million guaranteed.
Boyer has high expectations for Hardee in his first season with the Jets, and rightly so. The Jets wouldn’t have signed Hardee if they didn’t think he could help improve their special teams unit. We’ll see what happens throughout the 2021 season, but Hardee should be a difference-maker for the Jets in that facet of the game.
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