Tag: Bryce Hall

4 Jets players to watch for in Thursday’s Hall of Fame Game vs. Browns

The Jets take on the Browns in Thursday’s Hall of Fame Game and here are 4 players to keep an eye on.

The New York Jets are set to kick off the NFL’s preseason schedule on Thursday night in the Hall of Fame Game against the Cleveland Browns. Even though this is the first chance for both teams to play a live game since last season, starters aren’t going to see much — if any — playing time on Thursday.

Similar to much of the preseason, Thursday’s exhibition contest will be an opportunity for some of the players on the roster bubble to make a name for themselves. Taking that into account, here are four players on the Jets to watch for in Thursday’s Hall of Fame Game versus the Browns.

Social media influencer Bryce Hall to make bareknuckle boxing debut at BKFC 48

YouTube and TikTok star Bryce Hall will throw down with undefeated BKFC fighter Gee Perez.

BKFC is giving influencers another shot.

Social media superstar [autotag]Bryce Hall[/autotag] (0-0) will give bareknuckle boxing a try, as he takes on undefeated [autotag]Gee Perez[/autotag] (3-0) at BKFC 48, a BKFC official informed MMA Junkie on Friday. The bout is expected to take place Aug. 11 at Tingley Coliseum in Albuquerque, N.M.

The two scheduled combatants already had one physical interaction, as Perez smacked Hall at BKFC 45 ceremonial weigh-ins Thursday.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Ctz18mOJcSr/

Hall, 23, is a social media personality known for his TikTok and YouTube videos. In June 2021, Hall competed in a celebrity exhibition boxing match against fellow influencer Austin McBroom. He lost by third-round stoppage due to strikes.

Perez, 34, is undefeated in bareknuckle boxing with three stoppages. Friday at BKFC 45, Perez defeated Phillip Ryan Carroll by first-round TKO.

The current BKFC 48 lineup includes:

  • John Dodson vs. JR Ridge
  • Bryce Hall vs. Gee Perez

Robert Saleh still alternating between Sauce Gardner, Bryce Hall

Perhaps Monday didn’t decide the cornerback battle after all

One game does not a decision make. At least that’s how Jets head coach Robert Saleh is looking at things right now regarding the ongoing cornerback battle between rookie Sauce Gardner and veteran Bryce Hall.

During his press conference after Wednesday’s practice, Saleh told the media he’s still going back and forth between Gardner and Hall as far as who will start Week 1 against the Baltimore Ravens opposite D.J. Reed, despite the perceived poor performance from Hall during Monday’s preseason game against the Atlanta Falcons.

“We had good evaluations yesterday,” Saleh said. “Obviously, we’re still in the alternating pattern. We’re talking about it every day. So, like I said, I know Bryce had what looked like a bad day on Monday, but at the same time, that hasn’t been him this entire camp. He’s had a really nice camp and like I said in my press conference after the game, I don’t want one day to define him, but they both been having a really good camp.”

The highlight from Monday, or lowlight if you’re so inclined, was Hall getting burned a couple of times during the first half, including on the touchdown to Falcons WR Olamide Zaccheaus and an early big play to TE Kyle Pitts.

But clearly, Saleh isn’t completely fazed by one game and will still let the competition go a bit longer, perhaps into Sunday’s preseason finale against the New York Giants. That said, it still feels like Gardner is the favorite to beat out Hall. Time will tell.

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Robert Saleh says cornerback decision could be made this week

The cornerback battle is reaching its conclusion.

The battle for the starting cornerback job opposite D.J. Reed may be coming to a head this week.

Head coach Robert Saleh told reporters after Monday’s preseason game that a firm decision regarding who the starter will be between Bryce Hall and Sauce Gardner may come this week.

If Monday’s game against the Falcons is any indication, it’s looking like Gardner is going to win the competition. Gardner has had a strong camp all summer long, while Hall struggled on Monday, getting burned a few times, including on a touchdown pass to WR Olamide Zaccheaus. Hall even played into the second quarter, while Gardner did not, which is quite telling.

This week’s joint practices and preseason game against the New York Giants may be the final tests for these two. Then again, the decision could be made even before that and the Jets may pick one and let him roll as the full starter this week, as the Jets are going to treat this week as their dress rehearsal for the regular season.

But after Monday, it’s probably a 99 percent chance it’s going to be the No. 4 overall pick in this year’s draft Gardner working alongside Reed, while Hall will be among the key reserves with Brandin Echols.

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The Jets’ biggest losers following the 2022 NFL draft

An influx of rookie talent is good for the Jets overall, but a few members of the team shouldn’t be thrilled about the new kids on the block.

An influx of rookie talent is good for the Jets as a team, but a few members of Gang Green shouldn’t be thrilled about the new kids on the block.

The Jets added a handful of impact players in the 2022 NFL draft. The expectation is that more than a few of them will start and/or earn serious snaps early in their careers. That’s bad news for a few of New York’s incumbents.

Let’s take a look at whose jobs could be threatened by the Jets’ rookie class.

Jets want to add ball-hawking No. 1 cornerback

The Jets could be in the market for a lockdown cornerback this offseason – either in the draft or free agency.

The Jets’ secondary could get a major facelift this offseason.

Not only could Joe Douglas find two new starting safeties, but multiple reports indicate the Jets want a true No. 1 cornerback.

The Daily News’ D.J. Bien-Aime II recently told the Badlands podcast that the team wants to acquire a lockdown cornerback this offseason, either in free agency, the draft or via the trade block. Bien-Aime added that teams targeted second-year CB Bryce Hall, New York’s No. 1 corner in 2021, because of his lacking ball skills.

Hall’s lone career interception came in 2020.

That aligns with what The Athletic’s Connor Hughes reported as well. Hughes said the Jets like the trio of Hall, Brandin Echols and Isaiah Dunn on the outside but don’t view any of them as ball-hawking, No. 1 cornerbacks. Echols finished the 2021 campaign with two interceptions, but he and Dunn were both suspect in coverage at times during their rookie seasons.

There are a lot of different avenues the Jets could go down if they truly want to add a shutdown cornerback. A few big names will likely hit the open market – some of which the Jets should and shouldn’t target – as well as some intriguing options early in the draft. The Jets could easily use the fourth or 10th pick on a cornerback such as LSU’s Derek Stingley Jr., Cincinnati’s Ahmad Gardner or Washington’s Trent McDuffie. They could also throw a lot of money at veterans like J.C. Jackson or Stephon Gilmore.

Either way, there’s no shortage of options for Douglas and Robert Saleh as they try to bolster one of the weakest units on the Jets’ defense. New York allowed the fourth-highest completion percentage, the third-most passing yards and tied for the second-fewest interceptions in 2021.

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Only one Jets 2020 draft pick a lock to start in 2022

A few of the Jets’ 2020 draft picks could start in 2022, but only one is a lock atop his position’s depth chart.

A few of the Jets’ 2020 draft picks could start in 2022, but only one is a lock atop his position’s depth chart.

That would be sixth-round punter Braden Mann. The 24-year-old has been effective enough to keep his job when healthy, but that doesn’t exactly shine a positive light on Joe Douglas’ first draft class with the Jets.

Two members of that nine-man class are already gone: fourth-round QB James Morgan and fourth-round OL Cameron Clark, who recently retired due to risk of paralysis. Second-round WR Denzel Mims, third-round DL Jabari Zuniga and fourth-round RB La’Mical Perine could be the next ones out the door after disappointing starts to their careers.

Aside from Mann, first-round OT Mekhi Becton and fifth-round CB Bryce Hall have the best chance to start. Becton will have to fight George Fant for his old left tackle gig after essentially missing the entire 2021 season with a knee injury, but he has the talent to reclaim the job. Hall, meanwhile, showed a high ceiling while starting all 17 games in 2021, giving him an inside track on an outside corner job should the Jets bring in competition for him and 2021 pick Brandin Echols.

There is also 2020 third-rounder Ashtyn Davis. He has the benefit of playing a position at which the Jets currently have little depth, but they will surely add more talent to that part of the secondary.

Aside from Hall and Becton potentially starting, it’s hard to see the Jets getting much more out of their 2020 class next season. Douglas’ first draft has already earned him plenty of criticism, but his 2021 class looked much better this past season.

With nine more picks coming up in April, Douglas needs to hit on his 2022 draft like he did last year.

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What does a new way to evaluate cornerbacks say about Jets’ trio?

Jets cornerbacks Bryce Hall, Brandin Echols and Michael Carter have a lot of room to grow, according to a new metric.

Cornerback is one of the hardest positions to evaluate with advanced metrics alone.

The best corners are obvious because they either allow a low completion percentage, are rarely targeted, or wrack up a ton of batted balls and/or interceptions. But even that isn’t enough to decide if a cornerback is entirely good or bad.

Take Cowboys CB Trevon Diggs, for example. He made the Pro Bowl and All-Pro team after leading the NFL with 11 interceptions, but he finished with the 84th-best Pro Football Focus grade and allowed the ninth-most yards per completion. 

The Jets’ starting trio of Bryce Hall, Brandin Echols and Michael Carter II are three other defensive backs who played well at times in 2021, but certain numbers don’t always paint a positive picture of their performances.

Because the position is tough to evaluate, Cowboys Wire’s K.D. Drummond created two new advanced statistics for cornerback efficiency: adjusted net passing yards allowed per target (ANYA/T) and adjusted net passing yards allowed per coverage snap (ANYA/CS). These two metrics help provide proper context for a cornerback’s true coverage skills.

Neither statistic suggests Hall, Echols and Carter II were anything more than average in 2021, though.

Echols was easily the Jets’ best cornerback by both marks. He finished 2021 with the 34th-best ANYA/T (6.12 yards) out of 78 qualifying cornerbacks, per Drummond. His ANYA/CS ranked 45th at 1.00 yards. Carter II finished with a 7.82 ANYA/T and a 1.21 ANYA/CS, which ranked 53rd and 63rd, respectively. Hall’s 8.57 ANYA/T and 1.40 ANYA/CS ranked 63rd and 73rd, respectively.

For reference, Packers CB Rasual Douglas finished first with an absurd 0.33 ANYA/T and 0.04 ANYA/CS. The rest of the top-10 in both categories allowed 2.32-4.63 ANYA/T and 0.39-0.60 ANYA/CS.

Coincidentally, these numbers are actually better than the Jets trio’s other statistics. Only Carter II finished in the top-100 of defensive players in average yards per completion allowed, while Echols and Hall finished in the top-100 in completion percentage allowed. Echols struggled in coverage plenty of times and Hall allowed the fourth-most touchdowns among cornerbacks (7).

Although their numbers aren’t fantastic, all three have a lot of room to grow – especially in the takeaway department. Echols led the group with two interceptions this year. Their youth is their biggest asset, though. All three are under the age of 25 – Hall and Echols are 24, while Carter is just 22 – which means they’re entirely malleable.

The Jets’ room could use at least one more quality cornerback, but it remains to be seen if Robert Saleh and Joe Douglas agree. They were content with running this trio out for most of the 2021 season despite their inexperience, so it stands to reason they could run it back with the same crew.

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6 takeaways from the Jets’ Week 16 win over the Jaguars

Zach Wilson edged Trevor Lawrence on a record-setting day. Takeaways from the Jets’ Week 16 win over the Jaguars.

Zach Wilson: 1
Trevor Lawrence: 0

That’s the head-to-head score between the top-two picks after the Jets snapped a three-game winning streak with a 26-21 victory over the Jaguars. Wilson got the best of his rookie counterpart. Wilson didn’t play a dominant game, but he did enough to get the Jets back in the win column for the first time since Week 12.

Here are six takeaways from Gang Green’s Week 16 triumph.