Tag: Jets OTAs

Week 2 OTA notes: Is Braelon Allen already on the inside track for RB2?

Week 2 OTA notes: Is Braelon Allen already on the inside track for RB2?

The Jets wrapped up their second week of OTAs and are now about halfway through this final phase of the offseason program. The Jets have four days of work in the third week of OTAs before finishing up with mandatory minicamp June 11-13.

One storyline that came out of the second week of OTAs for the Jets is the continued battle for the No. 2 running back role behind Breece Hall. The Jets drafted two backs in April, Braelon Allen and Isaiah Davis, to compete with 2023 fifth-round pick Izzy Abanikanda. The team also signed former Bears running back Tarik Cohen, attempting a comeback following multiple major injuries.

It’s very, very early, but Allen, the team’s fourth-round pick out of Wisconsin, may already be the favorite to be Hall’s direct backup this season. During the media session Wednesday, Allen flashed his pass-catching skills to go along with his pass-protection skills.

“(Allen’s) known for his ability in pass protection but also flashed as a receiver on Wednesday, getting open against linebackers in coverage,” wrote Zack Rosenblatt of The Athletic. “He showed some shiftiness after the catch too.

“Second-year running back Izzy Abanikanda isn’t exactly receiving the lion’s share of reps with Hall out,” noted Connor Hughes of SNY. “It actually feels he’s working behind rookie Braelon Allen and Isaiah Davis at times. That’s not a great sign. GM Joe Douglas rarely cuts his rookie draft picks. It’s getting hard to see a path for Abanikanda to make the 53-man roster, assuming the Jets keep just four (looping in fullback Nick Bawden).”

Allen rushed for double-digit touchdowns in all three of his seasons at Wisconsin: 12 in 2021, 11 in 2022, 12 in 2023. Allen also improved his receiving numbers over the year, catching 28 passes for 132 yards in 2023.

Here is the scouting report on Allen from The Athletic’s Dane Brugler from his draft guide.

“A three-year starter at Wisconsin, Allen was the focal point of offensive coordinator Phil Longo’s multiple-run scheme. After signing as a safety/linebacker out of high school (at age 16), he stayed on offense and led the Badgers in rushing each of his three seasons in Madison, including 20 career 100-yard rushing games, the most of any active college player in 2023. (Wisconsin was 18-2 in those games). A balanced, one-cut athlete, Allen shows a great feel for lane development, especially on inside/outside zone. He can run with either finesse or physicality, depending on the situation (69.5 percent of his yardage came after contact in 2023).

“He needs to prove his reliability (ball security, durability), but he plays through pain, and NFL teams love that he is the youngest player in this draft class. Overall, Allen isn’t overly creative and doesn’t run with as much nastiness as his size suggests, but he is well built with the vision, feet and overall feel to maximize the run
design. He has the talent and third-down potential to be a productive NFL tandem back, similar to Tyler Allgeier.”

Allen is already starting to build some momentum this spring. Time will tell if that will carry over into the summer, but the early outlook is the Jets may have a nice one-two punch with Hall and Allen.

Sauce Gardner excited for challenge of shadowing receivers in 2024

Sauce Gardner excited for challenge of shadowing receivers in 2024

Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner has already staked his claim as one of, if not the best, cornerback in the National Football League with two All-Pro nods in two seasons. He may get a chance to take his game to another level and truly become a shutdown shadow corner.

Head coach Robert Saleh told reporters Tuesday that there is a “possibility” Gardner will travel with an opponent’s No. 1 wide receiver. It wouldn’t be exclusive, Saleh said. It won’t happen every week but it may happen more than last year.

“Teams definitely did not want to throw to Sauce’s side,” Saleh said. Of all cornerbacks that at had least 400 coverage snaps, per PFF, only six were targeted less than Gardner.

  1. Jalen Ramsey, Dolphins – 42 targets
  2. Marshon Lattimore, Saints – 46
  3. Cobie Durant, Rams – 46
  4. Derek Stingley Jr., Texans – 48
  5. Marcus Peters, Raiders – 50
  6. Jaylon Johnson, Bears – 50
  7. Sauce Gardner, Jets – 51

 

Gardner is excited for the challenge of traveling more with the top wide receivers.

“I want to call myself one of the best in the game if not the best,” Gardner said. “I’m always hoping to compete. Ultimately, I just want to do whatever it takes for the team to win.”

Gardner’s challenge could start right away in Week 1 against either Deebo Samuel or Brandon Aiyuk when the Jets visit the San Francisco 49ers on Monday, September 9. Other top receivers Gardner could shadow this season include Calvin Ridley (Titans), Justin Jefferson (Vikings), Stefon Diggs (Texans), DK Metcalf (Seahawks), Tyreek Hill/Jaylen Waddle (Dolphins) and Cooper Kupp/Puka Nacua (Rams).

Gardner has already given Jets fans flashbacks of Hall of Famer Darrelle Revis. Year 3 could see Gardner take yet another step toward cementing his own place in Canton.

Robert Saleh says Breece Hall ‘looks awesome’ at OTAs

Breece Hall feels good during his recovery.

The calf injury for Aaron Rodgers is certainly the most-talked-about injury for the Jets heading into June, but the team is also keeping tabs on the rehab process for running back Breece Hall. So far, so good.

Hall has been recovering from the ACL injury he suffered last October that cost him the final ten games of the regular season, an injury that may very well also cost him the Offensive Rookie of the Year award, an award that went to his teammate Garrett Wilson.

The recovery has been going well for Hall. “It’s good to be back on the field, running around, doing drills, starting to cut and stuff, feeling like myself again. I’m progressing, so it’s good.”

Head coach Robert Saleh echoed those sentiments, saying, “He’s one of those kids that we’ve had to kind of hold back … because there’s a process, it’s weird to say, you don’t want to heal too fast on an ACL. You’ve got to be able to balance it out with the strength.

“He looks strong, he looks powerful, he’s learning,” Saleh added. “I’m excited for him to get back on the field. I feel like he won’t need to be limited during training camp, even though we still will, just to be conscientious and cautious with him. But he looks awesome.”

Hall is being very patient with his recovery and knows he still has a ways to go before being 100% again. “I’ll be ready when I’ll be ready,” Hall said. “Obviously, I hope I’m ready, but you never know. I’m taking it a week at a time and letting my knee do what it does.”

Hall also said he reached out to other top running backs that have dealt with injuries, including Saquon Barkley of the Giants and Christian McCaffrey of the 49ers.

“After I first got hurt, me and Saquon had some long conversations,” Hall said. “Christian hit me up and I talked to Derrick a couple of months ago at a signing. We talked about going through injuries, keeping your mental right, and pushing through every day.”

Getting Hall 100% is one of the most priorities for the Jets this season. A healthy Hall with Rodgers leading the offense could lead to some explosive outputs for the team this season. That would be awesome for the Jets.

Aaron Rodgers showers Nathaniel Hackett with love as two set to work together again

Rodgers and Hackett: a match made in heaven?

Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers and offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett have been reunited after the two spent three years together in Green Bay while Hackett was the OC under head coach Matt LaFleur before Hackett left to become the head coach of the Denver Broncos in 2022.

To say Rodgers is excited to work with Hackett again would be quite an understatement. During his Tuesday press conference, Rodgers was asked about working with Hackett again and couldn’t help but shower the OC with as much love as possible.

“I love Nate so much,” Rodgers said. “He’s so fun to work with. He has the ability to bring the same type of crazy energy everyday without any stimulants. I don’t think he drinks any coffee, but he’s just the same energetic guy every single day. He’s got a great way of teaching where it is interactive and him and I have spent a lot of time after hours just going back through certain concepts that we like, re-naming a few things, subtle adjustments we might have done that he forgot about and then re-introducing some new concepts that he’s brought back at other places he’s been.”

Rodgers also brought up Hackett’s history of calling plays in multiple spots, including two previous stops as offensive coordinator before moving to Green Bay in 2019.

“He called plays in Jacksonville and Buffalo and obviously worked with not just his dad (Paul Hackett), but Jon Gruden and some great coaches around the League, so it’s a conglomeration with all of the different things with it based on a west coast offense, so him and I have commonality with the language and stuff, so it’s been great. I love him so much.”

Having that connection already established but also being able to pull from multiple offensive thoughts can help Rodgers and Hackett open up the playbook and make the Jets quite an explosive offense with all the talent across the board.

Aaron Rodgers says it was important to attend Jets OTAs

Rodgers really wanted to be around for OTAs

The New York Jets have begun the next phase of organized team activities this week, which include being on the field for actual football work. Among the players in attendance is their new star quarterback, No. 8, Aaron Rodgers.

That seems trivial and expected, but this is also a quarterback that, in recent years, wasn’t much of a member of OTAs with the Green Bay Packers. Now he’s a Jet and he’s excited and ready to take part in all aspects with his new team. He spoke to the media Tuesday and talked about why he felt it was important to attend OTAs this season.

“When you’re in the same offense for a long time, the offseason is really for the young players,” Rodgers said. “With a new offense being my first year here I really wanted to be around for at least some of the beginning things to just let them know how I like to do things, like I said, some of the code words, little adjustments, some of the ways I see the game, sparking that conversation.”

Needless to say, things seem off to a strong start with the camaraderie between Rodgers and his new teammates. The hope for Jets fans is that this early connection becomes something great by the time the season rolls around.

Allen Lazard clears the air on injury scare during Tuesday’s practice

Allen Lazard took, well, a shot during Tuesday’s practice.

Jets wide receiver Allen Lazard was initially thought to have left the field during Tuesday’s OTA practice and was seen walking off with trainers. Naturally, there was a concern considering it was the first practice open to the media, so it was our first chance to really see the 2023 Jets in action.

Fortunately, Lazard is just fine and took to Twitter to clear the air on what exactly happened to him. He simply took a shot, well, down there.

It almost feels fitting that the first day of media availability for Jets practice had to have some sort of drama, between Lazard and Aaron Rodgers’ injury. Fortunately, everyone is just fine and there is nothing to worry about for the newest offensive pairing for the Jets.

The 5 biggest Jets storylines entering OTAs

Keep an eye on these five storylines with the Jets beginning OTAs on Monday:

The excitement of free agency and the 2022 NFL draft — both of which the Jets used to drastically upgrade their roster — are over, but the offseason isn’t.

Now, it’s time for OTAs.

The Jets begin OTAs on Monday and there are plenty of compelling storylines surrounding the return of team activity in Florham Park. New York’s depth chart and 53-man roster won’t be set after OTAs, but Robert Saleh will have a close eye on his personnel to formulate a preliminary pecking order and training camp roster for July.

Here are five storylines to keep an eye on as the Jets go through OTAs.

6 Jets who need to impress at OTAs

Which Jets need to impress at OTAs in order to improve their prospects of seeing the field under New York’s new coaching staff?

With OTAs underway at One Jets Drive, now is the time for a handful of players on New York’s roster to step up and prove their worth to Gang Green’s new regime.

The Jets will host nine more practices over the next three weeks before the offseason concludes with a mandatory minicamp from June 15-17. That gives New York’s fringe players — young ones and veterans alike — ample opportunities to earn a prominent position on the depth chart and prove they deserve a roster spot.

Robert Saleh and his coaching staff will have plenty to take in over the next couple of weeks as they work to shape the Jets’ 2021 roster. Here are six players who need to impress at OTAs to improve their standing entering training camp.