The Jets desperately need a center after Ryan Kalil’s failed comeback. Could the brother of New York’s long snapper be the answer to that problem?
Temple center Matt Hennessy, the younger brother of Thomas, is one of the top interior offensive linemen prospects in the draft. Draft pundits put Hennessy slightly below the best center in the draft, Washington’s Tyler Biadasz, who is projected to go in the early second round.
When a reporter asked him at the Senior Bowl what it would be like to play with his older brother on the Jets, Hennessy seemed overjoyed at that idea.
“Oh, that’d be incredible. That’d be incredible,” he told reporters Wednesday. “We never got the chance to play together, he’s always been a bunch of years ahead of me.”
If Joe Douglas is serious about strengthening the offensive line through the draft, Hennessy could be a great Day 2 pick to fortify the line. He’s projected to go somewhere between the end of the second round and the end of the third round, but his stock could rise if he performs well in the Senior Bowl on Jan. 25 and the NFL Combine in early spring.
Hennessy didn’t give up a sack in 828 snaps, allowed four total pressures during the 2019 season and only allowed 14 pressures during his three years at Temple. At 6-foot-4, 295 pounds, he helped anchor a Temple offensive line that ranked 23rd in the nation and a run game that ranked 29th, per Pro Football Focus, and graded out as PFF’s top-ranked center (86.9).
The Jets won’t use the 11th overall pick on Hennessy given the amount of top-tier talent that will still be available in the first round, but they could easily use their second-round or either of their two third-round picks on the center if they like him. The Jets had one of the worst offensive lines in football, and they haven’t found a reliable center since Nick Mangold retired in 2016. A center should absolutely be on the team’s radar early in the 2020 draft.
The Jets have three selections on Day 2 of the draft: No. 48 (second round), No. 68 (third round, from the Giants in the Leonard Williams trade), and No. 79 (third round) and they could use any of those picks to take Hennessy if they’re impressed by his workouts and if the board falls the right way.
It would be a homecoming of sorts for the younger Hennessy if the Jets draft him. He and Thomas both grew up in Bardonia, New York, and attended Don Bosco Preparatory High School in Ramsey, New Jersey. Both are within a 30-minute car ride from MetLife Stadium.