Kenny Yeboah entered the Jets’ preseason finale against the Eagles in desperate need of a big-time performance to garner any sort of consideration for a spot on the 53-man roster.
The undrafted free agent out of Ole Miss delivered just that on Friday night, catching four passes for 100 yards and two touchdowns — including a heave from James Morgan as time expired to set up Josh Adams’ game-tying two-point conversion. Yeboah flashed the potential that intrigued Joe Douglas enough to give him $200,000 just after the draft ended against Philadelphia, providing the Jets with the receiving threat at tight end they have been lacking all offseason.
Tyler Kroft caught two touchdown passes from Zach Wilson against the Packers, but he is not a prolific pass-catching tight end. Chris Herndon and Ryan Griffin were non-factors throughout the spring and summer. Trevon Wesco is going to operate as a full back in Matt LaFleur’s offense more than anything else.
Yeboah should be on his way to making New York’s 53-man with all of that taken into account, but one big preseason performance does not wipe out all of the struggles he has endured since joining the Jets.
Yeboah struggled mightily with his hands during the spring, frequently dropping passes he made a living catching during his college career. Rookie wide receivers and tight ends often take a while to catch up to the speed of the professional game during their first round of OTAs and minicamps, but their hands seldom fail them in the extreme fashion Yeboah’s did.
Training camp represented a clean slate for Yeboah. He could have arrived at One Jets Drive in July and made everyone forget about his case of the dropsies with statement performances on the practice field. Instead, he remained quiet among the underwhelming competition at his position. The beginning of the preseason did not flip the switch for Yeboah, either, as he fumbled in the fourth quarter of New York’s preseason opener, setting up a Giants touchdown to make it a one-possession game.
There is no denying Yeboah has talent. He flashed plenty of it against the Eagles. The 22-year-old is just not ready to take on the challenge of playing meaningful regular season reps right now. That might not be the case after a couple more weeks of refinement on the practice squad, but the Jets cannot afford to roll the dice on Yeboah putting the pieces together as a member of their active roster.
Tight end is a key position in LaFleur’s offense given its reliance on play action. Blocking tight ends like Kroft are important to the scheme’s success. So are tight ends who can get open and catch the ball. Until Yeboah shows LaFleur and the rest of the Jets’ coaching staff he can do that on a consistent basis, he is best served working in the shadows as a member of the practice squad.
Even after providing a glimpse of his untapped potential to cap the preseason.
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