Don't forget about the UDFA's

Edition #182

☀️Good morning

All that excitement for the rookies arriving at Florham park for training camp and the Jets social team decide to take a day off!

To be fair there are only so many videos they can post of players walking through the glass doors. Veterans report next week and then the action should really commence.

✍️ The Philadelphia Eagles released cornerback Craig James on Monday and the Jets wasted absolutely no time signing him to a deal. An undrafted corner out of Southern Illinois, James is still just 26 years old. James hasn’t played a huge amount on defense but he was a special teams co-captain in 2020. The Eagles still have 12 cornerbacks on the roster and considering James spent the 2021 season on the practice squad, he was the obvious choice to be released. Could he potentially push Justin Hardee for that special team’s specialty position? He certainly doesn’t have the same reputation or production as Hardee, but that’s the only way I see him making the team so we’ll have to wait and see on that one.

🔋 ESPN released their annual “Future Power Rankings” which projects how teams are set up for the next three seasons and the Jets came in at #21 with a score of 76.6 (70 is average and 80 is very good, so I’m taking that score to mean good). Their overall roster was ranked 24/32, Quarterback was 21/32, Coaching was 23/32, Draft was 10/32, and Front Office was 20/32. I’d have had the roster higher and the front office higher, but I would say that. There also aren’t 22 coaching staffs in the NFL that I’d take over our guys, but obviously, I’m biased.

5️⃣0️⃣ PFF is drip-feeding their list of the best 50 players in the NFL at the moment. So far they’ve made it all the way to #21 (Jonathan Taylor). Unsurprisingly there are no Jets on the list and I don’t expect any Jet to make the list the rest of the way if they have Jonathan Taylor at #21. The Jets have a lot of talent on the roster, but it’s a lot of unproven talent. Let’s hope we have one player on the list come 2023, my bet is on either Carl Lawson or Elijah Moore.

🤔 PFF also projected some contracts for players looking for a new deal and George Fant was one of those names. It’s premium content behind a pay wall, but I’m sure they won’t mind be sharing a little snippet. Charles Leno Jr.’s three-year, $37.5 million extension with the Washington Commanders signed in January could serve as a blueprint, with Leno a year older but also fully entrenched as a left tackle. Contract Projection: Three years, $35 million ($11.67M per year), $19 million total guaranteed

Earlier this week I went through the drafted rookies who reported to camp this week but failed to mention that we obviously have a number of undrafted rookies attending as well.

I thought now would be a good time to refresh our memories on all the “other” rookies who are on the Jets’ 90-man roster and who are currently battling for a spot on the 53.

Keshunn Abram - Wide Receiver

Although he had to play second fiddle to Dante Cephas at Kent State last year, Abram had himself a fine season catching 46 balls for 684 yards and 3 touchdowns. If you check his statistics it shows a 4.53 in the forty-yard dash, but he ran that while tweaking a hamstring and he plays a lot quicker on tape, closer to 4.3 than 4.5. He was used as a deep threat at Kent State and that ties in with his speed, but he’s going to find it hard to stick on a roster with the receiver depth we had. He didn’t play a lot of specials at Kent either, so that’s an area he’ll need to focus on if he wants to stick around on the 53.

Tony Adams - Safety

Adams put up one of the more impressive performances during the pre-draft process and his score of 9.76 would have ranked him #3 at CB, #3 at FS, and #1 at SS. He spent the majority of his 2021 season as a wide corer, but if you look back to 2020 his time was split evenly between corner and safety. He moved all across the formation for Illinois and that versatility will help him when making the transition. From my understanding, the Jets see him and like him as a free safety.

Irvin Charles - Wide Receiver

I wrote a piece a while ago about Irvin Charles, and after talking to his IUP coach I have to say I’m quite excited to see what he can do. Things may not have worked out at Penn State but James Franklin once said he was "Maybe the most talented wide receiver I've been around,". His coach at IUP couldn’t speak any higher about his talent and character. In 2021 he finished the season with 39 catches for 792 yards and 12 touchdowns, dominating the PSAC in division 2 football. Like Abram, it’s going to be hard to stick on the roster at receiver, but of all the guys I like Charles the most.

Calvin Jackson Jr - Wide Receiver

Must be something about the undrafted wide receivers that took the Jet’s fancy this off-season. Of all the undrafted players the Jets brought into rookie camp, 50% of the players that stuck for the main camp were wide receivers, which is a little surprising considering the depth we have there. Calvin Jackson Jr’s testing numbers weren’t overly impressive and he only has one real year of production in college for Washington State, but it was a good one. Last season he caught 66 balls for 987 yards and 7 touchdowns, like with the other receivers…sticking will be tough.

Zonovan Knight - Running Back

Like the wide receiver position, the Jets have a loaded backfield. Hall and Carter will get most of the work with Tevin Coleman and Ty Johnson waiting in the wings for the scraps. Zonovan “Bam” Knight had a nice career at NC State, but he never put up that dominating year that makes you stop and take notice. He did average 5.5 yards per carry over his career and finished 2021 with 753 rushing yards and 3 scores. One thing he does have is kick return ability, he’s returned 30 kicks over his three-year career and 3 of those have gone all the way for touchdowns.

DQ Thomas - Linebacker

Probably my favorite undrafted free agent is DQ Thomas, and part of that is based on the complete lack of depth at the position. Thomas spent 5 years at Middle Tennessee State and racked up 309 tackles, 53 for a loss, 20.5 sacks, and 2 INT. He was a leader on and off the field and his coaches absolutely raved about him. I’m not saying he’s going to come in and replace Quincy or CJ in year one, but from what I’ve seen he has the talent to stick around on the roster and offer some depth with developmental upside. He tested well in terms of power and acceleration and his long speed isn’t bad either.

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