Finding McKinley

Edition #665

Good morning! ☕

Welcome to a new week of Jets football. Reddick is still not in the building, but according to Josina Anderson, there is encouraging progress being made, and if we can keep this holdout to under 10 practices, then that’s not too bad at all.

We’re now under two weeks away from the first pre-season game, and while we won’t see much of the starters, I’m looking forward to seeing some of these rookies and UDFA’s fight for their lives.

🟢 Braelon Allen has been impressing at camp and Robert Saleh has been waxing lyrical about him after just a week of practices: “He’s a big boy and you guys can see that up close. He’s heavy, very smart, fluid, good out of the backfield, really good in pass protection already for a rookie. Isaiah Davis, very similar,” Saleh told reporters after Saturday’s practice. “I feel like they’re ahead of the game with regards to the protection system. Braelon is really smooth out of the backfield with his hand, so he’s got a chance, he’s just got to keep working.”

⚪ Alijah Vera-Tucker was back in team drills towards the end of last week and although he’s on a pitch count, he’s trending in the right direction to be a full go in a week or so - "There's a couple of hurdles to clear, just making sure that everything's good. Right now, I'm just on a little rep count and then we'll just continually progress throughout camp. Each day we'll just keep adding more and more," - While Saleh wouldn’t commit to a day, it sounds as though AVT will ramp up a lot this week.

🟢 Joe Tippmann has been speaking to the Jets official site on the difference between coming in as a rookie and coming in as a 2nd year player - "Being able to come in here so much more comfortable with the playbook," Tippmann told reporters. "Not me getting up to the line and wondering where I'm going. Now I know exactly where I'm going, and it's how can I make this better. How can I make my technique something that can help the guards, help the tackles. How can I communicate in a way that's going to help all the guys all the way down the line and get on the same page. That's something that's been huge for me and a testament to what we did in OTAs."

⚪ You know that old overused saying ‘iron sharpens iron’, well Jets cornerback D.J. Reed really believes in it: There have been real battles out here," Reed said after practice Saturday. "Today [Wilson] ran a sluggo route and he got me. Eight [Rodgers] and Garrett and the whole offense, they are definitely on in a different zone right now. What we are being asked to do, they are making it hard. They are getting us the work on hard downs, which is ultimately going to prepare us for Game 1one and the season."

🟢 Reed is also impressed with the early signs from the offense: "Looking at that team, I honestly feel like our offense is way better," Reed said. "Especially with how Aaron and Garrett are going, and we still don't even have Mike Williams yet, that will make things even better. Then with our defense, we have guys. It is self-explanatory what we have done the last two years. Hopefully, we can keep building on that and we will have a chance to win it all."

⚪ Tyron Smith has never been overly loud on the field, he tends to let his blocking do the talking, but according to AVT…he’s helping the young guys no end: "He's definitely a very quiet guy," guard Alijah Vera-Tucker said. "But if something needs to be said, he's going to say it. If we need to pick it up, he's going to say it. And he's always giving advice to younger guys. I've seen when he talked to Olu [Fashanu, the Jets' first-round rookie tackle] and Olu applied that to his game. So whenever he talks, you listen."

🟢 The Jets announced they had signed QB Adrian Martinez and CB Kendall Sheffield, while also waiving QB Ben Bryant and CB Nehemiah Shelton. Martinez played with the Birmingham Stallions of the UFL after going undrafted in 2023, where as Sheffield was a 4th round pick of the Falcons in 2019, so he has some experience with Jeff Ulbrich.

⚪ Tony Adams has been speaking about making the jump in year three and how things are different: "I think I have a lot more confidence," he said about the potential differences between last season's emergence as a starter in the Jets' deep middle and what's ahead for him in 2024. "I feel like confidence comes from preparation, and the best thing you can have is experience, and I've got it now. I played a full season as a starter, this is year three for me, and I trust everybody around me. So the best is yet to come."

🟢 I look at this year as being key for TE Jeremy Ruckert who in my mind has disappointed through this first two years, but Robert Saleh believes he’s undervalued: "I think he [Jeremy Ruckert] is very underrated at his position," Saleh said after Friday's practice. "Rucks has gotten better every time since the day he walked into this building. He's versatile, he's extremely smart ,so because of that we can do more with him. He's physical. He takes everything personal in a good way, where he just wants to be his best, and he's built the way you want him to be built and I expect to hear his name a lot this year."

At the end of last week we spoke about Lazard and how he’s started camp, and he continued that good form over the weekend with another touchdown catch.

But he’s not the only reclamation project catching our attention.

Throughout the first week of practice, former first round pick Takkarist McKinley has stood out among the defensive players, which is no easy feat considering the talent we have on that side of the ball.

Based on some reports, the former UCLA standout has racked up 6 sacks and multiple pressures. Atlanta bet on his upside after Takk posted 10 sacks and 18 tackles for a loss as a senior at UCLA and it looked to be a good decision over the first two seasons, with McKinley posting 13 sacks and 14 tackles for a loss. Those two years came under the stewardship of Marquand Manuel, who’s obviously now with the Jets.

Here’s his scouting report from NFL back from 2017:

Ascending edge prospect who racked up impressive TFL and sack numbers this year despite a relatively raw approach and skill set. He's a little stiff in his lower body, but flashes good athleticism once the ball is snapped. McKinley's motor is a translatable characteristic, but improved hand usage and pass rush mechanics are what could elevate his game to another level as a starting, 3-4 outside linebacker. - Lance Zierlein

In 2019 the Falcons let Manuel go, and head coach Dan Quinn took on the defensive coordinator responsibilities and McKinley took a step back. A player who relied on his athleticism was no longer able to win and the technique never improved like many expected. After 3.5 sacks in 2019 and 1.0 sack in 2020, the Falcons refused his 5th year option and he landed in Cleveland. After an underwhelming year there and then another in LA with the Rams, Takk was without a team this summer.

The Jets invited him in for a try-out and were impressed enough to offer him a deal. A modest one at that. The veteran signed a deal worth $1.12 million deal with no guaranteed money, so if the Jets can get any production from him in 2024, it’ll be a great deal by Joe Douglas.

Just like I’m not getting ahead of myself with Allen Lazard, I’m not getting too excited about McKinley just yet. Morgan Moses and Tyron Smith have both been on pitch counts with Moses in particular missing, so he has been facing Max Mitchell, Carter Warren and rookie Olu Fashanu, so we have to offer context to this early success. But it’s still noteworthy.