24 Comments

Would it be possible that we put a moratorium on mentioning Hackett from articles and posts. He gets more attention than Taylor Swift going to Chief’s games.

Every story about him is the same continuous refrain.

As long as Rodgers stays healthy, Hackett becomes insignificant. Hopefully Rodgers has his healthiest season. Please no more Hackett, the Torch and Pitchfork Brigade can’t hack it any more. ( boy, was that terrible, suspend me for two weeks)

Some NFL team are very crafty in how they build their 53 man roster.

Could the Jets possibly hide Jordan Travis on the pup list to start the season.

Since I have no clue about salary cap machinations, could the Jets waive adios to Lazard if his training camp this year repeats last year’s disastrous results. I don’t think he plays special teams. He definitely cannot be on the hands team for onside kicks.

Last year he could drop passes with no repercussions, he won’t get away with it this year with Rodgers.

It would be a shame that his contract is the roadblock for a younger wr who has outplayed him.

The fact he was a former Lambeau Leaper shouldn’t protect his roster status.

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Great idea for the column focus today, David. It will be interesting to see if the Jets keep 27 offensive players again or if that number drops.

I agree with most of your reasoning, but disagree on the number of locks at most of the positions. I totally agree with your lock choices at QB and the OL and your reasoning, and I think they will keep 3 QBs and 10 OL.

At RB, I don't see any way that Abanikanda and Davis won't make the team. I can't see Valladay, Stepp, or even Bawden beating even one of them out, much less beating out both Abanikanda and Davis. While the Jets could sign a camp cut or two, I don't think they'll do it at RB. I think that would be maybe DL, IOL or S.

At WR, I think it's possible that they only keep 6 WRs, but think they'll probably keep 7. I believe that Irvin Charles is a lock. With Hardee gone, I think Charles is the Jets' top gunner and STs player. Tyler Harrell has real problems even staying on the field, and while he's faster, he's smaller, and he may not be as good a tackler as Charles. The Jets could add a camp cut or sign a FA WR after 6/1, but I think that in addition to the 3 you mentioned, the 7 will include Charles, Brownlee, Gipson and Lazard.

At TE, I think Ruckert is a lock and they will only keep 3 TEs. Unless one of the UDFAs is a better blocker, Ruckert is the best blocker we have at TE. You minimized his injury his rookie season, plus ignored the fact that he was 3rd on the depth chart, in large part due to the injury. He just could not gain any traction to challenge Uzama for the #2 spot with his injury. I don't see any way that one Yeboah, Kuntz, Sefcik or Foelsch are gonna unseat Ruckert as the #2 TE. Even if one of them were to play out of his mind and move Ruckert down the depth chart to #3, there aren't going to be two of them who do that. Again, this is not a spot that the Jets are likely to bring in a camp cut, so imo Ruckert is firmly entrenched as the #2 TE. It's possible that Kuntz or one of the UDFAs could supplant Yeboah, but they'd have to be as good as he is on STs, and I think that gives him the edge.

I think that IOL is the most likely spot where they'll either sign Dalton Risner, Nate Herbig if he's a camp cut, or some other camp cut. If they keep 10 OL and assuming that they sign an IOL at some point before the season, that would make the one spot up for grabs between Latham, Hanson, Mitchell, and Newman.

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Ruckert is definitely a lock, and I think there will be an effort to make him a larger part of the Offense. Ruckert could take those 6-8 snaps a game at FB, but more importantly look to get Jeremy more involved in the passing game

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The Hackett moratorium is not a bad idea. It is what it is, he’s part of the Rogers deal, he needs to managed. Lazard had a horrific year, but I think he can rise from the dead, to become an adequate 3 or 4 WR. He has a couple of things going for him. Has the complete faith and approval of Rodgers, they have worked well before. The Jets got a new WR Coach in Shawn Jefferson for a reason. The Jets are running the ball, conducive to Allen’s skill set. Okay, now for the crazy part. When you begin to look at the WR market, with WR’s looking for money North of 28 million, Lazard could be a bargain in 2025 if he has an adequate season, and demonstrates a chemistry with AR.

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From your mouth to god’s ears, or is it Rodgers ears. Regardless, he’s not going anywhere this year.

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Need an opinion from the braintrust

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End of OTAs? The NFL Players Association is working to finalize a proposal to overhaul the offseason starting as soon as 2025, eliminating voluntary on-field work in the spring in favor of a longer training camp ramp-up, with players reporting in mid-June to early July, per sources.

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I actually quite like that idea. Although I can see the benefit with new coordinators installing an offence in May and then checking recall in June/July/August. I think there are positives to both, but then the question comes...how will the NFL make itself relevant in May and June if teams report in July.

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It shouldn’t have to be relevant in May. That’s the problem in today’s sports world- saturation. NFL has too much news. This rumor, that rumor, draft, trade, etc. We could use a rest.

I remember back in the day when you’d be so excited when training camp started. It was the START of something whereas in todays NFL, it never ends.

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I think it'd be interesting if you could get a longer training camp, but I'm not sure players would be okay with it. A big part of the offseason is recovery. The voluntary on-field work is relatively low-impact on their bodies, which is a positive for the players. They get a little bit of that camaraderie, have the opportunities to stay fresh on the actual football stuff, all the while protecting their bodies while they're on their offseason routine to get their physical and mental selves right by August. I think more fans are understanding, these days, that a majority of players are playing banged up by the second half of the season. Those few months of recuperation are pretty important for these dudes.

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Would it be better for player evaluation ?

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That's a good thought. It's possible that a more drawn out training camp, one that is less compressed, would help out the players and coaching staffs. The players would have the opportunity to ease themselves into the physicality of training camp and the coaches would, hopefully, get a better idea of what untested guys can do with more time in the building.

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Always trying to get those UNDFA’s a better look.

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Interesting. I hadn't heard about that proposed change, but guess I shouldn't be surprised. They're wanting to do away with preseason games altogether and have an 18 game season.

I can see both pros and cons. On the pro side, with more time in training camp and hopefully more padded practices, execution could, and perhaps should get a lot better. Not having OTAs in May, could give players longer to rest from the grind of the season, heal from late season or offseason surgeries, and more time to get in better shape.

On the Con or negative side, as David pointed out so well, it could hurt learning new schemes or adding new wrinkles to schemes, and could also make it tougher for rookies to crack the starting lineup as they'd have a shorter organized time to learn their offensive or defensive scheme. They'd have to learn more of it on their own rather than having early reps and someone teaching it to them. It could have a negative effect on team chemistry as players wouldn't have known each other for as long, and it could give some players more time to get in trouble. With a longer TC, players could be less rested and fresh when the season begins. For fans, it would create a long stretch between the draft and TC with little or no news about their team.

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The next step could be to expand rosters, and limiting all players to play only 16 games a year. More money for players, more players, adds a strategic level to roster management throughout the year.

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David, Great job laying out the offensive portion of our offense. A point of note for me is that I’m not ready to even consider moving on from Irving Charles at this time. The kid does everything on special teams and Boyer would wig if we cut him. Looking back to his rookie year he actually looked good as a receiver when he got the opportunities in a couple preseason games.

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I tend to agree with you there Ron, I was a big fan of that signing and think he's really carved out a role for himself that makes him an extremely valuable team player. Not ready to say he's a lock, but Boyer has a big say on the depth pieces the Jets keep around and if he loves the guy as I think he does, he won't be going anywhere.

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27 is a lot of Offensive players, and 7 WR’s is a lot of wide receivers. Irvin Charles had one target and zero catches in 2023. Made some great ST plays, but unsure of his overall consistency as a special Teamer. Charles has to produce as a WR to make this squad. If you’re looking for a Gunner , possibly a developmental linebacker, CB, or Safety is the solution. Brownlee could be an average ST, looks to have more promise as a WR.

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JO, I would like to see Charles get the opportunity as a receiver before I let him go. Looking at his college film I think there’s more their than he’s been able to show.

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If your 6’4, 225, your a good special Teamer, and your cheap. You give that guy every opportunity. Hoping new WR Coach Shawn Jefferson makes a difference. Only runs a reportedly 4.7, separation issues like all big guys, route running ? IDK, should be an interesting watch during the summer.

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Hi JO. Finding an adequate #4 receiver from the back end of the roster would be ideal. I can’t claim to have too much faith with respect to Lazard as he doesn’t generate much separation and he has the dropsies! However, perhaps with Rodgers his performance will improve. Whatever happened with Corey Davis, did he sign with anyone? Despite being away for a year, if free he’d be a good choice!

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No one knows anything about Corey , No one knows why he left last year. Hasn’t signed with anyone. Assuming it’s a pricing issue this year. It’s possible his market heats up after June First. IDK…

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After leaving abruptly and missing a year, I presume he no longer commands a 13 million per year price tag!

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With regard to Lazard, I believe a lost June 1st waiver would reduce the dead cap and save 9-10 million this year. Perhaps some of the savings could be repurposed and spent on a receiver with a bit more finger finesse!

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Hi CC, good post. I too agree that Irvin will make the team. IOL and safety need a bit more depth. It would be nice if some legitimate receiver depth can be found at the bottom of the roster.

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