Position Overview: Tight Ends

Edition #1111: We continue to look into each position group as we count down the days to camp opening.

Good Morning ☕

Is a championship coming to New York? It’s been 14 years since the Giants won New York’s last night, defeating the Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI, back in 2012.

Well the Knicks are 2-0 up having taken both games on the road to open up the series. The same team that for many years were the laughing stock of the NBA.

It gives me faith that maybe, just maybe there is hope for the Jets. For close to 20 years the Knicks were characterised by bad trades, bad free-agent signings, puzzling management decisions. They were for a long time the epitome of ‘dysfunction’, with a capital D.

The start of the turnaround can arguably be traced to one hire. The hire of Leon Rose after firing Steve Mills. Can Darren Mougey be our Leon Rose? Let’ see if we can build the right way, just like the Knicks have done.

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NEWS & NOTES 🗞️

• Minkah Fitzpatrick believes that Aaron Glenn learnt a lot from year one as a head coach and that should serve him well going forward:

  • “A.G. learned a lot from his first year -- good, bad and ugly,” Fitzpatrick said. “I think he wants to not just show the world but show us that he’s a guy that wants to win, knows how to win. The first year is always going to be tough for any head coach. There’s a lot of adjustments. I think he’s excited to apply what he’s learned in Year 2.”

• Aaron Glenn was asked about the Jets not receiving any primetime games:

  • "To me, it's more of you earn the right," Glenn said. "And, yes, you can use that as motivation, but you earn the right. That's the good thing about this league; you earn your right -- players, coaches, everybody. You earn your right to get what you get in this league."

• Rich Cimini had a really good stat on Jason Sanders ability to perform in the cold despite him spending his career in Florida:

  • “15-for-16 (94%) in games when the temperature is 40 degrees or below”

• Another interesting note from Cimini on Aaron Glenn who’s taking a more hands on approach on defense this season:

  • “Glenn is calling the defensive plays in OTA practices, as expected, but he still makes it a point to spend time with the offense during individual and positional periods, leaving the defense to defensive coordinator Brian Duker.”

• Zack Rosenblatt had a good piece out on Demario Davis and the leadership void that he’s going to be filling for the Jets this season:

  • “There are few players, at any position on any team, who have developed a greater reputation for leadership than Davis. It’s not only derived from his personality but also from the respect he’s garnered on the field as one of the NFL’s best linebackers since the Jets let him leave in 2018. The Saints reaped the benefit, and Glenn saw it firsthand as New Orleans’ defensive backs coach from 2016-20 (Glenn was also an assistant with the Cleveland Browns when Davis was there in 2016, and a Jets scout in 2012 when Davis was drafted).”

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The Tight End Room 🟢⚪🗽

When was the last time the Jets had a TE inside the top 10 in the NFL in receiving yards? Or touchdowns? Or receptions? Tyler Conklin came close on a couple of those back in 2023, but while I liked Conklin as a player I wouldn’t go so far as to call him a gamechanger.

Starters: Kenyon Sadiq & Mason Taylor

Over the last two drafts the Jets have remodelled their tight-end room by drafting Mason Taylor and Kenyon Sadiq. Of the two, Taylor will likely see more time as a traditional TE with Sadiq being moved around the formation to make the most of his explosive athleticism.

The Jets ran 12 personnel last season on just 17.03% of their plays, which was 22nd in the league, but they actually had a positive EPA when they did run it (3.62). Which is in stark contrast to their favoured 11 personnel which they ran on 67.13% of snaps (3rd highest) and had an EPA of -121.24.

I think the Jets are going to want to get Taylor and Sadiq on the field together, and if they want to run more 12 personnel Frank Reich will need buck his own trend. In his final year in Indianapolis in 2022 he ran that formation on 14.51% of his plays (23rd). In 2023 as head coach of the Panthers they ran it on just 9.31% of plays (31st). But then again he didn’t have a duo like Taylor and Sadiq.

We talk a lot about Sadiq’s athleticism because it’s rare to see 6’3, 240lb receiver run a 4.39 with a 1.54 10-yard split, not to mention a 43.50 vertical and 11’02 Broad. Those are in the 99th percentile for his position and size, he’s an athletic freak that could be a difference maker and gamechanger if the Jets put him in a position to succeed.

But let’s not forget that Mason Taylor ran well for his size, and he’s 2 inches taller and 10lbs heavier than Sadiq. I saw a lot I liked from Taylor last year including in the blocking game, and it’s a shame that his development was halted by injury.

The big question mark around both of these guys is their ability to catch the ball consistently. Mason Taylor had 5 drops on 62 targets for a 10.2% drop rate. Sadiq had 6 drops on 67 targets for a 10.5% drop rate. Both of those numbers need to drop considerably, you can handle a drop rate between 5-7% if they bring plenty of production, but 10%+ drop rate on 300-500 yards production is tough.

Saying that, both have the potential to be highly productive in different ways. They both catch the ball well in traffic. Sadiq was at 58.3% success on contested catches, Mason Taylor caught 78.6% of contested balls last year. Sadiq making plays down the field, Taylor being a reliable outlet. You don’t pigeonhole either into a pre-determined role, but they can complement each other.

Backup: Jeremy Ruckert

The Jets extended Jeremy Ruckert back in December meaning that they’d have to eat $2.7M in dead cap if they cut him, so straight away he has a foot up in terms of the competition to be the TE3, just from a financial perspective. Mougey was also the one to extend him, which is another tick in his box.

Ruckert has been in the league for four years now and has only received 78 targets. He’s turned those targets into 443 yards and 1 TD, over the course of those four years he’s dropped 10.8% of his passes and has been rated as an average to below average blocking tight end.

I actually thought Ruckert looked a little better last season and it’ll be interesting to see how he’s used under Reich, but I think he’s set to be the TE3 this season.

Outsiders: Jelani Woods, Chase Curtis

Jelani Woods is the one player who could push Ruckert for that TE3 role based on his history with Frank Reich. The 6’7, 253lb former Virginia man was a 5th round draft pick of the Colts when Reich was the Head Coach.

He started out as a promising prospect with 312 yards and 3 touchdowns as a rookie, but then the injuries came. He didn’t appear in a single game between 2023-2025 and so this off-season he’s fighting to secure a place having missed three straight seasons, it’s a long shot.

Chase Curtis is a camp body, he had 413 yards over 5 years at TCU and would be the longest of long shots to make the roster.

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AROUND THE LEAGUE 🛬🛄

• Browns CB Denzel Ward said he wants to remain in Cleveland, even after the Browns traded defensive end Myles Garrett to the Rams.

• Despite tearing his Achilles and having it surgically repaired 19 weeks, 49ers tight end George Kittle believes he is on track to return in week one vs. the Los Angeles Rams in Melbourne, Australia.

• Texas Tech’s appeal to the NCAA to have QB Brendan Sorsby’s eligibility reinstated has been denied.

• Lions rookie fifth-round pick Kendrick Law tore his ACL at OTA practice this week and will be out for the season.