Trade or Pay: D.J. Reed

Edition #733

Good morning!☕

The Jets play a football game tonight and I’ve not spoken to a single person who’s excited about it. Decked out in their all black uniforms on Halloween, will we see the same sorry sight we’ve witnessed all-season? Or can the ghost of Mike White’s Halloween performance from 2021 inspire this insipid bunch?

As a fan I always want to see wins. But it would take 3-4 wins in a row for me to start believing that this season is going to end positively, even then I think I’d still have my doubts. But they say every journey starts with a step, well let’s see if they can take that first step tonight.

Today we’re going to talk a little about D.J. Reed.

🟢 It was announced that the Jets were signing kickers Riley Patterson and Spencer Shrader to the practice squad, and one of those players will be activated to kick on Thursday Night against the Texans. The official line coming out of 1JD is that the standing knee of Zuerlein has been giving him issues and thus he’s been placed on IR, which will give him a chance to recover. Patterson has kicked for Detroit, Jacksonville and Cleveland over the last three years but hasn’t kicked this season. He’s a career 88.1% kicker including 50% from 50+ yards, he’s also a 95.9% extra point kicker. Spencer Shrader was a UDFA out of Notre Dame and kicked in one game for the Colts this season where he didn’t attempt a FG but made all three of his extra points. In college he made just 68.3% of his kicks and 98.7% of his extra points. Based on numbers alone and experience, I’m hoping it’s Patterson kicking tonight.

⚫ I’m not ready to turn over to the future just yet, but I’m going to keep dropping in some mock drafts in the quick throws section. Mainly just to introduce some different players for people who don’t follow college football and to highlight there the media believe we should spend our pick. Today it’s Walter Football - They have the Jets taking Arizona wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan stating: “In 2024, McMillan has 47 receptions for 780 yards and four touchdowns. To open the season, McMillan had an amazing performance with 10 catches for 304 yards and four touchdowns taking on New Mexico. Arizona had an impressive 2023 season while featuring a dangerous passing attack. Wide receiver Jacob Cowing was a known factor for 2023, but McMillan emerged as a playmaker that season. The sophomore caught 90 passes for 1,402 yards and 10 touchdowns. McMillan notched 39 catches for 702 yards and eight scores as a freshman. The 6-foot-5, 210-pounder McMillan has mismatch size for the NFL.”

🟢 Aaron Rodgers elaborated on the issues that forced the Jets to burn all three timeouts before the end of the first quarter against New England - "I mean, in this offense, there's some long calls sometimes," Rodgers said. "So we get, we get the personnel in. OK, I gotta get the call out. We gotta get up to the line, make a call and make the right check or not, make a check and just go. So, there's gonna be long calls. This is the way we do it. There's run-pass options, run-run options. Pass-to-run options. We just gotta ... I gotta spit it out. We gotta get to the line and get the thing going."

⚫ Morgan Moses still believes this team is capable of a run. The belief outside the building is basically non-existent, but the players still believe. "I don't think you can use the terminology or the word 'disappointing' when there's a lot of football left on the schedule," he said. "And I could continue telling the guys that it takes one, it takes one game, it takes one win. It takes all 53 players to get it done, to get this thing rolling. And you know, obviously you look at our division, you say, hey, like you look at the Dolphins [2-5], you look at the Patriots [2-6], and obviously we lost a close one to the Bills [23-20 on Oct. 14]. There's still opportunity, but we got to figure out ways to overcome adversity and get out of the way of ourselves sometimes, and great opportunities, more opportunities for one another, to excel in this game."

🟢 The Jets made a couple of moves. They signed linebacker Marcelino McCrary-Ball to the active roster, which would indicate that C.J. Mosley won’t be able to play tomorrow night. They also released safety Jaylen Key from the practice squad to make room for kickers Spencer Shrader & Riley Patterson.

⚫ ESPN did a mid-season review of every NFL team. You won’t be surprised to hear it’s not over positive: “There's a difference between a roster and a team. The Jets have assembled a roster of recognizable names, but they're not playing like a cohesive team. Coach Robert Saleh was scapegoated for the poor start (fired after five games), but he wasn't the problem. Older players such as Aaron Rodgers, Mike Williams and Tyron Smith haven't lived up to expectations. Foundational players such as Sauce Gardner, Garrett Wilson and Breece Hall have encountered adversity for the first time in their young careers. As a result, the team is underachieving.”

🟢 Only one Jets player made the PFF NFL Midseason All-Pro team and it’s the guy we’re talking about today, D.J. Reed. “Ranking highly in PFF's advanced coverage grading and lockdown percentage rankings, Reed is playing strong defense in 2024. He has also well to find the football, recording five pass breakups.”

⚫ The offensive line has been highly inconsistent this season, but there’s been some really positive signs recently. One thing the tackles do well is stand-up well to the bull-rush. Morgan Moses has come out on top in 100% of the snaps where he’s been bull-rushed and Tyron Smith has come out on top in 96.15% of all snaps here he’s faced the bull-rush.

🟢 PFF had an interesting article which revolved around what teams who have a QB dilemma should do at the QB position next season. Their advice for the Jets is to stick with Aaron Rodgers but draft early - “Given Rodgers' age, though, it would be prudent for the Jets to pursue long-term answers at the position. Doing so in the first round doesn't seem impossible, especially since the Packers did so in 2020 by selecting Jordan Love with Rodgers potentially nearing the end of his tenure. It’s easy to view Rodgers as a scapegoat for the Jets’ broader problems — and he’s not beyond reproach, given the power he wields in the organization. But Rodgers still has one year left on his contract, so rolling with No. 8 for 2025 is a feasible option.”

⚫ PFF also believe that the Jets have a top-10 offensive line - “As projected, third-string right guard Jake Hanson started for the Jets in Week 8 against New England. Hanson played quite well, earning a 76.0 PFF overall grade that ranked second highest among Jets offensive linemen. On the season, New York's offensive line ranks fifth in PFF pass-blocking efficiency rating and has surrendered 61 pressures — including 11 sacks — on 319 pass-blocking snaps.”

Earlier this week we looked at potential trade candidates with D.J. Reed one of the names we mentioned.