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On Friday, the Jets held the first practice of the spring, kind of . . .
It was the first day of their rookie minicamp, but none of their rookie draft picks did much.
Those guys were kind of kept in bubble wrap, perhaps to prevent injuries engaging with an overzealous tryout player try to make a name for himself.
First-round offensive tackle Olu Fashanu was off on a side field working with a trainer. He had tweaked a quad at the combine running a 40-yard dash. Perhaps another example of why it might be misguided to make huge offensive linemen run the 40 at the combine, but that is another conversation for another day.
The Jets’ second pick, third-rounder Malachi Corley (pictured above), was off on a side field, working on some light conditioning and wide receiver technique with a Jets staffer.
So you get the idea. The draft picks were doing light stuff away from potential scrums.
After the practice the Jets brought Fashanu, Corley, running back Braelen Allen and cornerback Qwan’tez Stiggers to the press room for interviews with the media.
While media interviews aren’t that important in the big picture, they all handled themselves impressively, just like they did after they were picked.
I have no idea how any of these picks will work out, but it seems like a group of guys with excellent football character, who are made of the right stuff, wired the right way, if you will.
It’s hard to get a lot of these practices which have no contact, featuring longshot rookies who just got the playbook, but one guy who caught my eye today as a tryout QB named Ben Bryant.
And looking up his resume, he seems like better than a rookie minicamp tryout player.
As you often see these days, he is one of those players who transferred quite a bit in his college career.
He started at Cincinnati, transferred to Eastern Michigan, then back to Cincinnati, and then to Northwestern.
He is 25 years old.
Watching him today, you could tell that he’s been around the block, and knows what he’s doing out there.
Whether it’s with the Jets, or elsewhere, this guy should at least be invited to be on a 90-man roster entering a camp.
He’s 6-3, 220 and has a pretty good arm.
He had a really nice connection with one of the Jets priority signed undrafted free agents, wide receiver Tyler Harrell from Miami of Florida, via Louisville and Alabama.
That fact that Nick Saban took Harrell at Alabama as a transfer in 2022, tells you something about his natural talent. Unfortunately for Harrell, he suffered a foot injury at Alabama, which derailed his one season at Tuscaloosa. He transferred home to Miami for his final season of collegiate eligibility.
Harrell has world-class speed, running under 4.3 in the forty-yard dash, but he’s not just a track guy playing football.
On the connection with Bryant down the left sideline, he made a circus catch, hauling in a very difficult grab.
We all know how good Joe Douglas has been with finding undrafted free agent gems. Maybe Harrell is another one.
May 3, 2024
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