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How will this end up looking?
Talking about the Jets’ offensive tackle positions.
We pretty much know that Mekhi Becton and George Fant will be the tackles, but it’s unclear who will line up on what side.
Fant did a fine job last year as the Jets’ left tackle after taking over during a Week One game at Carolina, where Becton suffered a season-ending knee injury. So there is a good chance you could see Fant at left tackle and Becton at right tackle in Week One against Baltimore.
It was tough to tell anything about this situation at today’s open OTA practice, because neither Fant or Becton was there. Remember, these are voluntary workouts. Fant has been here at times, but Becton has not. The Jets’ off-season program opened on April 18, but Becton hasn’t been able to attend yet, because he needed to be with his girlfriend who was pregnant. She reportedly gave birth within the last week.
So the left tackle spot was handled by Chuma Edoga (remember him), the Jets’ third-round pick in 2019 out of USC and Max Mitchell. Edoga is a very good fit for the Jets’ zone blocking scheme because he’s very light on his feet, but has had issues staying healthy, yet to finish a complete season in his three Jets campaigns.
He was seen wearing a compression sleeve on his left leg at today’s practice . . .
The Jets signed guard Derrick Kelly after a rookie minicamp tryout. He’s not a rookie, having spent time with the New Orleans Saints (2019-21) and Giants (2021), but tried out at that rookie camp and got a contract.
However, he seems to be battling through a knee issue. He has a bulky knee brace on his right knee, and was clearly limping a little when running between drills . . .
Jets backup swing tackle Conor McDermott, who missed half of last season with a knee injury suffered during the summer, was sans any brace on either knee.
Last year when he came back to play, he was wearing a brace on his injured knee, but in practice today – no braces . . .
It’s interesting how guys battling for the same job can be so cordial to each other in practice.
Saw kickers Eddy Pineiro and Greg Zuerlein having a long talk today while watching a part of the practice that didn’t involve them. Only one of the two will survive and make the Jets roster.
In other industries, if two people were vying for the same job, they might keep their distance from each other, but so often in the football world, guys battling for the same job, manage to have a good relationship.
But the bottom line about this battle is that the guy who finishes second is probably going to be kicking for another team in 2022-23.
They are both worthy of NFL kicking jobs . . .
This just in – watching Sauce Gardner up close, he has a unique combination of length (6-3) and speed (sub 4.4 forty). Obviously we all know that, but watching him in practice, you can see his ability to stay in the hip pocket of speedy receivers, and also go up and contest passes on tall receivers. That is a nice combination to have at the CB position . . .
Nobody should be grading a QB in an OTA practice, but I would describe Wilson as “hit-or-miss” today with his throws.
He threw behind Garrett Wilson on a crossing route. He also hit Elijah Moore for a touchdown in a red zone drill on a quick out on the right side.
You gotta hit that throw to Garrett Wilson, but perhaps we should cut him some slack because they haven’t worked together very long, and these spring camps are about getting on the same page.
May 24, 2022
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