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Florham Park – It’s kind of interesting when you evaluate a player not knowing who he is. There was a new player out there today –
a WR #18. It was his first practice.
I was a little underwhelmed with this player. He had a drop and was fighting the ball on other plays. He also didn’t look that explosive and seemed to have some hip stiffness.
I didn’t have a roster with me, and I totally forgot Ar’Darius Stewart was wearing #18.
Look, he could turn out to be a good player, but it was interesting evaluating somebody having no clue who it was. You don’t have any preconceived notions.
I will tell you this right now, the Jets are going to cut some pretty good receivers because they picked wide-outs in the third (Stewart) and four-round (Chad Hansen).
There are other guys who might be better, but the Jets aren’t going to put third or fourth round picks on their practice squad, so guys who could help them more this year, will likely be sacrificed due to draft politics.
I’m not writing off Stewart and Hanson. Not at all. They both could be terrific, but right now, there are guys who are better, but they aren’t draft picks, so will not be given a chance to compete for these two roster spots . . .
Speaking of long-shot receivers who are having a good camp, let’s talk about Myles White, who beat Buster Skrine deep down the left side and caught a pretty pass from Christian Hackenberg.
White looked good in the spring, and continues to look good this summer. He’s making himself hard to cut. He has excellent speed, runs good routes and has very sold hands.
Skrine is having a rough camp. He’s giving up way too many receptions. He needs to step up the his game . . .
Frank Beltre, who was moved to inside linebacker in the spring, is back at outside linebacker in camp . . .
Dylan Donahue got starting reps today at outside linebacker. The guy has a great motor, and has actually been a pleasant surprise in coverage. He had great coverage play on a tight end down the right seam yesterday. But he’s a major work-in-progress as a pass rusher. Over-and-over today, he was running into the middle of the offensive tackles body and getting engulfed and taken out of the play. He needs more pass rush moves. Brent Qvale is having his way with him . . .
What is my take on the quarterback situation so far?
Christian Hackenberg has definitely improved, but Josh McCown is slightly ahead of him because he makes quicker decisions and goes through his progressions more smoothly . . .
Wesley Johnson looks like he’s going to be a good one. Today he had a pancake block on nose tackle Steve McLendon on a nice run by Bilal Powell up the middle. Johnson is a smart, tough, aggressive center with terrific leadership skills and top-shelf intelligence. Even with a great player like Nick Mangold departing, the Jets should be fine at center. Johnson has what it takes to get the job done.
July 31, 2017
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