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Jets made some personnel moves at a certain position I want to discuss . . .
The Jets released tight end Neal Sterling today. They released tight end Will Tye earlier this week.
Why?
Because rookie tight Jordan Leggett is ready to come back from a knee injury.
But Leggett has yet to prove himself as an NFL tight end. He is a rookie who has been injured since training camp.
So you are replacing two experienced guys with a player who hasn’t played in an real NFL game and was a fifth-round pick.
What is my point?
Simple. The NFL’s personnel set-up is the worst of any sport. I think it’s the best sport, but the way personnel is often handled is backwards.
Look, I don’t want to make too big of a deal about a reserve tight end (though the Jets play a lot of multiple tight ends sets), but how does it make any sense to fire two guys who have NFL experience, and know what they are doing out there, and replace them with a guy who has no experience.
And if the Jets suffer injuries at tight end, he will be forced into action.
I want to make something perfectly clear: I like Leggett as a prospect. I think he has a lot of potential.
I’m just making a point how so often NFL personnel moves are flawed because the league lacks a minor league system.
Think about baseball. If Leggett as a baseball prospect, he would have to been sent down to the minors for some rehab starts.
But in this world, he’s ready to come back, so you send two veteran tight ends packing to make room for him, when he has yet to show he can play in the NFL.
I’ve said it before, and I will say it again, too much anointing in the NFL.
Speaking of playing before you are ready, that was certainly the case with Dylan Donahue, who was just put on injured reserve with an elbow injury.
I love his heart, toughness and motor. He gets high marks in all those areas.
But he was basically running around out there like chicken without a head, and this contributed, at times, to some run defense issues.
I will give you an example of what I’m talking about.
Late in the first half in the Jets-Jaguars game, on third-and-three, Chris Ivory ran for 10-yards.
Donahue shot up field with reckless abandon, and this contributed to a big hole opening up. After the play, I saw Mo Wilkerson go over to Donahue with his arms up in the air as if to say, “What are you doing?”
The kid has the heart of a lion, but he needed a red-shirt year. You can’t just run up field like your hair is on fire.
He’s not a West Georgia anymore. There is a lot more involved at the OLB position on the NFL level.
But the Jets have this tendency to anoint people before they are ready, and they might need to tweak this approach and run more of a meritocracy.
By the way, I think Donahue’s elbow was injured before the Jacksonville game, but the collision in overtime made it worse.
October 5, 2017
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