Content available exclusively for subscribers
People really want to talk to
Denzel Mims, but he hasn’t been made available to the media yet in training camp.
This might be to protect the player a little bit, and I will tell you why.
A big narrative now is that he’s running with the backups, so the team probably figures he’s going to get hammered with questions about that.
But it really doesn’t matter where he is on the depth chart right now.
First of all, they are rotating a lot of different guys in and out of the starting lineup, as they look to see what they have.
Secondly, he’s learning his second playbook in two years, and is still trying to get comfortable. Remember, this guy came from Baylor, where they barely have a playbook, and have a very limited route-tree, so what the Jets did last year under Adam Gase, and this year under Mike LaFleur, is “War and Peace” to him.
Look I’m not saying you should hide players from the media, but why subject a young, developing player to line of questioning about the depth chart that is kind of a moot point right now, and perhaps mess up his mojo.
The Jets have big plans for this guy, whether he’s starting now or not.
He’s a very talented player . . .
I’m not sure it’s possible for a player to work harder than second-year QB James Morgan.
Every day after practice, the FIU graduate is on the practice field long after everyone else, with groundskeeper Blake Hoerr and his crew working on the field around him.
Time will tell if things will work out for Morgan as an NFL QB, but I can assure you nobody will outwork him . . .
Speaking of quarterbacks, as most of you know by now, the Jets signed veteran Josh Johnson.
People wonder if this is some kind of indictment of Morgan and Mike White. Not really.
This has been in the works for a few weeks.
First off, the Jets wanted to give Morgan and White quality reps the first week of camp behind Zach Wilson to get experience.
Now they bring in Johnson, who knows the system well from his time in San Francisco, to serve as a mentor for Wilson, Morgan and White.
Nothing has changed in their view of Morgan and White.
White has looked good all camp, despite what you read elsewhere, and had several impressive throws today, including an absolute beauty to tight end Ryan Griffen down the left seam, placed perfectly over linebacker Camilo Eifler. He also had a real nice crossing route to Mims for a nice gain.
I’m not putting White in Canton. He had some bad throws also today, but he’s really flashed in this camp, and like I’ve said over and over, we need to see what he will do in preseason games to truly gauge his pocket presense.
As I mentioned before, Morgan is a gym rat, with tremendous football and personal character, and is improving.
And now Johnson’s in the mix. It’s quite possible the Johnson could be a player who is on and off the roster throughout the season, because it’s highly unlikely Joe Douglas will have him on the opening day roster, because that means, as a veteran, his entire season’s salary would be guaranteed.
We will see how thinks shake out on the QB depth chart, but the signing of Johnson isn’t an indictment of White and Morgan . . .
Watching Jamison Crowder this summer, it’s pretty apparent the Jets’ brass made the right call keeping him around. He’s had a very good camp, doing exactly what he did his first two seasons with the Jets – running good routes, catching everything, and creating a lot of yards after the catch.
He’s also been a great mentor to Elijah Moore.
Smart move keeping him around and not trading him.
He’s an asset . . .
August 4, 2021
Premium will return by 9:30 pm on Thursday.