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Jets returner Isaiah Williams looked like he tweaked something at Thursday’s practice. After a pass play, he got up slowly and was definitely not himself going back to the huddle. It certainly doesn’t look serious, but he was walking gingerly . . .
Speaking of receivers, there were two passes in Thursday’s practice that were forced to Garrett Wilson into double coverage – one down the seam, and another a deep out. He was bracketed by two DBs on each play and was not open.
This was an issue last year before Wilson got hurt, and they should probably look to avoid this moving forward.
First of all, he’s not the biggest guy, and could get hurt if you throw it to him in congested areas. Perhaps it contributed to him getting hurt last year. Thought there were too many forced passes to him last year, and some weren’t even accurate, forcing him to contort his body to try to catch the ball, also not ideal for one’s health or protecting themselves from defenders.
It doesn’t matter that Wilson is the team’s #1 receiver and makes $32.5 million a year, spread the ball around and throw to the open guy.
Don’t take this as a criticism of Geno Smith and Frank Reich. It’s early in the off-season practices and offensive installation. The practice field is like a lab, with a lot of experimenting going on.
Just saying this forcing to Wilson stuff needs to be tempered.
Because aside from the importance of throwing to the open guy, Wilson isn’t one of those dominant 50-50 ball guys who are going to win a lot of jump balls in traffic, like a Mike Evans. That is not his game.
So this is another season to avoid it.
Two forces into double coverage – neither was close to being complete – the Jets are loaded with weapons – spread it around and always throw to the open guy.
Two good teachable moments for the Jets offense at a time of year that is all about that . . .
Jets fullback Andrew Beck could have a big year for the Jets.
He was the recipient of a lot of checkdown passes in Thursday’s practice.
The value of this guy is a little understated. Not only is he a very good blocking fullback and special teamer, but he’s a soft-handed receiver who rarely drops anything thrown to him.
Keep in mind, he was a tight end at Texas, so he has a ton of experience catching the ball at his former position.
Also, he was a highly recruited linebacker out of Tampa, so that explains why he’s such a good tackler on special teams.
This guy brings a lot of value to the roster as a player who doesn’t make a lot of money (by NFL standards) and does a lot of different things well . . .
Kenyon Sadiq just had sports hernia surgery.
It was something he was dealing with last year at Oregon, and the Jets, along with the player, decided to get it cleaned up, so it would stop nagging him.
Obviously, it’s the right thing to do if it was bothering him, but from a football development standpoint, obviously, this is far from ideal.
This is a 21-year-old rookie who came out of college after his junior year, having been a full-time starter for just one year. He needs every rep he can get.
So this injury setback is not good for his early development. Yes, he’s a 6-3, 241-pound freak of nature with 4.39 speed and a 43.5 vertical, but we all know there is a lot more to be successful in the NFL than great athleticism.
He needs to work on his route-running and blocking.
People are speculating that he will be ready by training camp. That is highly unlikely. That is just a cliché thing people say this time of year about rehabbing players – “They should be ready for training camp.”
Do you really think when camp starts, he’s going to be full go? Give me a break. They are going to take it really slow with his prized prospect. Who knows, he might even start the year on PUP.
Look, me talking about how Sadiq’s injury is bad for his development, should not be perceived as a shot at anybody. They did the right thing getting it fixed, so the discomfort goes away.
I’m just taking a 30,000-foot view and saying this isn’t ideal for his development.
Not a criticism.
Some might say why did they pick him at 16 with a sports hernia issue? That would be a ridiculous criticism. First of all, everybody who plays this sport has stuff bothering them. Everybody! It’s the nature of the sport. And this is a minor procedure, and he should be good to roll once it’s 100 percent healed.
May 29, 2026
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