Content available exclusively for subscribers
They were very careful with them . . .
Yes, this was the Jets’ rookie minicamp, but their 2022 draft picks hardly saw the field. They mainly did conditioning work on the side while other players were doing more football-type things.
The Jets are keeping them in bubble wrap, if you will, not taking any chances, avoiding some overzealous tryout player, trying to shine, perhaps leveling one of them . . .
A couple of tryout players who made nice grabs today – Oklahoma State running back J.D. Brown made a great catch on a pass from QB Daniel Smith from Staten Island and Villanova.
Also, tryout wide receiver Jon’Vea Johnson from Toledo made a really nice contested grab.
Canadian cornerback Tyrell Ford helped himself with a pick in practice. The Niagara Falls, Ontario-native, and Waterloo University graduate, ran the fastest forty at Canadian combine – 4.42.
This is the kind of stuff you need to do if you hope to land a contract . . .
Tryout center Michael Maietti from Missouri and West Orange, looked pretty good in D-Line/O-Line drill. He’s a little undersized at 6-1, but looks like he’s been coached up well on technique . . .
On the practice field, I saw Sauce Gardner standing next to #10 Devin Rockette, a tryout corner from South Alabama, and a random thought came into my head, seeing a #10 next to Gardner – will he cover #10 Tyreek Hill when the Jets play Miami.
Some would assume that is a no-brainer, but sometimes it’s hard for 6-3 corners to cover 5-8 receivers with world-class speed and quickness, because they can cut away from them lickety-split, and the tall corner has to sometimes gather himself to change direction due to having long legs.
I’m not saying Gardner can’t do it, but it will be an interesting decision for Robert Saleh . . .
You could see why rookie running back Zonovan Knight was a priority free-agent addition for the Jets. The North Carolina State product ran a pass route today, and cut away from a defender with amazing short-area quickness and hauled in the pass. Very, very quick feet . . .
Aside from his enormous talent, something else very impressive about Sauce Gardner is how grounded and level-headed he is. Some #1 corners types are real cocky, but this guy, while cocky on the field, is very even-keeled off of it. He’s very humble . . .
Free agent receiver Charles Irvin had a bad drop at today’s practice. I felt bad for him for a second, because tryout players need to be almost perfect, to get a contract.
But then looking at the roster, he was listed as an signed undrafted rookie free agent, so he should be fine. Those guys are given a little more margin of error. He is listed out of Indiana University in Pennsylvania. But looking at him at 6-4, 219, I’m thinking there is no way this guy started at that school.
Googled him, and found out he was a Penn State transfer.
But getting back to these minicamp tryouts. These tryouts are a perfect example of why developmental leagues like the USFL are necessary. This isn’t a Jets criticism, because all times do this, but is it really fair to judge football players, in a short camp, with no pads or tackling, on their football ability? And they really have to walk on water in these camps to get signed. It’s kind of unfair. What if you had one of these guys in a full camp, and the lightbulb went on after a couple of weeks, and you found out he could be special, after a rough start?
You aren’t afforded the luxury of a slow start as a tryout in these camps.
May 6, 2022
Premium will return by 9:30 pm on Monday.