Late in the Jets’ Thursday practice, defensive tackle Jay Tufele beat an interior lineman to pressure QB Justin Fields into throwing the ball away.
Tufele continues to stand out in practice and was asked on Thursday about the differences between the system he played in with the Cincinnati Bengals the last three seasons, and the Jets’ current scheme.
“It’s night and day,” Tufele said. “In Cincinnati, you had to wait for the offensive linemen to react. This defense is all attack, so I’m just going. I’m really grateful to be in this system.”
It reminds him of what he did before entering the NFL.
“USC and high school were straight attack, and that is my game – that is what I play,” Tufele said.
Tufele entered the league as a 2021 fourth-round pick of the Jacksonville Jaguars, but they had a regime change after that season, and the new administration moved on from him in 2022, and he landed with the Bengals.
And while he was solid in Cincinnati, it looks like he could take his game to another level in Florham Park, in a scheme that fits his skill set better.
Before the 2021 draft, an unnamed scout told NFL.com:
“[Tufele’s] really strong and really athletic, but you don’t want to ask him to do too much diagnosing because he’s not that kind of player. Just let him get upfield and disrupt.”
And that is exactly what the Jets intend on doing with him.
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