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The Jets’ passing offense was underwhelming today, but one nice play was a pass from QB Tyrod Taylor down the left side to WR Brandon Smith.
Smith is having an excellent training camp. Remember, he was a standout last preseason and landed on the Jets’ practice squad.
But on every good play in camp, there might be one not so good on the other side of the ball.
On the play, he seemed to get behind rookie cornerback Azareye’h Thomas.
I am always hesitant to blame a DB for getting beat in coverage, because sometimes it looks like one guy was at fault, but based on the scheme/playbook, it was somebody else.
But it certainly looked like Smith got by Thomas on this play. If I’m wrong, I will print a retraction.
But this play is illustrative of a slight concern with this corner, who gets high marks for his physicality and ball skills, but has 4.58 speed, and that is perhaps why he slipped to the third round.
“If he had posted a good time, he likely goes at the top of the second round,” said
former NFL scout Daniel Jeremiah. “When he ran that time, I think it’s what dropped him to this point in the draft.”
There is a lot to like about this player.
“Thomas is a tall, long and fluid cornerback,” Jeremiah wrote before the draft. “In press coverage, he has the size and physicality to disrupt at the line of scrimmage.”
However, while the player has a ton going for him, if you don’t get a good pass rush, and you ask him to hold up on an island too long, he can have issues with speed.
Earlier in the practice, Justin Fields hit Arian Smith on a crossing route, and it looked like Thomas was covering him and the speedy receiver pulled away. Once again, without being privvy to the playbook, I can’t be 100 sure it was Thomas’ fault, but it certainly looked that way.
But I’m hesitant to say “fault” because how is 4.58 going to keep up with 4.36. You do the math.
This note isn’t meant to be an attack on Thomas. Just a dose of reality – he slipped to the third round due to that 4.58.
However, I do think this will be less of an issue when two things happen: The Jets get a more consistent pass rush, and Thomas gets more comfortable in the scheme and on the NFL level.
When you run 4.58, you can’t afford as many missteps because you don’t have elite recovery speed. So once Thomas is comfortable with the playbook, there will be less missteps and less need to play catch-up on plays . .
Aside from the aforementioned TD catch on Thomas, Smith also had a nice grab for a TD on a fade over CB Qwan’tez Stiggers.
Smith is a legit NFL receiver. He showed it last summer, and once again this summer. He has a nice speed-ratio, good hand-eye coordination, and is very good at high-pointing the ball . . .
A little bit of an inconsistent day for Fields, but one of his better plays was reading a blitz coming from the right side from Quincy Williams, and hitting a wide open Breece Hall, who swung out to wear the linebacker was blitzing from, and the running back waltzed into the end zone . . .
Speaking of Williams, he had one of the better defensive plays today, shooting into the backfield on a goalline run attempt by Breece Hall, to stop the runner for a loss.
Playing downhill, Williams is a gifted player – he needs a little work on going backward on his pass drops . . .
Brandon Stephens, the cornerback opposite Sauce Gardner, continues to have a good camp. He had two nice PDs in a red zone drill, first breaking up a pass to Garrett Wilson on a cross, and then knocking away a fade on the left side to Josh Reynolds . . .
Speaking of Wilson, let’s be honest, while he’s obviously thrilled with his new contract, he can’t be thrilled at his usage over the first week in camp. He’s had a very quiet camp, and this isn’t a criticism of Wilson. His quiet camp is likely not of his own doing.
All this rhetoric about how he didn’t like working with Aaron Rodgers – the bottom line is he had 101 catches last year from the 4-time NFL MVP, and in this camp, so far, watching his work with his new QB, perhaps he’s not going to get near that number this year.
July 31, 2025
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