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Latest On Jets’ Depth At Safety

May 22nd, 2024 at 9:04pm CST by Ben Levine

The Jets will have a trio of players compete for their two starting safety spots. Coach Robert Saleh told reporters (including ESPN’s Rich Cimini) that the Jets will have an open competition at the position, with Chuck Clark, Tony Adams, and Ashtyn Davis competing for the two starting roles.

With two-year starter Jordan Whitehead having returned to Tampa Bay, there is some uncertainty atop the positional depth chart. Adams got the longest look of the trio in 2023, having started all 15 of his appearances while compiling 82 tackles and three interceptions. However, Pro Football Focus only ranked him as a middle-of-the-road safety (41st among 95 qualifiers), and the former UDFA doesn’t have the resume to justify a definitive starting nod.

Davis saw a progressively larger role as the 2023 season went on, and while he didn’t earn enough snaps to qualify for PFF’s leader board, he would have graded out as a top-20 safety. The former third-round pick has seen an inconsistent role through his first four seasons in the NFL, starting 21 of his 54 appearances in New York. However, he’s become a favorite of Saleh, and the team showed some trust in the defensive back when they re-signed him this offseason.

“It is funny, all Ashtyn does is find the ball,” Saleh said last season (via the team’s website). “I am a big fan of his. He has done nothing but work. He was a valuable and very underrated piece of this defense. The way he goes about his business and the way he works, that play embodies everything that he represents for this defense.”

Clark is the true wildcard, as the veteran is coming off a torn ACL that ended his 2023 season before it began. Clark was a consistent starter during his final few years in Baltimore, and while the Jets didn’t give up a whole lot to acquire the veteran last offseason, they were still counting on the former 100-tackle defender to lead their safeties room.

The Jets will also be welcoming a new player to the position grouping. According to Brian Costello of the New York Post, Isaiah Oliver is moving to the safeties room. After spending the first five seasons of his career in Atlanta, Oliver spent the 2023 campaign in San Francisco, serving as the 49ers’ nickelback. He started six of his 17 appearances, finishing with 67 tackles and one interception. He’ll be competing with the likes of 2023 sixth-round pick Jarrick Bernard-Converse and 2024 seventh-round pick Jaylen Key for one of the final spots on the depth chart.

Minor NFL Transactions: 5/22/24

May 22nd, 2024 at 7:22pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s minor moves:

Atlanta Falcons

Las Vegas Raiders

New York Jets

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Earnest Brown was a fifth-round pick by the Rams back in 2021. He collected 14 tackles in 12 games through his first two seasons in Los Angeles, but he didn’t get into a single game with the big-league club during the 2023 campaign. He wasn’t retained via a futures contract this offseason, allowing him to catch on with the 49ers. He was waived by San Francisco earlier this month.

He’ll be taking the roster spot previously held by Patrick Laird, who spent the past two seasons on Tampa Bay’s practice squad. The former UDFA previously got into 37 games for the Dolphins between 2019 and 2021, collecting 533 yards from scrimmage. The Buccaneers added a pair of undrafted running backs in D.J. Williams and Ramon Jefferson, so the team may prefer to opt for a rookie on the taxi squad.

Jets Made Effort To Hire De Facto OC To Oversee Nathaniel Hackett?

May 15th, 2024 at 10:30pm CST by Sam Robinson

While woeful two-year coaching stretches have occurred throughout NFL history, Nathaniel Hackett is coming off a uniquely brutal period. The short-lived Broncos HC’s rebound effort fizzled four plays into last season, and although Aaron Rodgers‘ presence has effectively kept the embattled play-caller in place as Jets OC, the team does not appear pleased with its top offensive coach.

A report in January mentioned Robert Saleh exploring ways to strip some of Hackett’s authority, going so far as to say the fourth-year HC explored adding to his staff to limit his current OC’s power. It appears such an exploration did, in fact, occur. The Jets are believed to have pursued a hire that would have overseen Hackett on the offensive side, according to SNY’s Connor Hughes. No known hire has occurred at this point.

This shadowy search looks to have been aimed at an assistant HC-type hire, as opposed to a new OC. The latter effort would have required the Jets to comply with the Rooney Rule and dismiss Hackett, whom they hired largely to woo Rodgers in 2023. Unlike the Broncos, the Jets did manage — thanks to the Packers deeming Jordan Love ready to play by 2023 — to reunite Rodgers and Hackett. But the former ended up losing a season due to an Achilles tear. Rodgers’ repeated endorsements of Hackett have almost definitely kept the veteran coach employed.

The Jets actually making such a hire would have brought an extraordinary step, and it is interesting the team would even try this given the NFL’s OC landscape and this type of staff addition’s potential impact on Rodgers. The 20th-year QB certainly wields considerable power with the Jets. Among the 32 NFL teams, play-calling duties either run through a head coach or offensive coordinator. It is not certain the Jets were seeking a new play-caller, but it certainly sounds like they sought someone who could oversee Hackett on this front. With Saleh a defensive-minded HC, guardrails associated with Hackett are not in place.

If the Jets had truly made such an addition, it would have brought another ignominious chapter for a coach whose stock has tumbled since his Broncos stint. Beating out Dan Quinn for the Denver HC job in 2022, Hackett quickly proved overmatched. His bizarre decision to attempt a 64-yard field goal in his Broncos opener preceded a Week 2 game in which Denver fans counted down the play clock, as procedural penalties — or timeouts used to prevent them — piled up. This led to Broncos GM George Paton insisting Hackett hire a game management coach (Jerry Rosburg). A disjointed Broncos season still ensued, as the Hackett-Russell Wilson partnership dropped the team to 32nd in scoring offense. The Broncos made Hackett just the third post-merger HC to be fired before his first season ended.

Jets brass was not impressed with Hackett’s ability to adjust the offense to Zach Wilson last season, and the team’s 10 offensive TDs through 12 games marked the fewest any team had compiled since 2000. The Jets finished 29th in scoring and 31st in yardage last season, putting just about every key team decision-maker on thin ice.

Rodgers’ injury prompted ownership to give Saleh, Hackett and GM Joe Douglas a pass for 2023. It would seem Woody Johnson‘s patience will run out if the Jets extend their NFL-leading playoff drought to 14 seasons.

Saleh is among only six 21st-century HCs to retain his job after beginning a tenure with three sub-.500 seasons. Hackett, who operated as a non-play-calling OC in Green Bay for three years, will be counted on to maximize Rodgers’ age-40 season. Even when Rodgers was healthy last summer, Hughes adds the four-time MVP would repeatedly change a play Hackett called. With Rodgers being just about all that stands in the way of Hackett being axed, this will be an interesting partnership to follow as the Jets hope to justify the 2023 trade for the future Hall of Fame quarterback.

NFL Draft Pick Signings: 5/13/24

May 13th, 2024 at 6:40pm CST by Ben Levine

Front offices around the NFL continue to chip away at their draft pick signings. That was no exception today, as a number of teams inked players to rookie contracts:

Cincinnati Bengals

Indianapolis Colts

  • OT Matt Goncalves (third round, Pittsburgh)
  • C Tanor Bortolini (fourth round, Wisconsin)

Jacksonville Jaguars

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

  • EDGE Jalyx Hunt (third round, Houston Christian)
  • RB Will Shipley (fourth round, Clemson)
  • WR Ainias Smith (fourth round, Texas A&M)

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Minor NFL Transactions: 5/13/24

May 13th, 2024 at 6:15pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s minor moves:

Atlanta Falcons

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

  • Claimed off waivers (from 49ers): DL Spencer Waege
  • Placed on reserve/retired list: OL Trente Jones

Kansas City Chiefs

Los Angeles Chargers

  • Signed: DL Chris Collins

Miami Dolphins

  • Signed: OL Ireland Brown, CB Jason Maitre

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

  • Signed: RB Terrell Jennings, G Ryan Johnson, LB Jay Person, DE Jotham Russell
  • Waived: RB Ke’Shawn Vaughn

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

  • Signed: DL Elijah Chatman
  • Waived: OLB Jeremiah Martin

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

  • Waived: OL Kellen Diesch

San Francisco 49ers

  • Signed: DL Shakel Brown

Seattle Seahawks

  • Signed: DE Nathan Pickering, LB Devin Richardson

Tennessee Titans

Jets Sign First-Round T Olu Fashanu

May 13th, 2024 at 12:44pm CST by Adam La Rose

The Jets entered Monday without any of their 2024 draft picks having been signed. That has now changed, however, with first-round offensive tackle Olu Fashanu inking his rookie deal.

As ESPN’s Field Yates notes, this four-year pact will carry a value of $20.51MM. Like with all other Day 1 draftees, New York will have the ability to extend the contract by one more season via the fifth-year option. If the team does so, Fashanu will remain in place through the 2028 campaign.

Offensive line was a concern for the Jets entering the 2023 season, one in which Aaron Rodgers‘ debut New York campaign was cut short four plays into the season opener. After struggling with poor performance and injuries up front, adding at the tackle and guard spots was a priority this offseason. As a result, Morgan Moses was re-acquired via trade to regain his old right tackle spot.

That move was followed in short order by the signing of Tyron Smith. The former Cowboys All-Pro joined on a one-year deal, and he is in place as New York’s starter on the blindside. Both Moses and Smith are 33, however, and the former is also a pending free agent. A long-term investment at the tackle spot was thus a main concern entering the draft. While New York was high on wideout Rome Odunze, it came as little surprise when the team used the No. 11 pick (acquired in a swap with the Vikings) on Fashanu.

The Penn State product was seen as one of the top tackle prospects in the 2023 class, and it came as a surprise to many when he elected to remain in school for one more year. Nevertheless, Fashanu was squarely on the first-round radar this year despite being part of an extremely deep O-line class. The Jets also had interest in fellow tackle Troy Fautanu, but like other teams they had injury concerns which steered them elsewhere.

Fashanu does not have an immediate path to playing time as a rookie, but injuries have been a constant in Smith’s career and the usually-durable Moses missed three games last season. The 6-6, 313-pounder could therefore find himself on the field in relatively short order this year. Even if not, though, Fashanu should be a fixture up front for the team in 2025 and beyond.

AFC East Notes: Allen, Bills, Coleman, Staff, Washington, Jets, Patriots, Slater, Dolphins

May 12th, 2024 at 10:46am CST by Sam Robinson

Having traded Stefon Diggs weeks after letting Gabe Davis walk in free agency, the Bills are facing questions about their receiving corps. The team’s top offseason investment at the position — No. 33 overall pick Keon Coleman — encouraged Josh Allen. Bills GM Brandon Beane said during a Sirius XM Radio appearance he had Allen join coaches in watching some film of receiver prospects. Coleman was among the candidates the superstar passer preferred, expressing his approval after being informed on Day 2 of the draft the Bills would go with the Florida State wideout. Although Coleman did not produce an 800-yard receiving season with the Seminoles, the Bills look set to count on the 6-foot-4 pass catcher as they remake their receiving corps.

Here is the latest from the AFC East:

  • The Jets have moved on from one of the better-known members of their coaching staff. Leon Washington, who had been in place as assistant special teams coach in each of Robert Saleh‘s three seasons, did not see his contract renewed for the 2024 season, per the New York Post’s Brian Costello. This marked the former Jets kick returner/running back’s first full-time coaching gig, after a run of fellowships since his playing career ended after the 2014 season. A Jets contributor from 2006-09, Washington earned All-Pro honors in 2008. Earlier this offseason, the Jets lost special teams assistant Michael Ghobrial to the Giants. Dan Shamash, who helps advise Saleh in terms of game management, is now listed as an ST assistant for the team. Brant Boyer remains in place as the team’s ST coordinator.
  • Rome Odunze may well have been the Jets’ preference at No. 10, but after the Bears went with the Washington wideout at 9, the team was set on Penn State tackle Olu Fashanu. The Jets were also high on Washington tackle Troy Fautanu, according to ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler, but the team carried some long-term durability concerns about the Pac-12 blocker. Two other tackles — Taliese Fuaga (Saints) and Amarius Mims (Bengals) — went off the board before Fautanu, who slid to the Steelers at No. 20. Some teams flagged Fautanu’s knee as a medical concern, SI.com’s Albert Breer notes. It appears the Jets were one of them.
  • Odell Beckham Jr.‘s Dolphins contract includes a void year, which will drop his cap number by a bit. The new Miami WR3 will count $2.1MM on the team’s 2024 cap, per OverTheCap. Beckham signed a one-year, $3MM deal with the Dolphins; the team will take on a $900K dead money charge in 2025 if OBJ is not re-signed by the 2025 league year.
  • The Bills have either decided on their defensive play-caller, only to not reveal the choice publicly, or they are still in the process of determining who will call the signals come September. Sean McDermott said (via the Buffalo News’ Jay Skurski) he is delaying this decision until at least training camp. McDermott called plays last season, with the Bills having moved on from longtime defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier, but the Bills now have a DC again in Bobby Babich. The Bills have been a top-five defense in each of the past three seasons, though their units — as key injuries hit in each season — have struggled in the playoffs.
  • Matthew Slater‘s immediate transition to coaching will come in a full-time role, according to ESPN.com’s Mike Reiss. The perennial Pro Bowl special-teamer is working as a “right-hand man” to Jerod Mayo, with Reiss noting the new Patriots HC is receiving input from his former teammate regarding team-building and character development. Slater, 38, spent 16 seasons with the Patriots, coming into the league in the same 2008 draft class Mayo did.
  • Staying with that 2008 draft class, one of its members recently landed a scouting gig. The Dolphins hired Beau Bell as a pro scout, according to InsidetheLeague.com’s Neil Stratton. A 2008 fourth-round Browns draftee, Bell only played five NFL games. He will make the move to a full-time role after receiving an apprentice opportunity with the Rams and serving as GM of the Arena Football League’s Philadelphia Soul.

Minor NFL Transactions: 5/6/24

May 6th, 2024 at 7:48pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s minor moves:

Baltimore Ravens

  • Signed: QB Emory Jones, DE C.J. Ravenell
  • Waived: WR Jelani Baker, DT Tre Colbert

Green Bay Packers

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

  • Signed: CB Shon Stephens

Jets Notes: Wilson, OL, Odunze, Hardman

May 5th, 2024 at 10:06pm CST by Rory Parks

The Jets brought an end to Zach Wilson‘s disappointing New York tenure when they traded their former No. 2 overall selection for a mere pick swap on Day 3 of last month’s draft. According to ESPN’s Rich Cimini, Wilson’s camp was, in the run-up to the 2021 draft, deeply worried about Gang Green’s history of failure to develop young quarterbacks and how that would impact Wilson’s own career, but the BYU product was convinced he would be the player to buck that trend.

Of course, that was not the case, and Wilson will now try to resurrect his career in Denver. Per Cimini, one of the lessons that the Jets learned from the Wilson experience is that, regardless of the round in which they draft a QB in the future, they will want to give that player legitimate competition for his role and, preferably, the opportunity to learn on the sidelines (benefits that were not afforded to Wilson).

GM Joe Douglas also said prior to the 2024 draft that, “I’d love to be a quarterback factory,” referencing the 1990s Packers that selected QBs in the later rounds of a draft, developed them, and flipped them for new draft capital down the road. To that end, the Jets selected Florida State passer Jordan Travis in the fifth round of the 2024 draft. Travis sustained an ankle injury in November that prematurely ended his final collegiate season, though he is expected to be healed by the start of training camp.

Travis will be learning behind newly-signed backup Tyrod Taylor and QB1 Aaron Rodgers, whose success will drive the Jets’ fortunes in 2024. Blocking for that group of passers will be rookie OT Olu Fashanu, whom New York selected with the No. 11 overall pick of the draft. As Cimini details in a separate piece, Fashanu is not expected to start right away thanks to the recent additions of Tyron Smith and Morgan Moses, but since both veterans will be on modified offseason programs, Fashanu will get plenty of reps at both left and right tackle during the spring and summer (Douglas suggested that Fashanu could even get looks on the interior, as Cimini relays).

The Jets did have the No. 10 pick in the 2024 draft, but they traded down one spot and selected Fashanu once Washington wide receiver Rome Odunze went off the board to the Bears, who held the No. 9 selection. That suggests that Odunze was New York’s preferred target, and though Douglas would not confirm as much, Cimini says that the Jets did try to trade up for the former Huskies pass catcher.

The club did eventually land a receiver when it nabbed Western Kentucky talent Malachi Corley in the third round. As Adam Caplan of Pro Football Network writes, some teams viewed Corley as a slot-only option, though the Jets plan to get him some reps outside the numbers as well. The club is clearly high on his ability, with Cimini reporting that Douglas started making calls about a possible trade-up to take Corley when the Packers were on the clock with the No. 45 selection. Ultimately, Douglas got his man with the No. 65 pick. Head coach Robert Saleh concedes that Corley will need to refine his route-running, but he is excited to find creative ways to use him (via Cimini).

Speaking of wide receivers, the Jets never levied tampering charges against the Chiefs for Kansas City’s pursuit of Mecole Hardman, as Cimini reported back in March. Hardman, a second-round pick of the Chiefs in 2019, signed with the Jets in the 2023 offseason. But after Rodgers was lost for the season four snaps into the 2023 opener, the Jets’ offense was in shambles, and Hardman later acknowledged during an appearance on Ryan Clark‘s The Pivot podcast that he begged Chiefs brass to “come get me” (via Cimini).

The Jets traded Hardman back to KC in October, and Douglas admitted that Hardman’s comments to Clark “resonated with us” (meaning, presumably, that the Jets may have considered tampering charges at some point).

NFL Workouts: Averett, Jacobs, Harvin, Eason, Ollison

May 4th, 2024 at 5:01pm CST by Ely Allen

NFL teams often use rookie minicamp as an opportunity to bring in some veterans for workouts. Here are a few such instances of teams who invited some veteran free agents for the weekend:

  • The Steelers invited a former division-rival in cornerback Anthony Averett, per Tom Pelissero of NFL Network. Pittsburgh acquired veteran Panthers cornerback Donte Jackson in the trade that sent Diontae Johnson to Carolina, and Jackson is expected to start across from last year’s rookie starter Joey Porter Jr. Behind them, though, the team’s depth chart shows seventh-round rookie selection Ryan Watts and last year’s seventh-round pick Cory Trice as the top backup options. After playing out his rookie contract in Baltimore, Averett played the 2022 season with the Raiders before getting place on injured reserve. He spent a little time with the 49ers in the preseason before getting signed to the Lions’ practice squad. He could provide starting, veteran experience to a young corners group in Pittsburgh.
  • The Jaguars also brought in a veteran cornerback from Detroit, inviting Jerry Jacobs, according to Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2. Despite coming in as an undrafted free agent, Jacobs started 29 of his 40 game appearances for the Lions. Jacksonville is apparently looking to add some depth to the position after replacing Darious Williams with Ronald Darby as the starter opposite Tyson Campbell.
  • The Buccaneers brought in some competition for their punter of the past two years, Jake Camarda, according to Greg Auman of FOX Sports. Tampa Bay invited former Steelers punter Pressley Harvin III after he was waived by Pittsburgh in February. Harvin isn’t likely to impact the depth chart, though, after Camarda set Tampa Bay’s franchise record for single-season punt average just last year.
  • The Packers invited an extra arm to the rookie minicamp, according to Matt Schneidman of The Athletic, bringing in Jacob Eason. Green Bay just drafted Tulane quarterback Michael Pratt in the seventh round to compete with last year’s fifth-round pick Sean Clifford for the backup job. Alex McGough is also in the room but has yet to make an NFL debut despite being drafted back in 2018. Eason has in-game experience with the Colts and Panthers and could certainly find himself in the running for a roster spot with an impressive performance.
  •  Finally, the Jets brought in veteran running back Qadree Ollison, per Wilson. Ollison’s only NFL touches came over two years ago during his stint with the Falcons, so it’s unlikely that he’ll make an impact on the depth chart in a young running backs room that includes 2022 second-round pick Breece Hall, last year’s fifth-round pick Israel Abanikanda, rookie fourth-round pick Braelon Allen, and rookie fifth-round pick Isaiah Davis.
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