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New York Jets tight end Jeremy Ruckert reacting in the middle of an NFL game against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The majority of the New York Jets’ offseason is over.
Up next will be training camp in late July. Before we get there, our Paul A. Esden Jr has a 53-man roster prediction fresh off mandatory minicamp.
Offense Roster Construction
Quarterbacks (two): Geno Smith, Cade Klubnik
It would be incredibly risky for the Jets to ride with only two quarterbacks on the active roster. My gut says they will add a veteran backup at some point over the next two months, but for now, we’ll keep it as is.
The staff has liked what they have seen from Klubnik. The big key is that Klubnik and this back issue aren’t serious. Head coach Aaron Glenn strongly implied that Klubnik would have had a chance to practice had they not canceled the last mandatory minicamp practice.
Running backs (four): Breece Hall, Braelon Allen, Isaiah Davis, Kene Nwangwu
Coach Glenn plans on using this “three-headed monster” this season. Hall just got the bag, so he will naturally be the straw that stirs the drink. Nwangwu is technically listed as a running back, but his contributions will come on special teams as a return man.
Fullback (one): Andrew Beck
Do the Jets keep a fullback? My lean is yes, but I could see the Jets keeping an extra tight end that serves in an H-Back role instead, which would put Beck’s roster spot in jeopardy.
Wide receivers (six): Garrett Wilson, Adonai Mitchell, Omar Cooper Jr, Isaiah Williams, Arian Smith, Tim Patrick
Out of any position on the roster, this might be the most locked-in situation. The majority of this list feels like roster locks, with the only ones sort of on the bubble being Smith and Patrick.
Tight ends (three): Kenyon Sadiq, Mason Taylor, Jeremy Ruckert
Do the Jets keep three or four tight ends? When you have a new offensive cooridator coming in, it’s hard to project what his flavor is compared to some of his previous stops to the current one.
Sadiq, Taylor, and Ruckert are all locks, but there might be room for a fourth. Jelani Woods?
Offensive line (10): Olu Fashanu, Dylan Parham, Josh Myers, Joe Tippmann, Armand Membou, Anez Cooper, Max Mitchell, Xavier Newman, Chukwuma Okorafor, Landon Young
The conversation in this group is about who is the last guy to make the cut? Is it Young? Could it be Marquis Hayes?
Defense Roster Construction
Defensive line (nine): Will McDonald, David Bailey, David Onyemata, Harrison Phillips, Jowon Briggs, Darrell Jackson Jr, Joseph Ossai, Kingsley Enagbare, T’Vondre Sweat
This is a muddied group because the Jets will be running a hybrid scheme of 3-4 and 4-3. So some members of this group are technically stand-up 3-4 outside linebackers, others are interior defensive tackles, and others are true 3-4 base defensive ends.
Nonetheless, this entire group feels pretty locked in. You could make an argument to keep another pass rusher for depth on the edge.
Linebackers (three): Demario Davis, Jamien Sherwood, Francisco Mauigoa
My biggest regret of this list is only keeping three linebackers. I painstakingly kept going through this to see who else could make it. Perhaps this is a place where the Jets could add a veteran down the line to add some beef.
Cornerbacks (seven): Brandon Stephens, D’Angelo Ponds, Jarvis Brownlee Jr, Nahshon Wright, Azareye’h Thomas, Qwan’tez Stiggers, Tre Brown
The surprise of this group is Tre Brown making the cut as a seventh cornerback. Beat reporter Nick Faria of Jets on SI couldn’t stop gushing about Brown from his observations during the offseason.
Every year, some surprising players make the roster that you didn’t anticipate. This is one of those cases.
Safeties (five): Minkah Fitzpatrick, VJ Payne, Malachi Moore, Andre Cisco, Dane Belton
Payne is the player on the bubble in this group. He was a seventh-round pick in April’s draft, but many thought he should have gone much higher. This new defense with coach Glenn at the controls could have some fun three-safety looks.
Special Teams Roster Construction
Placekicker (one): Jason Sanders
Punter (one): Austin McNamara
Long snapper (one): Thomas Hennessy
The only question is Sanders the kicker for the Jets? Or is the kicker not even on the roster yet? That was the case last year. The team didn’t sign Nick Folk until we were days into training camp.
At this moment, Sanders is the best in camp, so he gets the nod.
Paul Esden Jr. covers the New York Jets for Heavy.com. A New York native, he co-hosts a morning show, “The Manchild Show with Boy Green Digital.” Before joining Heavy in 2021, Esden Jr. covered both national and New York sports for FanSided, Elite Sports NY, and The Score 1260. More about Paul Esden Jr.
