Race to Jets Final Receiver Spots Could be Track Meet

[JetNation]

If you plan on paying close attention to the New York Jets wide receivers at training camp or in the pre-season, you may not want to blink or you might miss it.  Joe Douglas has a talented group of wide receivers to work with in Corey Davis, Denzel Mims, Elijah Moore, Jamison Crowder (for now) and Keelan Cole.  That’s a total of five receivers who are viewed as locks to make the final 53, barring of course Crowder being cut or traded.

Even if the Jets opt to carry up to seven receivers, that leaves just a few spots left for the remaining seven receivers on the roster.  What makes this season a bit different though is Douglas’ effort to stock is roster with guys who can flat out run.  Of the thirteen receivers currently under contract, six of them run the 40 in under 4.4 seconds while two others (Braxton Berrios and Josh Malone) come in at exactly 4.4.

Bottom line is that when these guys show up to camp to fight for those final spots, it could resemble a track meet.

Of course some are longer shots than others, but there are several speedsters who have a legitimate chance to hang around and contribute on offense and special teams while Mims and Moore are locks to stick.  Beyond that?

First time I've seen Bailey mentioned during OTA's. Jets would love one of the young burners to stick and develop with Wilson. Six current Jets WR's run sub 4.4.

Montgomery: 4.3
Moore: 4.35
V. Smith: 4.36
J. Smith: 4.36
D. Mims: 4.38
M. Baiely:4.39
Berrios: 4.4
J. Malone 4.4 https://t.co/BpC0oNMpLH

— Glenn Naughton (@AceFan23) June 13, 2021

While he’s the “slowest” of the group, receiver/punt returner Braxton Berrios has been mentioned quite regularly through OTA’s where it appears he building a nice rapport with Zach Wilson who is consistently finding Berrios in the middle of the field.  Berrios has had some impressive moments with the Jets but hasn’t become as reliable in the hands department as you’d like.  Even still, after leading the NFL in punt return average two seasons ago, he’s got a leg up on the competition early on as Wilson keeps calling his number.

After Berrios it would make the most sense to look at the two Smiths; Vyncint and Jeff.  Both run identical 4.36 40’s and both have had some good moments in limited opportunities as pros.

Two players with a good chance to make this roster at the bottom of the WR depth chart are Vyncint and Jeff Smith. Run identical 4.36 40's and have shown flashes. pic.twitter.com/kCXnx0HMsh

— Glenn Naughton (@AceFan23) June 13, 2021

Vyncint is the more experienced/polished receiver who ended the 2019 season on a strong note and looked to step up in 2020 before spending the season on IR.

Meanwhile, Jeff Smith started his college career at QB before moving to wide receiver.  He has improved his game and gives the Jets an explosive player who can play the “gadget QB” role if called upon given his experience at the position in college.  Smith saw some opportunities last season and played better than the box scores would suggest as poor QB play sometimes limited what he was able to do after getting open.

Jets had some opportunities to hit on some big plays with Jeff Smith last year but QB's were just off the mark. pic.twitter.com/8C79sjJ8kc

— Glenn Naughton (@AceFan23) June 13, 2021

The fastest of the bunch is DJ Montgomery who has reportedly been clocked at 4.3 which is just ridiculous.  Montgomery was snagged by the Jets after the Browns parted ways with the undrafted wide receiver out of Austin Peay where he scored 10 TD’s in his final season while averaging just under 19 yards per reception.  Montgomery’s name hasn’t been mentioned by a team or beat reporter since the day he was claimed last season so it would appear he’s got some work to do.

ESPN reporter Rich Cimini didn’t say a great deal, but was the first scribe this offseason to mention Man (Manasseh) Bailey, saying only that he has “impressed”.  Another burner at 4.39, Bailey joins this long list of explosive receivers hoping to make a name for themselves.  Another small school product, Bailey is a New York native who also put up 10 TD’s in his final collegiate season at Morgan State.

Last on the list is veteran Josh Malone whose time to impress is running out.  An NFL veteran of four seasons, Malone has an intriguing size/speed ratio at 4.4 while checking in at 6’3”.  He does have some NFL reps under his belt with the Bengals and Jets but has managed just 11 receptions for 91 yards in four seasons.

 

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[rangerous]

you can't teach speed.  of course the important thing is football speed.  imo berrios may have a leg up because he's been a pretty effective punt returner.

[Joe W. Namath]

Berrios is a lock at 6.  7 is the only spot up for grabs.

[nycdan]

6 minutes ago, Joe W. Namath said:

Berrios is a lock at 6.  7 is the only spot up for grabs.

Unless they move Crowder in which case another spot opens up.

With regard to that, I think people are mistaken to assume that Moore makes Crowder expendable.  It's probably Berrios that really does that.  Moore is going to play everywhere.  Berrios is the slot guy who, while not as good as Crowder, might be good enough if it opens a spot for one more of these speedsters while saving a lot of cap for something else that could be more helpful to the overall team.

I like Crowder a lot.  But if the Jets do move on, I think it will be because they see Berrios as the replacement.

[jetstream23]

Can someone remind me how the Active roster vs. Game day roster works?  The Jets likely will not suit up 7 WRs on the 53-man Game day roster.  But can 7 make the team and not force the Jets to have to waive them and attempt to sign to Practice Squad?

The set of WRs who end up on the Jets PS will be very interesting.  I imagine 2 guys getting there.

[TheNuuFaaolaExperience]

Braxton Berrios is who he is. He is a quality back end of the roster WR who can play special teams. When you have the front end of the roster filled with true ones, twos, threes, fours, and fives, having someone like BB makes your team better. I could see him moving up the ladder over time. I don't think it's unreasonable to think that he could be a number four on this, or another team.

I love how his 2019 Jets highlights start with him in a Patriots uniform. 

 

[hmhertz]

6 hours ago, rangerous said:

you can't teach speed.  of course the important thing is football speed.  imo berrios may have a leg up because he's been a pretty effective punt returner.

Ineffective fair catcher

[ncjetman]

unlikely any of these guys make much of an impact - we’re fortunate to go 5 quality legitimate wr’s deep after years of praying for a legit #1 and/or #2 - this year could be the year we have that and more - if any of the guys fighting for 6-7 make any kind of a difference this will be one heck of an offense - still might be a good offense but again don’t think any of these guys will be much of a factor


Sent from my iPhone using JetNation.com mobile app

[Greenbloodblitz]

5 hours ago, jetstream23 said:

Can someone remind me how the Active roster vs. Game day roster works?  The Jets likely will not suit up 7 WRs on the 53-man Game day roster.  But can 7 make the team and not force the Jets to have to waive them and attempt to sign to Practice Squad?

The set of WRs who end up on the Jets PS will be very interesting.  I imagine 2 guys getting there.

I'm pretty sure it's 53 on the active roster and 45 suit up for game day. I could be wrong but those numbers come to mind.

Everything for the practice squad was changed last year due to covid, and the last I read was the NFL is still up in the air but may try to land somewhere in the middle.

Practice squad to the Active roster to Gameday roster has Strategic advantages for each team.

Obviously injuries would be the first one. If you have multiple injuries to your WR's, you can call guys up from the practice squad to the active roster and suit them up on game day. To the contrary if you're playing a tough RB like Derrick Henry, you're going to want to suit up more Defensive lineman for the rotation to keep them fresh.

I hope that sounded like I know what I'm talkin about?  I think I'm pretty close. LOL!! It's a confusing goddamn game man, I don't even know why I got involved in the first place. I haven't smoked hash in quite some time... so I'm moving on to that now.

[jetstream23]

44 minutes ago, Greenbloodblitz said:

I'm pretty sure it's 53 on the active roster and 45 suit up for game day. I could be wrong but those numbers come to mind.

Everything for the practice squad was changed last year due to covid, and the last I read was the NFL is still up in the air but may try to land somewhere in the middle.

Practice squad to the Active roster to Gameday roster has Strategic advantages for each team.

Obviously injuries would be the first one. If you have multiple injuries to your WR's, you can call guys up from the practice squad to the active roster and suit them up on game day. To the contrary if you're playing a tough RB like Derrick Henry, you're going to want to suit up more Defensive lineman for the rotation to keep them fresh.

I hope that sounded like I know what I'm talkin about?  I think I'm pretty close. LOL!! It's a confusing goddamn game man, I don't even know why I got involved in the first place. I haven't smoked hash in quite some time... so I'm moving on to that now.

Ha!

I'm just not sure that out of a 53 man roster the Jets would use 7 spots on WR, especially for an offense that seems like it wants lots of bodies and rotation at both RB and TE, and under a GM who now seems committed to making sure there are enough OLinemen to protect his shiny new QB.

[Greenbloodblitz]

41 minutes ago, jetstream23 said:

Ha!

I'm just not sure that out of a 53 man roster the Jets would use 7 spots on WR, especially for an offense that seems like it wants lots of bodies and rotation at both RB and TE, and under a GM who now seems committed to making sure there are enough OLinemen to protect his shiny new QB.

Agreed and oddly enough this happens to be one of the biggest attractions as far as I'm concerned about the sport. It's not so easy is it? Being a GM do you trade Crowder? What if Elijah Moore gets injured. We got this really fast no name kid that went undrafted but Braxton can return punts.

Lol now you know why these guys are all divorced and work 20 hours a day. It's like a Non-Stop chess game and it's always in flux. This is before anybody even gets on the field to play the first game. It's crazy. God I love the offseason!

I'm not sure of all the actual facts, but I believe that Bill Belichick years ago hired a full-time ex-lawyer to go through the NFL rule book on a daily basis as it changes. His specific job is to find loopholes in the rules. Ingenious. Look it up.

Also why he insists that most of the roster learns and can play multiple positions. Some guys just care about wins and losses and gambling and winning the Super Bowl. My attraction to the game is how in-depth everything behind the scenes is, and obviously as well as the end result on the field.

I don't think the common or fair weather fan really understands how much is involved.