NY Jets Sign Anthony Kimble: Camp Body or Something More?

It's not earth-shattering news, and it may be that he has been signed in reaction to the news that Shonn Greene will miss the remainder of preseason, however if it's Jets news then it should be addressed.

Anthony Kimble went undrafted in the 2009 NFL draft, he was signed by the Miami Dolphins, released and today signed by the Jets.

Could Kimble actually make the team or is this a move for one of the following reasons:

1) To get an idea of the Miami Dolphins offense ahead of the new season

2) To get us through the last two preseason games, particularly the fourth game.

Under any other circumstances and particularly under Eric Mangini I would dismiss this immediately as a camp body. Someone to take the load and be cut when the roster cuts come. However there is something about Rex Ryan that makes me believe that every move has some potential to it.

Anthony Kimble is not a quick back, he is not explosive, doesn't have straight line "NFL speed," and the acceleration is not there. He does have his advantages that we will come to a little later.

Something jumped out at me when I was reading his biography from the Stanford website, and that was that he was a "converted wide receiver."

Even as a running back, he caught 60 passes for 485 yards during his career at Stanford. He is versatile, has soft hands and can be efficient in the blocking game.

He protects the football and during his four years at Stanford, in over 400 rushing attempts, not once did Kimble fumble the football. He is a patient back, who waits for the hole to open, fights for the yards but wraps up the football.

With a team that plans to run the football a lot this season and a QB who will be looking for reliable receivers out of the backfield, I can't help feel that he might have a chance to make the team.

I know that the fan favourite Danny Woodhead is the guy that everyone is hoping claims the remaining running back spot, and believe me when I say that I'm a fan of Danny Woodhead, I can't help thinking that Kimble might have more value to this team.

I'm not suggesting that Kimble will be an all-star, however reading through his biography and his pre-draft analyses, you see the words "willing blocker" a lot, as well as "terrific word ethic." He is obviously intelligent and to add to his repertoire, he can return punts as well.

Rex Ryan will obviously make the best decision at the end of the day, and it might just be that Kimble has been brought in for the two reasons listed above, but I'm intrigued by his obvious upside.

He has battled injuries, but every year his yardage has improved, 244 in 2005, 470 in 2006, 509 in 2007 and 717 in 2008. In 2008 he faced some tough rush defences like TCU and USC. Both of which ranked in the top five in terms of total rushing defense during the 2008 season.

I'm certainly willing to give him a chance and see what he has in the remaining two preseason games before writing him off completely.