Checking in on New York Jets' Biggest Project Players
There's a difference between building a team and collecting talent, but the best teams are the ones that can find a way to marry both concepts to assemble a roster loaded with players who can contribute now and prospects who can contribute in a year or two.
The former of those two categorizations would be called "starters," the latter would be called "projects."
The New York Jets have focused much more closely on the starters this year than they have the projects, but with so many veterans on their roster (12 players 30 years or older), the Jets may need to hope for the best from those projects. So, how are they coming along?
Project players range anywhere from players with raw athletic talent to practice squad players who are trying to prove themselves worthy of a roster spot to second- or third-year players who are still learninig their wares. The Jets have at least a handful, so let's see where they all stand.
Bryce Petty
1 of 5
Everyone knew Baylor quarterback Bryce Petty would be a project in the NFL. Well, everyone except Petty's former head coach Art Briles.
"He's a great player," Briles told Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News. "Was Joe Montana in a system? Is Tom Brady in a system? Everybody's in a system. It's just about how you adapt. He'll do well in whatever he's asked to do. ... RG3 won an NFC East title and was NFL Rookie of the Year. Then he got 'systemized.' So, I mean, let them play."
That being said, the transition won't be easy. He has the size (6'3", 230 pounds) and scouts love his intangibles, according to NFL.com's Lance Zierlein. However, Baylor's one-read system made Petty's life much easier. He never had to go through his progressions like he'll have to in the NFL. He would look to his first read, which was almost always open, and if it wasn't, he would take off and run.
This year, it looks like the competition will come down to Geno Smith and Ryan Fitzpatrick, but Petty has the right skill set for Jets offensive coordinator Chan Gailey's system. There's a good chance that in a year or two, we'll be talking about Petty as a potential starter for the Jets.
Jace Amaro
2 of 5
Tight end Jace Amaro is not your quintessential project player. He has some of the skills necessary to contribute in the NFL, as he showed last year by posting 38 catches for 345 yards and two touchdowns. That being said, there's still a long way to go before he becomes a truly well-rounded, three-down tight end in the NFL.
For starters, his receiving numbers are nowhere near approaching the video-game-like numbers he posted at Texas Tech (106 catches, 1,352 yards, seven touchdowns in his final year at college). Granted, the Jets offense was not as tailored to Amaro's skill set as the Red Raiders offense was, but Amaro also only played 380 snaps as a rookie (39.3 percent), according to Pro Football Focus.
Which leads me to my next point: Amaro will have to round out his game a bit before he can approach the potential he showed at Texas Tech. Of his 380 snaps, 265 were on passing downs (254 receiving, 11 blocking) and the other 115 were as a run-blocker. Blocking has always been the weakest part of his game, but at 6'6" and 260 pounds, there's no reason he shouldn't be able to excel in that area.
The sooner Amaro begins pushing guys around in the running game, the sooner he takes strides toward realizing his full potential.
Deion Barnes
3 of 5
The Jets are desperate enough to try anything at the outside linebacker position. Their depth chart has been sorely lacking in young, promising players for years. That being said, it would be hard to call an undrafted free-agent signing a "desperate move." The Jets were wise to grab Penn State's Deion Barnes, a 6'4", 260-pound project who is undefined in his positional designation.
NFL.com's Lance Zierlein described him as too small to play defensive end but lacking the hand usage and technique to excel as an outside linebacker.
"Base end in college who might lack the natural pass-rushing ability or strength at the point of attack to play defensive end in the NFL. Barnes appears to have enough athleticism to transition to 3-4 outside linebacker, but he must improve his hand usage and become more skilled as a pass rusher to fit into a 3-4 role.
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Barnes was moderately productive at college, with 12.5 tackles for loss and six sacks as a junior at Penn State, but the NFL will be much different.
Barnes will have to prove he's a fit for the defense while competing with Ikemefuna Enemkpali, Jordan Williams, Julian Howsare and others for some of those final roster spots at the position. We probably won't get a good read on how he's progressing until at least the start of training camp.
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Wesley Johnson
4 of 5
The Jets have done a fine job this offseason of bolstering the front end of their roster with top-notch players for the starting lineup, but they still have some pretty significant question marks up and down the depth chart on the offensive line. They must decide on starters at the two guard spots. Other than that small issue, they must also figure out whether they have the right depth across the board.
Why not give a four-year college starter like Wesley Johnson a chance? He was drafted in the fifth round by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2014, but the Jets claimed him off waivers last October and kept him on their practice squad at that point. NFL.com's Nolan Nawrocki described Johnson as possessing the ceiling, but lacking the polish he'll need to be successful:
"Experienced, intelligent, competitive, athletic, strength-deficient zone blocker. Has everything you want intangibly and has developmental value, but has to make significant strength gains and perfect his technique to survive against longer, more powerful NFL defensive ends. Has worked out as a center in the spring and might be most natural inside.
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Johnson is officially listed as an offensive lineman, but he'll most likely be competing at tackle, where he started most of his career. The 6'5", 297-pound lineman will have to add some muscle if he's going to measure up against NFL-sized defensive ends. He'll also have to ward off Sean Hooey, Ben Ijalana and Brent Qvale if he's going to make the final roster.
Davon Walls
5 of 5
As if the Jets need more talented defensive linemen, the Jets went out and added yet another rough project in Lincoln's Davon Walls. The 6'6", 290-pound lineman has bounced around from one school to another before finally landing at Lincoln, where he notched 10 sacks and 17.5 tackles for a loss in 2014.
He has the traits, but "requires seasoning," according to NFL.com's Mike Huguenin, who also highlighted some of the reasons for his repeated transfers:
"[Walls] played football and basketball at Fresno College for a year before moving on to Coahoma CC in Mississippi to play only football. He signed with Syracuse in 2012 and played in three games that fall. He was dismissed from school in 2013 after he was arrested on burglary charges (he eventually pleaded guilty and was placed on probation), then moved on and played at Lincoln in 2014; he had 10 sacks and 17.5 tackles for loss for the Blue Tigers. He is a massive man with good feet and athleticism, but he is extremely raw and is going to require seasoning.
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He may not have much of an opportunity to get any seasoning with the Jets thanks to the incredible depth of their defensive line, but if he can make the most of his practice reps and preseason games, he could find himself with a roster spot at the end of summer. As long as he sticks with a team, he gives himself a chance to get into the good graces of the coaching staff to eventually earn a bigger role.
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