Why New York Jets Offense Won't Suffer from Lack of TE Depth

Jeff Cumberland. Kellen Davis.

The hopes of the New York Jets' depth chart at tight end rests on two names, neither of which are likely to inspire much confidence or spark much name recognition on a national level.

And that's OK.

The tight end position has never been a focal point for Jets offensive coordinator Chan Gailey's system. That might have changed a little if pass-catching savant Jace Amaro had been available to the team in 2015, but once he landed on injured reserve, he took the potential importance of the tight end position with him.

Truth be told, the diminished value of the tight end position should have been evident from the get-go based on the Jets' offseason moves. With one newly acquired wide receiver after another, the Jets stepped further and further away from the "ground-and-pound" offensive stylings of head coach Rex Ryan and closer and closer to the air-raid philosophy of Gailey.

But none of this should have come as a surprise to anyone looking at the facts and figures from Gailey's tenure as head coach of the Buffalo Bills. 

Formation	Snaps	NFL rank
4 WR	586	1
3 WR	1,669	5
Shotgun	1,643	3
2 RB	616	24
2 TE	341	32

From 2010 to 2012, Gailey's Bills spent more time in three- and four-receiver sets and less time in two-tight end sets than any other team in the NFL, according to ESPN.com's Rich Cimini.

The Jets will find themselves predominantly in three different personnel groupings: 11 (one running back, one tight end, three wide receivers), 10 (one running back, no tight end, four wide receivers) and some variant of a spread set (either with five wide receivers or with four wide receivers and one tight end). 

The Jets may not be in dire need of more depth at tight end, but they're still doing their due diligence by looking into some backup options. 

Tight ends are typically a matchup piece in Gailey's offense, and Amaro might have been the one to fill that sort of role, but the Jets don't have that kind of player on their roster at the moment. Instead, Gailey will probably use his tight ends in more traditional ways. 

The duties could be split between Cumberland and Davis; Cumberland could find himself as the primary receiving tight end, while Davis will serve as more of an in-line blocking tight end in the running game. That being said, the Jets are just one injury away from heading into panic mode.

It makes sense, then, that the Jets kept tight end Wes Saxton for their practice squad.

He is a physically gifted but raw receiving tight end with a similar skill set to Amaro. At 6'4" and 235 pounds, per the team's roster, he's not going to maul anyone as a blocker. However, he ran a 4.65-second 40-yard dash and posted a 36-inch vertical jump at the 2015 NFL Scouting Combine, underscoring his athletic ability as a pass-catcher. 

But here's some food for thought: Tight ends offer value as matchup pieces against linebackers in the passing game, but another huge factor in their value is their versatility between the running game and passing game and the seed of doubt that they plant in the minds of a defense.

If a defense can enter a play knowing that a particular tight end can't (or won't) block, why not put a wide receiver on the field who could be a better, more explosive pass-catching threat? You can still create the same matchup problems with a wide receiver by getting him matched up on a linebacker or a safety.

Backup receivers like Chris Owusu, Quincy Enunwa and Jeremy Kerley can operate over the middle and create some of the same matchup problems as an athletic, pass-catching-only tight end. Expect those receivers to get more opportunities to make plays with the Jets' lack of depth at tight end.