Aaron Glenn may be the Jets' first-year head coach, but only strength and conditioning coaches were on the field with the veterans during Phase I of the Jets' offseason strength and conditioning program. But AG was visible at the start of Phase 2, and then he got some fresh air and some hands-on coaching time with his young players at the team's rookie minicamp that concluded Sunday.

"It felt great to be on the grass from being inside and being in meetings for a while," Glenn said after the RMC's second practice Saturday. And he had a few top messages he delivered to his 44 or so camp participants (10 first- and second-year returnees, seven draft picks, 15 undrafted free agents and 12 tryouts).

"I told those guys, it really doesn't matter where you're from, even what you did," he said. "The thing is, they all have done a great job to get in the building. And once you get in the building, you have a shot."

And Glenn has a shot to expand his coaching reach. He related how he went from being a DBs coach to Detroit's defensive coordinator and on to the Jets HC's office.

"For me to get a chance to go to every position and be able to give my opinions on how they should do things and try to help those guys be successful, that's the fun thing about coaching," he said. "To go with the quarterbacks and talk to those guys, the running backs, the D-line, the linebackers. That was the change of being able to move around the field and be able to coach every position."

One of the telling clips from the first RMC practice in the Jets' fieldhouse was Glenn, who besides being a DBs coach was a Pro Bowl corner for the Jets and the Texans, observing from the sideline as third-round CB Azareye'h Thomas ran drills and got some coaching.

Mason Taylor: Numbers Game
Mason Taylor was asked about his first uniform number as a Jet, 46. "That's just the number they gave me," he said. "I'm just here to play football. Whatever number they assigned me, no question about it, just go play ball."

But if something opens up ... WR Easop Winston, signed to a reserve/future contract in January, was wearing 85 but he was released before the start of the minicamp. So Taylor, who may have an affinity for 8's — he wore 86 his three seasons at LSU and 18 at St. Thomas Aquinas HS in Florida — shifted to 85.

No matter the number, Taylor showed his compact build and Bayou Bengals surehandedness, grabbing balls from QBs Adrian Martinez, most noticeably perhaps on a bootleg and run after the catch up the sideline, and UDFA Brady Cook. AG: "Mason is exactly who we thought he was."

Arian Smith Combats Those Drops
Arian Smith, the Jets' first fourth-round pick from Georgia, knows he's known for dropped passes in college as well as his world-class speed. He began attacking the handsy issue on the pro level at the minicamp.

"He's bouncy and he's a really good athlete," Glenn said. "And I thought the first day he was really focused on making sure that [he could] see through the ball and make sure [he] could bring it in. I think he did a good job yesterday catching the ball."

That was on Friday, when Smith flashed his impressive speed. He wasn't observed getting as much action at Saturday's practice. His development will be something to watch the rest of this spring and into the summer and fall.

RMC Notes
Much has already been observed about first-round selection Armand Membou. The RMC was needless to say no contact, but the 6-4, 332-pounder showed his quick feet and athleticism and in short "looked the part" at RT, where he will be competing for the starting job at OTAs, the full-squad minicamp and in training camp.

QBs Adrian Martinez and Brady Cook, wearing GoPro cameras, got reps and ran the Jets' basic offenses. Hard to evaluate where they'll fit into the operation at training camp, but Glenn, including veterans Justin Fields and Tyrod Taylor, said: "I'm happy actually with all the quarterbacks we have in this program right now and I know they're going to push each other to get better."

Nobody had a busier rookie minicamp than undrafted free agent RB Donovan Edwards out of Michigan. He touched the ball more than anyone else during the open periods, looked smooth doing it, and will be competing for a roster spot behind the Jets' three returning RBs — Breece Hall, Braelon Allen and Isaiah Davis. ... Leander Wiegand (6-5, 302), the International Player Pathway signing from Henstedt in Ulzburg, Germany, who played for three teams in the European League of Football and briefly at Central Florida, was a non-practicing observer at both RMC sessions.