Throughout the offseason, NewYorkJets.com reporters Eric Allen, Ethan Greenberg, Randy Lange and Caroline Hendershot will give their responses to a series of questions regarding the Jets.
Today's question: Which Jets Stood Out During OTAs?
EA: It starts with Aaron Glenn. He is always in motion, a commanding presence who spends time with different groups of players all over the field. Speaking of movement, the Jets have a unique dual threat at quarterback in Justin Fields. He can provide explosive plays in the pass game and the run game. Fields, who progressed as a passer last season in Pittsburgh, will create a number of advantages for OC Tanner Engstrand. How will teams employ their safeties against the Jets? Garrett Wilson is a special talent who continues to make splash plays look ordinary. While this is still spring and the guys are practicing in shorts, a pair of rookies — TE Mason Taylor and CB Azareye'h Thomas — have popped early. Taylor is a sure-handed receiver who can find space and Thomas is a feisty young CB with impressive length and competes. In the third OTA open session, LB Quincy Williams was wreaking havoc and celebrating each "stop" with his trademark uppercut. And I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the Jets RB stable. If you are ranking positional units on this club, I'd probably start there. Once we get to training camp, we can shed some more light on the big dudes along the line of scrimmage.
EG: Quincy Williams has stood out to me throughout OTAs because of how vocal he seems compared to previous years. Williams said he's been challenged to take on more of a leadership role and it feels natural for him as he enters his fifth year with the team. The media has watched three practices, all from the balcony at 1 Jets Drive, and I can easily hear Williams, who has been extremely active in pre-snap communication. There's only so much to take away from OTA practices considering the pads won't come on until training camp, but Garrett Wilson has been impressive throughout the spring, to no one's surprise. Undrafted free agent WR Jamaal Pritchett has made a few splash plays in the three open practices and has been in the rotation at punt returner.
Check out the complete collection of all the top photos from the Jets three weeks of OTAs ahead of mandatory minicamp.
RL: Will McDonald IV looks like he's ready to take his next step off the edge with his OTA work. The third-year pass-rusher has increased his weight from 236 to 250 and perhaps he's shaved a few hundredths of a second off his speed in reducing his uniform number by 10/11ths, from 99 to 9. There's no live contact until training camp, of course, but it will be interesting to see if McDonald can build on his leap from Year 1 to 2, when he notched 10.5 sacks and 24 QB hits last season. And it would be ideal if he can team up with fellow rusher Jermaine Johnson, who also rose from his first season to his second, when he became a Pro Bowl player in 2023. No Jet has registered double-digit sacks in back-to-back seasons since Shaun Ellis in 2003-04, preceded by John Abraham in '01-'02. Perhaps it's too much to expect Johnson to roar back to his '23 form against Aaron Rodgers and the Steelers in the season opener so soon after his Achilles tendon tear early last season. But McDonald and Johnson sooner or later could be a tandem to keep a weekly watch on.
CH: While WR Garrett Wilson has had some flashy catches with his former OSU QB Justin Fields during OTAs, which is not a surprise, the Jet that has impressed me the most has been rookie TE Mason Taylor. Not only has he made a few impressive catches, but HC Aaron Glenn has been impressed with his blocking as well. Glenn said:, "[Taylor] understanding exactly what he's supposed to do and the position, the body language, the leverage, all those things. Man, I really love that." While things change when the pads come on, I think Taylor has an advantage where he is starting his NFL career and he has a high ceiling.
