Jets 53-Man Roster Projection

We are through two pre-season games now and like a lot of SB Nation sites, it's time to take a look at our projected 53 man roster going into the 2012 season. Remember things can change, but right now these are the guys I see making the opening day cut. Leave your comments below and let me know who you agree and disagree with.

Quarterbacks

1) Mark Sanchez, 2) Tim Tebow, 3) Greg McElroy

Missing out: Matt Simms

I think this one is pretty obvious. Sanchez is the starter, Tebow is the back-up and gadget short area man and Greg seems to have a pretty firm hold of that #3 spot. Matt Simms has had his moments in camp, but I can't see him making the cut for the roster.

Running Backs

1) Shonn Greene, 2) Joe McKnight, 3) Bilal Powell, 4) Terrance Ganaway

There isn't exactly a great deal of competition in the running back unit. I like the progression of Joe McKnight and I really hope that we use him a little more in the base offence that we did last year. Shonn will be the work horse and Powell may get some looks to give him a breather. We'll carry Terrance on a year of discovery.

Fullbacks

1) John Conner 2) Josh Baker

Missing out: Jeremy Stewart

This is about as simple as you can get. John Conner is the starter and hybrid FB/TE Josh Baker will be backing him up. I don't think Conner has ever hit the heights that we expected after he was drafted and after Hard Knocks gave him quite a lot of coverage. It's never easy to follow a great like Richardson, but Conner will get plenty of work this year with the ground and pound.

Tight Ends

1) Dustin Keller 2) Jeff Cumberland

Missing out: Dedrick Epps, Tarren Lloyd, Hayden Smith

Remember that we have Josh Baker as well, I just listed him with the fullbacks. Keller is the clear cut starter in a contract year. I expect good things from Keller and hope he can be a bigger red-zone presence than ever before. I don't think that Jeff Cumberland brings a whole lot to the team, he is poor in pass blocking and hasn't done a whole lot on the receiving end. However this is the roster I think we'll end up with, not what I want to end up with.

Join me after the jump for the rest

Wide Receivers

1) Santonio Holmes, 2) Stephen Hill, 3) Jeremy Kerley, 4) Patrick Turner 5) Jordan White

Missing out: Chaz Schilens, Dexter Jackson, Eron Riley, Raymond Webber, Royce Pollard,

Santonio and Stephen I think are the starters in the base, then you have Kerley in the slot and Patrick Turner is putting together a nice off-season and obviously has chemistry with Sanchez. So then we get down to the 5th receiver and I had it between White and Schilens. The Jets would need to eat $500,000 if they cut Schilens, however he just can't stay healthy so why carry. Jordan White had an unbelievable college career and I want to see him develop and I think the Jets will keep him for the ride.

Offensive Line

1) D'Brickashaw Ferguson, 2) Matt Slauson, 3) Nick Mangold, 4) Brandon Moore, 5) Wayne Hunter, 6) Vladimir Ducasse, 7) Austin Howard, 8) Caleb Schlauderaff, 9) Robert Griffin

Missing out: Stephon Heyer, Matt Kroul, Dennis Landolt, Paul Cornick, Terrance Campbell

Unfortunately it seems as though we are stuck with Hunter at RT for the time being. So the first five are shut ins. Then we have Vlad who is actually starting to look OK. Austin Howard for me looks as good as Hunter, and as he can play left and right tackle, he'll make the squad. We have Caleb to back-up Mangold, and for the sake of our stuttering offence, lets hope we don't need to use him. We'll carry our draft pick Griffin this year in the hope that he develops.

Defensive Line

1) Muhammed Wilkerson, 2) Sione Pouha, 3) Mike DeVito, 4) Quinton Coples, 5) Kenrick Ellis, 6) Jay Richardson

Missing Out: Marcus Dixon, Damon Harrison, Martin Tevaseu, Matt Hardison

Is this the strongest position on the team. I love a combination of Wilkerson, Pouha, DeVito and Coples in 3 and 4 man fronts. Kenrick Ellis has looked quite good this pre-season in my opinion and then I had a choice between Jay Richardson and Marcus Dixon. I would be happy with either but Jay had a nice strip sack in the first pre-season game and I think he has a bit more upside than Marcus Dixon.

Linebacker

1) David Harris, 2) Bart Scott, 3) Calvin Pace, 4) Bryan Thomas, 5) Demario Davis, 6) Aaron Maybin, 7) Josh Mauga, 8) Nick Bellore, 9) Garrett McIntyre

Missing Out: Ricky Sapp, Brett Roy, Damario Ambrose, Marcus Dowtin,

I really liked Ricky Sapp coming out of Clemson but unfortunately he just can't stay healthy so I'm following the Schilens logic here in leaving him out. I like our inside linebackers and strongly believe that Demario will be starting with David Harris by Week 12. Josh Mauga is a good player to have around and I really like the look of Bellore. Hoping that Maybin wreaks Mayhem and can see him ending the year with 7-10 sacks on the season. Demario makes this unit a lot more athletic, which is exactly what they needed.

Defensive Backs

1) Darrelle Revis, 2) Antonio Cromartie, 3) LaRon Landry, 4) Yeremiah Bell, 5) Antonio Allen, 6) Josh Bush, 7) Kyle Wilson, 8) Eric Smith, 9) Ellis Lankster, 10) Donnie Fletcher

Missing Out: Julian Posey, D'Anton Lynn, Marcus Lott, Ryan Steed, LeQuan Lewis, Isaiah Trufant

We obviously have one of the strongest starting Cornerback tandems in the league with Revis and Cro. I'm a lot more confident now we have Landry and Bell at safety with Antonio Allen being one of the most impressive rookies in camp. I hope that Kyle Wilson continues his development and Josh Bush gets some work in on specials and learns the D. Lankster I think has a spot down, but the remaining CB slot is up for grabs. I'm just giving it to Fletcher but it's possible that Trufant will get the spot.

Specialists:

K- Nick Folk, P- T.J Conley, LS- Tanner Purdum

Missing Out: Josh Brown, Derek Chard,

Nick Folk has out-kicked Josh Brown this off-season and I think we'll head into the season with Folk again. Purdum has his job tied down. T.J Conley is highly inconsistent but at the moment he doesn't have much competition.