Jets Tight Ends: The Revival of a Position

The tight end. It’s a football position. One that has seen a great resurgence in the NFL over the past few years. In a game that revolves around creating and exploiting mismatches, this position has become a growing priority in recent seasons.

What exactly is a tight end? It could be defined as “a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver.”

The bolded part has been greatly ignored by the New York Jets. Whether because of a lack of talent, ignorance within the scheme, or both, the Jets have gotten nothing from their tight ends over the last two seasons.

In 2015, the Jets got 8 receptions and 1 touchdown from the tight end position. In 2016, they got 18 receptions and no touchdowns, for a total of 26 receptions over the last two seasons.

57 tight ends have had at least that many catches alone over that span.

However, the receiving tight end could be coming back to life in green and white. With the addition of Will Tye and a second season in New York for Austin Seferian-Jenkins, the involvement of the position has increased dramatically.

Seferian-Jenkins caught 5 passes for 31 yards in his return from suspension against the Dolphins. The last time a Jets tight end caught 5 (or even 4) passes in a game was when Jace Amaro did it in Week 6 of 2014. The Jets played 44 games in between their last two 5-catch performances from a tight end. Needless to say, that’s embarrassing incompetence. A resurgence may be on the rise before us, though.