No Jets rookie has played in every game this season except for point guard Braden Mann. Five spent time on the injured reserve, one on the reserve / injury list outside football and one will end the season on the reserve list / COVID-19.
Nothing about their first season in the NFL was normal, from a virtual off-season to playing in empty stadiums to naming a trailer in their locker room.
But Joe Douglas might have something to work with. The Jets general manager’s first class project showed signs of promise that they will enter the final of Sunday’s season against the Patriots, giving hope that it can help substantiate a change in the coming years.
“That’s something we’re definitely hoping to do,” Bryce Hall, the debutant corner, said on Friday. “We still have a long way to go before we can say that comfortably, but this is something we are proud of this young group of boys – we can only be part of the changes and influence this organization in a way. positive.”
The Jets season will end in Week 17 for the tenth year in a row and with that will come an off-season full of changes – starting with an expected change in head coach, a lot of uncertainty in the defender and more list reversals that will come. Despite the fact that the Jets debutants did not manage to win too many victories this year, coach Adam Gase believes that they benefited by learning from veterans and seeing how they managed in a difficult season.
“Our young players, I think they have improved, because they have understood how to train during this time,” said Gase. “I understand how they have to appear and be prepared for the day of the game and when they get their opportunities, they have to make the most of it. I think there are a lot of young guys who have had a lot of valuable playing time this year, but I also think they have had a lot of valuable training time.
“I’ve been in teams where things don’t go well, and the boys lose opportunities to improve, because they’re like, ‘Ah, this season is a waste and I don’t get anything out of it.’ When the boys get this deal, “Hey, I’m getting better because of that as an individual player,” that’s huge. It’s so beneficial for a young player because you get so many photos of it that you get so many repetitions. Every representative is so valuable for all these guys, especially for beginners, especially without the off-season, without a real training camp, without preseason games. Everything we do is essential for the development of these boys. “
Hall, a fifth-round pick who has played every shot in the last five games after returning from a serious ankle injury in Virginia, is one of nine newcomers Douglas drafted in April. Seven of them have played this season, with Hall, left-back Mekhi Becton and wide receiver Denzel Mims, all starting right now and Mann getting a lot of action.
Safety Ashtyn Davis (foot) and defender La’Mical Perine (COVID-19) have already played their last game of the season and defensive end Jabari Zuniga struggled to get playing time after being sidelined by a four-point injury in the home side. training. But the Jets could have parts to build, from the 2020 draft class, in a crucial off-season – which could feel even closer to normal.
“This experience has allowed us to get really close and I feel it has contributed to our contribution, a lot of young people are doing that,” Hall said.
“I feel that the biggest jumps usually happen from the first to the second year. … So, it is extremely interesting to be able to really attack, to know now what to expect and to prepare accordingly. “