MOBILE, Ala. — The tight ends at the Senior Bowl have impressed.
And if the Jets gain anything from coaching the national team at the Senior Bowl, it must be snagging one of these tight ends.
This position group is full of talent. They’ve made eye-popping catches and showed signs of solid blocking ability throughout the first two days of practice. There’s talent to upgrade the Jets current tight end group, which is led by Tyler Kroft, Dan Brown, Ryan Griffin and Kenny Yeboah.
Ron Middleton, the Jets tight ends coach and Senior Bowl head coach, had high praise for the unit.
“We were pleased with them. Watched the tape on them before they got here. Really like the group,” Middleton said Wednesday. “I think there are some big pretty guys in there. Long and athletic and show some toughness, can make plays on the ball. Not that they’re already made by no means, but I was very excited to see this group.
“Probably the best group of guys that I’ve had to work with.”
While the entire national group has flashed talent, the two standouts are Colorado State’s Trey McBride and Ohio State’s Jeremy Ruckert.
Both have flashed good hands and the ability to drive defenders off the ball, which is something the Jets are looking for in Mike LaFleur’s offensive system.
Ruckert didn’t have major college receiving production. He caught 54 passes for 615 yards with 12 touchdowns, but teams have been intrigued with his capability.
“Got to take into account the offense that he’s in,” Middleton said of Ruckert. “When he was given opportunities in that offense to make plays on the ball, he made plays on the ball. I don’t know the extent of his route tree, but he had no issue catching the ball when it was thrown to him and he did not pass up a chance to knock the hell out of somebody.
“He likes contact,” Middleton continued, “and once he gets the ball in his hands he still likes contact and he moves good and he has a burst after the catch. So a lot of positives for that kid.”
At Ohio State, Ruckert prided himself on sacrificing his own production by doing what the team needed of him for team success.
“I do a little bit of everything,” Ruckert said. “Going to Ohio State I was asked to and needed to in order to play and do a lot of jobs. I took a lot of pride in that, took pride in being a complete team player and being able to do whatever the game plan asked of me.”
And McBride, who snagged 90 passes for 1,121 yards in 2021, has also caught the Jets’ eyes.
“Fine prospect, he’s a tough guy. Just tough. I was telling Billy [VandeMerkt], my assistant, early it ain’t gonna be nothing pretty,” Middleton said. “It’s just dog on meat and potatoes baby, you know? He loves the grind. He loves the strain.”
There were some plays when the group struggled at times with their technique in run and pass blocking, but those were little things.
The prospects will get better with their technique as time progresses.
