Jets hoping to reverse dismal tight end history and embrace NFL trend with revamped group
The Jets’ history at tight end is not exactly the greatest chapter in franchise history.Text with Brian Costello all season as he brings Sports+ subscribers the latest Jets intel from on the field and off.
Since Mickey Shuler left in the late 1980s, the position has been filled by mostly underachieving players, and some years there has barely been any production from the position.Names like Johnny Mitchell, Kyle Brady, Jace Amaro don’t exactly inspire good memories.The 2026 team is hoping to reverse that trend.
The Jets have used premium picks on the position in each of the past two years and enter this season with the idea that their tight ends could be a major piece of their offense.“I think we’re building something special in that tight end room,” said Mason Taylor, who is entering his second season.On paper, it looks good.Taylor was a second-round pick in 2025.
Now, he’s joined by Kenyon Sadiq, a first-round pick this year out of Oregon who is viewed as a Swiss Army knife player who can line up all over the formation.Add in Jeremy Ruckert and Jelani Woods, and the Jets have a tight end group that should give new offensive coordinator Frank Reich some creative choices.“There’s endless opportunities,” Taylor said.
“If we can be that wild card where they don’t know what we can do, we’re going to be pretty dangerous.”Taylor said he was “excited” when the team drafted Sadiq in April with the No.16 overall pick.
Sadiq’s presence could cut Taylor’s playing time, but it also gives the Jets the chance to embrace one of the biggest offensive trends in football.Teams are now using multiple tight ends more than in any time in recent memory.Teams are using 12 (one back, two tight ends) or 13 (one back, three tight ends) personnel more and more.
The NFL had 1,845 total plays using three or more tight ends in 2025, the highest single-season mark since data tracking began in 2007, according to ESPN.The Rams and coach Sean McVay led the...