It’s only the preseason, but Jets football is back.
With a new coach, a new general manager, plenty of new players and new uniforms, the Jets of 2019 will look and feel a lot different. While Thursday’s game against the Giants won’t matter for the regular season, this is still a time for observation, evaluation and experimentation.
Sam Darnold will be the focus of the game, but only for a series or two. The rest of the game will be dominated by the secondary roster battles and implementation of Adam Gase’s offense and Gregg Williams’ defense.
Here are four things to know about Jets-Giants in Week 1 of the preseason.
You won’t see much of the starters
Adam Gase is keeping his Week 1 preseason plans close to his vest, and the players don’t even know how much they’ll play yet. We do know Le’Veon Bell won’t play against the Giants, but that’s not a surprise given he’s still being worked back into football after sitting out the 2018 season.
Expect the Jets’ main pieces to play a series or two before being pulled from the game. There’s no reason for Gase to risk injury to his most important players, especially the ones who have been dinged up recently.
Expect a lot of Ty Montgomery early
With Bell out, Ty Montgomery is in line for a serious workload against the Giants. He’s been getting a lot of touches in training camp, and that should continue for a good portion of the Jets’ first preseason game.
Montgomery is the perfect back to work into an offense with Bell because they’re both similar in build and ability to catch the ball. The Jets will see what they truly have in Montgomery early in the game with the starters and then continue to utilize him throughout the first half.
Watch the rookies
Quinnen Williams could be the only rookie to start if Leonard Williams sits out the game with a hip injury, but the rest of the Jets’ 2019 draftees will see a lot of time with the second- and third-team units over the course of the game.
This game will be the first action for Chuma Edoga, Jachai Polite, Trevon Wesco, Blake Cashman and undrafted free agents Greg Dortch and Kyron Brown, so how they perform under the lights will be a solid first step in their careers in New York. Polite, Dortch and Brown are the biggest players not named Williams to watch, as they have the easiest path to sizable roles at edge rusher (Polite), return man (Dortch) and cornerback (Brown).
Roster spots up for grabs
For the most part, the Jets know who the starters will be Week 1. But there are plenty of roster spots up for grabs that the preseason will help determine, and the Giants game will be the first test for these players to prove they belong.
There are intriguing battles at tight end, cornerback, edge rusher, safety, wide receiver, defensive line and return specialist. Considering the majority of the game will be played by backups, how these players perform could indicate their standing on the roster.
