At this point in the preseason, there are players who are locks to make the 53-man roster and those that are firmly on the bubble.
The fact of the matter is, most of the players on the Jets’ bubble are holdovers from the Mike Maccagnan regime. The obvious players will stay, but those who stick to the 53-man roster will need to put on an impressive performance against the Philadelphia Eagles on Thursday in New York’s preseason finale.
With that said, here are seven Jets who must have a big preseason conclusion to make the final roster cut.
RB Elijah McGuire
Elijah McGuire’s days with the Jets appeared to be numbered when the team announced that they signed Bilal Powell.
So far, Powell and Trenton Cannon have outplayed McGuire every step of the way. Cannon likely sealed himself a roster spot with his performance against the Saints. His 61 yards on five carries, including an additional three catches for 28 yards, on Saturday may have sealed the fate of McGuire.
Without a strong performance against the Eagles on Thursday, McGuire will be the latest Mike Maccagnan draft pick to be shown the door. He has age on his side against the veteran Powell, but he needs to show something.
WR Charone Peake
Charone Peake’s chances of making the Jets are slim because he is limited to special teams play. Trenton Cannon has been just as good, if not better, at the gunner position and the Jets have other special teams players who are better receivers.
Peake will play some receiver on Thursday, but his past experience at the position is rather telling as to where his standing on the team is. Currently, he is a player who is definitely on the bubble and in need of some nice special teams plays, as well as having a backer in Brant Boyer.
TE Eric Tomlinson
Eric Tomlinson had a chance to make the team with Chris Herndon suspended for four games, but he has done little to nothing to prove that he is worthy of a roster spot.
It’s become more and more apparent that Ryan Griffin and Trevon Wesco can hold down the tight end room until Herndon arrives. Tomlinson only played four snaps on Saturday, so that’s pretty telling on where he stands.
If the Jets decide to carry three tight ends with Herndon suspended, the third will likely be Tomlinson. However, he will need to prove he’s worth a spot against Philadelphia on Thursday.
DL Nathan Shepherd
At the time of his selection, Nathan Shepherd appeared to be another head-scratching reach by Mike Maccagnan.
Two years later, there’s a chance Shepherd’s final game with the Jets will be on Thursday. He’s run with the second-team defense throughout the entirety of camp, but it’s hard to find a spot where he sticks on the roster.
With a good showing Thursday, Shepherd could force the front office’s hand, but it appears the Fort Hays State product already has one foot out the door.
LB James Burgess
Even though James Burgess has been a nice surprise in camp thus far, he doesn’t currently look like he has a lockdown on a backup inside linebacker position.
Burgess is in a position battle with Albert McClellan. The Jets might opt to keep Burgess over McClellan and how reps are distributed on Thursday will be telling. There is an opportunity to be had against the Eagles and Burgess may very well make the team over McClellan because he recently signed and doesn’t exactly know the defense.
CB Tevaughn Campbell
Tevaughn Campbell and Alex Brown are in a tight race for that final spot in the Jets cornerback room.
Obviously, the Jets’ depth chart at cornerback will look a lot different come Sept. 8 due to their high waiver priority. However, this is what they currently have at the position.
Regardless of how the Jets feel about the two corners, they are playing them a lot down the stretch.
CB Alex Brown
Alex Brown didn’t cement himself a roster spot with his performance on Saturday, but he put himself in a comfortable position.
A five-tackle, two-pass breakup performance against the Saints puts Brown firmly on the roster bubble with the preseason finale on the horizon. Once a waiver wire pickup from the Eagles, a nice performance against his former camp team would put him ahead of Campbell.
