There’s a lot to like about Jets’ fourth-round tight end Trevon Wesco. He’s an adept blocker and showed flashes of pass-catching ability at West Virginia. But more than anything, Wesco offers a versatile skillset paramount in Adam Gase’s offense.
“He’s very versatile and he’s able to do all the things you’d want a tight end to do,” Gase said. “He can block in-line, he can catch the ball and he is a good route runner. Is he going to stretch the field 40 yards downfield? Probably not really his thing. But there are a lot of good things that he does do.”
Gase highlighted Wesco’s obvious ability as a Y tight end – meaning he lines up basically like a third tackle along the offensive line. At 6-foot-3, 267 pounds, this will likely be a stable role for him on the Jets. Wesco is also an effective blocker as an H-back tight end, a spot the Jets sorely lack and need with Le’Veon Bell in the backfield. At the Senior Bowl, Wesco looked great as a lead blocker in the backfield.
Wesco also proved a capable pass-catcher despite in a limited role at West Virginia. He only caught 28 balls during his collegiate career, but his ability to turn receptions into big gains makes him a valuable asset as a safety net for Sam Darnold. Wesco’s physically allows him to muscle through smaller cornerbacks and safeties to turn short passes into long receptions.
All of Wesco’s traits have Gase confident in the type of player the Jets drafted in the fourth round.
“There’s enough on tape for us to see it,” he said. “You go through all these workouts and coaches put them through all these different types of skillsets whether showing them in the backfield, catching the ball out of the backfield or lining blocks up. You see the traits you’re looking for in those types of positions and you can visualize, ‘Okay, this guy can do this.’ ”
With Chris Herndon as the Jets’ primary pass-catching tight end, Wesco could easily move up the depth chart ahead of guys like Eric Tomlinson and Neal Sterling to carve out a nice role in the offense early in his career.
