With the 2019 NFL draft in the books, offseason workouts are upon us.
Throughout workouts, players around the league will be fighting for roster spots. Teams will have some tough choices to make as they slowly reduce their squads to 53 players.
At the beginning of offseason workouts, most teams carry the limit of 90 players on their roster. A lot of guys will have to go around the NFL and the Jets are no different. Adam Gase and Mike Maccagnan will be teaming up to decide who will begin the season on the active roster.
Here, Jets Wire will take a stab at predicting what New York’s 53-man roster will look like when the Jets host the Buffalo Bills in Week 1. Let’s begin.
Quarterbacks (2)
Starter: Sam Darnold
Backup: Trevor Siemian
With Darnold entrenched as the starter and Siemian an established veteran backup, the Jets are set at quarterback. New York will not carry three quarterbacks once the regular season begins, so Davis Webb will be relegated to the practice squad.
Running Back (4)
Starter: Le’Veon Bell
Backup: Ty Montgomery, Elijah McGuire, Trenton Cannon
Bell will take most of the touches at running back, but don’t rule out Montgomery and McGuire as important pieces in New York’s rushing attack. Bell is the focal point of the Jets’ ground game, but both Montgomery and McGuire can hurt opposing defenses in a variety of ways.
As the fourth running back on the depth chart, Cannon will not see a lot of time in the backfield. However, he will have a chance to make an impact in the return game.
Wide Receivers (6)
Starter(s): Robby Anderson, Quincy Enunwa, Jamison Crowder
Backups: Josh Bellamy, Deontay Burnett, Charone Peake
With Anderson, Enunwa and Crowder, the Jets have a solid trio of receivers for Sam Darnold to throw to. Past that, New York’s wide receiver depth chart gets a bit cloudy.
Bellamy will make the team given his reputation as a special teams ace, while Burnett is nearly a lock given his rapport with Darnold and the flashes he showed last season. The sixth spot seems like a fight between mainstay Charone Peake and undrafted free agent Greg Dortch, who will have to stand out throughout offseason workouts if he wants to win a spot.
Tight End (4)
Starter: Chris Herndon
Backups: Neal Sterling, Eric Tomlinson, Trevon Wesco
With an early-season suspension looming, Herndon will likely begin the regular season on the inactive list. However, until a suspension becomes official, we will operate as if he will be active against Buffalo in Week 1.
Even with Herndon hypothetically active and ready to go, New York will still carry four tight ends to begin the season with Wesco still learning the ropes. The expectation is that he will eventually usurp Tomlinson as the Jets’ primary blocking tight end, but not right away.
Offensive Line (9)
Starters: Kelvin Beachum, Kelechi Osemele, Jonotthan Harrison, Brian Winters, Brandon Shell
Backups: Brent Qvale, Chuma Edoga, Tom Compton, Jon Toth
At this point, New York’s starters along the offensive line seem set in stone. Mike Maccagnan has said time and time again that he is comfortable with Harrison as the starting center, so it looks like the Jets will begin the season with him at the position.
New York’s backups are pretty much set in stone as well. Toth is not likely to make the team, as Maccagnan still has to fill out the Jets’ roster. However, with the roster’s current composition, Toth is the only reserve who can play center. That lands him a spot on the 53-man roster in the first round of predictions.
Defensive Line (6)
Starters: Leonard Williams, Quinnen Williams, Henry Anderson
Backups: Steve McLendon, Nathan Shepherd, Foley Fatukasi
With the addition of Quinnen Williams, New York’s defensive line will look a bit different in 2019. Williams will take over as the starter at defensive tackle, while McLendon will slide into a reserve role.
Six defensive linemen may not seem like a lot, but with the current state of New York’s roster, the likes of Tarrell Basham, Charles Tapper and Bronson Kaufusi do not warrant a spot on the 53-man roster.
Linebacker (8)
Starters: C.J. Mosley, Avery Williamson, Jordan Jenkins, Brandon Copeland
Backups: Darron Lee, Frankie Luvu, Jachai Polite, Blake Cashman
The expectation is that Lee will be traded at some point this offseason. However, for the sake of these predictions, we’re going to operate as if Lee will not be moved and the Jets will opt to keep the former first-round pick as depth in the middle behind Mosley and Williamson.
Polite has the talent to win a starting job during the offseason, but he has to figure out how to navigate the NFL before worrying about anything else. That leaves Copeland as a starter at outside linebacker to begin the season with Luvu and Polite factoring heavily into the rotation.
Cornerback
Starters: Trumaine Johnson, Darryl Roberts, Brian Poole
Backups: Parry Nickerson, Derrick Jones, Jeremy Clark
The Jets lack depth at cornerback, but other than these six, none of New York’s other corners are worthy of a spot on the roster.
Sixth-round selection Blessuan Austin will likely begin 2019 on the PUP list, which takes him out of these predictions. As it stands right now, it looks like these six corners will be the ones the Jets roll into the regular season with barring the return of Morris Claiborne.
Safety (4)
Starters: Jamal Adams, Marcus Maye
Backups: Doug Middleton, Rontez Miles
New York’s safety situation is pretty clear cut. With Adams and Maye entrenched as the starters, Middleton and Miles will serve as the backups as they did last season.
Brandon Bryant could push Miles for a roster spot, but Miles’ experience on special teams likely wins out in the end. Middleton proved himself as a reliable backup last season, so it’s safe to assume his spot on the 53-man roster is secure.
Specialists (3)
Kicker: Chandler Catanzaro
Punter: Lachlan Edwards
Long Snapper: Thomas Hennessey
The only position up for grabs here is kicker, as it’s hard to see Chandler Catanzaro returning to form after a rough 2018 campaign with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
With that being said, the kicking job is Catanzaro’s to lose. Unless the Jets bring in a legitimate competitor (which they most likely will), Catanzaro is primed to begin the season as New York’s starter at the position
