Ja'Marr Chase of the Cincinnati Bengals celebrates with Trenton Irwin of the Cincinnati Bengals
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Ja'Marr Chase of the Cincinnati Bengals celebrates with Trenton Irwin of the Cincinnati Bengals
The New York Jets are searching for answers after starting the season 0-4 with a pair of divisional losses. While their biggest weakness has without question been their defense, that is allowing 30 points a game, their wide receiving core has underperformed as well. The team is attempting to address both of these short comings with a pair veterans hosted on Thursday, Trenton Irwin and Avery Williams.
For the casual NFL enjoyer, these are unrecognizable names. But for a diehard football fan, these two may ring some bells.
Trenton Irwin
Trenton Irwin has spent his entire career with the Cincinnati Bengals, coming to full form the season after the team’s Super Bowl run in 2022. He caught a career high four touchdowns that season, and followed it up with a career high 316 yards in 2023.
Irwin took a step back in 2024, ending the season as a healthy scratch more times than not. He was waived by the team and has not made a roster since.
Standing six-foot-three, Irwin’s calling card is relentless effort.
“Man, that guy, ever since I’ve been here, he’s in there foam rolling, catching tennis balls. You know, he hasn’t had a ton of opportunities, but every single time that his opportunity comes, he makes a play,” quarterback Joe Burrow said of Irwin in 2022. “I couldn’t be happier for that guy. He just continues to show up when his opportunity presents itself. And, you know, those are the kind of guys that Bengals football and the Bengals organization is all about.
It can’t take too much to earn a spot in this New York receiving room. Wide receiver one Garrett Wilson has 311 receiving yards on the season. The other four receivers on roster barely reach triple digits… combined.
Tyler Johnson leads the way with 63 yards, with Allen Lazard trailing behind at 21. The next two are Josh Reynolds and Arian Smith who have 18 and 10 yards respectively.
Avery Williams
Avery Williams is a player that is best described as a football player. Selected in the fifth round of the 2021 NFL Draft, Williams was a five-foot-eight cornerback from Boise State who impacted the game as a kick returner.
He appeared in 15 games as a rookie, bringing production once again on special teams and forcing a fumble and recovering a pair.
The next season the team made a switch. The corner back jumped to the other side of the football and began taking reps in the offensive back field.
“He’s one of the most intelligent players that I’ve been lucky enough to coach,” then head coach Arthur Smith said of Williams.
After making the switch, Williams recorded a 100 yard season while continuing to be a mainly special teams player.
Last season in his fourth and final year with Atlanta, the running back experiment was mostly abandoned with Williams playing a career high 364 special teams snaps.
The special teams reps are something he does not take lightly, telling reporters he wants to be the best there is in the niche skill set.
“I want to be one of the top returners in the league, and not only a top returner, but I want to be one of the top special teams players in the league,” Williams said in 2022.