With the Lions the past two seasons, Heiden played a big role in the development of versatile TE Sam LaPorta, the No. 34 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. He sees the guys playing that position as an extension of the offensive line, which they certainly are. And although his responsibility this season will focus on the O-line, Heiden is in a position to work with the Jets' second-round (No. 42 overall) draft pick in April in Mason Taylor, in addition to holdovers Jeremy Ruckert and Zack Kuntz.
"I mean, you're really tied in with the line the whole time," he said. "You're a tight end coach anyway, so it's not that big a deal. Me, being a former blocking tight end [at 6-5, 270], I was essentially a sixth offensive lineman. So, I mean all the techniques are similar. The calls, we all know all the calls. It's pretty similar. There is a learning curve once you initially do it and once you get that learning curve it's fine."
In addition to returning four players who finished the season as starters along the O-line, the Jets have good depth with former draft picks Carter Warren and Max Mitchell, and Xavier Newman, plus the addition in free agency of Chukwuma Okorafor. Heiden has an inkling that his two projected starters at tackle -- Fashanu and Membou -- bring something special to the O-line equation.
"Talented, talented guys that want to get better," he said. "They're still learning the game. They're doing a good job." He added: "Membou can play ball. He's a tough kid. He approaches it the right way. He's smart. Yeah, you see the movement skills, him moving around and being physical with people."
Taking the long view ahead of a long season, Heiden said: "It's a limited pool of guys that can play in this league and you need five of them. And then I think the other thing is the injuries that happen at the position. There's a lot of injuries. So to have a deep set of guys that can be stable, that can go in and play, it's tough to do."