The tight end position can often be one of the most under-appreciated in football. It's a special skill set to be able to both block and be a threat in the receiving game, and great teams know it. The New York Jets made a couple of additions at tight end this offseason, fortifying the position.
The Jets signed Stone Smartt in free agency, and then drafted Mason Taylor in the second round of the 2025 NFL Draft. With the departure of Tyler Conklin in free agency, the Jets had a lot of question marks coming into the offseason at the position.
Taylor has made several impressive plays in OTAs, but perhaps more importantly, has been praised from head coach Aaron Glenn for his blocking ability.
"I think he's been doing an outstanding job in that aspect," Glenn said. "And it's not just the pass catching, because that's what you guys see, that's what you guys really think is an aha moment, but it's the blocking to me is what really gets me going.
"Because I know what he can do in the passing game, but for him to come out and do the things he's doing in the run game, even though you can't do a lot of running because it's not a physical part of the season, but him understanding exactly what he's supposed to do and the position, the body language, the leverage, all those things, man I really love that when it comes to the run game."
Outside of the new Jet additions, New York also has Jeremy Ruckert, the team's third-round selection in the 2022 NFL Draft. Ruckert has largely served as the TE2 for the Jets in his career. Prior to the draft, general manager Darren Mougey had belief in Ruckert, and was excited about adding Smartt.
"Ruckert could take the next step," Mougey said. "Feel good about adding Stone Smartt. He's an athletic guy with some upside."
Glenn also has high hopes for Ruckert, who is paired with a few former college teammates.
"That's another player that I think he's improved quite a bit," Glenn said. "That's another player, actually, that I had a chance to talk with face-to-face and told him about the things that he needs to improve on. He wants to be good. He comes from a really good program [Ohio State], and we have a number of guys [QB Justin Fields, WR Garrett Wilson, C Josh Myers] from that program. And I've stressed him pretty hard throughout this camp because I think there's a lot of meat on the bone with that player. Good size, long arms. I think he can help us in the passing game. Obviously, he's going to be a really good blocker for us, but there's some technical things that he had to improve on, and he's doing everything he can to improve on those things."