The New York Jets played their first preseason game on Saturday, and there was a lot to like from the team’s rookie class in their first NFL action.
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Olu Fashanu
Olu Fashanu really showed out in his first game as a Jet, giving up zero pressures on 14 pass-blocking reps. It was an extremely encouraging debut from Olu.
Olu does a great job defeating the long arm attempt from the edge here. He keeps a great pad level and base here to push the EDGE up around the pocket, and although the play ends in a sack, Olu stays latched onto his defender for the entirety of the play. Great display of anchor, strength, and pad level from Olu.
Olu shows a move he certainly learned from Tyron Smith as he fake punches the EDGE to bait him. This causes the pass rusher to prematurely begin his pass rush move, as Olu quickly takes his hand away. Olu then anchors and stifles his pass rush easily, setting a strong edge.
Malachi Corley
Corley had a good day in my eyes. He caught four of his five targets for 27 yards. The one incompletion was on a deep out route that you would love for him to haul in, but he dropped it on a diving attempt. Besides that, Corley had a pretty stellar debut.
This is wild play. Somehow, Zack Kuntz drops the ball, but amazingly, Corley is in the right spot to catch the ricochet before it hits the ground. Love the motor, awareness, and athleticism here. Not only does he take an incompletion into a first down, but he finishes the run with seven hard-earned yards after contact. He bounces off one defender and then carries another for five yards. Insanely impressive rep.
Corley is the #2 receiver to the field side of the formation. He is facing press man coverage on 3rd & 1 and needs to win across the face of the DB on a slant route. I like his initial footwork, as he sets the DB up to the outside and then defeats the press attempt when he cuts inside and makes a strong catch with the DB draped all over him. I also like seeing him being strong at the catch point with the DB on his back.
Qwan’tez Stiggers
Stiggers had a rather quiet game but there was one rep that stood out to me. Here, Stiggers is sent on a corner blitz and makes a huge TFL. Great job triggering and finishing with a big tackle in the backfield. On 34 snaps, Stiggers finished with three tackles and one 13-yard catch allowed on his only target. He’ll be another player to continue to monitor throughout the preseason.
Braelon Allen
The Jets ran 27 rushing plays on Saturday, 14 being gap scheme runs and 13 being zone runs. This shows the change into a more gap-heavy approach that mirrors their offseason additions on the offensive line. Allen had six carries for 54 yards on the day.
Here is an outside zone run rep for Allen. Olu does a great job setting the edge, and Allen bursts outside of his block to the boundary. He shows great speed and finishes the run extremely well, putting the DB on his back. It does not look fun to tackle Allen.
Inside split zone here for Allen, and he shows some elite vision, seeing the crease open up in the A-gap and quickly executing the cutback. He bursts through the hole and again shows a great job finishing the run, putting the first DB that attempts to tackle him on his back. He is looking like a promising draft pick so far.
Overall, I thought it was an encouraging day for all of the rookies. Allen looks like the player who, at this moment, is going to have the biggest impact on the Jets to start the season. I hope that Corley will continue to take steps forward to become a factor this season. I think that it will take him some time, but he will end up being an important player in the Jets’ offense.
Saturday against Carolina will be our next chance to see the kids in action.
