Reporting live from Florham Park, NJ—Aaron Glenn’s first rookie minicamp is underway. The New York Jets’ fresh-faced head coach has already faced a practice decision, courtesy of the weather.
They shall play indoors on this particular day.
Armand Membou, Mason Taylor, and the rest of the Jets’ 2025 NFL draft class will kick off rookie minicamp at the Atlantic Health Jets Center’s indoor field house Friday morning.
Stick with Jets X-Factor for live updates.
Personnel notes
Just two quarterbacks, veteran Adrian Martinez and UDFA Brady Cook, are tossing the ball for the Jets. Early in the first team session, Cook found rookie Mason Taylor on an off-schedule flip pass while on the move.
While it’s incredibly early in Aaron Glenn’s regime, one thing stands out clearly: The coaching staff is intent on ramping up the energy. The atmosphere is energetic, highlighted by consistent chatter in the early going.
At running back, undrafted free agent Donovan Edwards is receiving a lot of work. The Michigan product is one of two backs participating at camp.
Second-round pick Mason Taylor was spotted early in the team session. Brady Cook found him on an off-schedule flip pass while flushed to the left, and the LSU tight end was off and running with some considerable RAC.
Later, however, Cook overshot Taylor on a wide-open vertical route that was there from the jump. The route concept was perfect for the defensive coverage. Cook read it correctly but flat-out missed him.
Taylor provided an old-school answer when asked why he’s wearing No. 46:
“That’s just the number they gave me; I’m here to play football,” Taylor said after Friday’s session.
So, for those Jets fans who aren’t in love with that number, there’s a solid chance it changes at some point before the season.
Elsewhere, No. 7 overall pick Armand Membou is tough to miss. The big fella is fluid with his movement, something that’s easy to spot—despite the lack of physicality in the helmet-only session.
More personnel notes, as well as sights and sounds, to come.
After practice, Membou spoke about how it’s going with his new head coach. More specifically, the Jets’ first-round pick explained why he loves the culture Glenn is attempting to build.
Structure
As previously mentioned, the first striking characteristic of the session had to be the energetic feel. Granted, the initial blast of energy didn’t sustain itself over the two hours, but a clear intent was apparent.
Perhaps more importantly, Glenn set a frantic pace. Not long into the initial team session, front-seven defenders were seen gasping for air, feeling it a bit. While it’s not uncommon for the youngsters to feel the conditioning heat at this time of the year, it could be described as unusual for an NFL head coach to run such a fast-paced rookie camp.
No meandering around occurred, as expectations were laid out in tidy fashion. Neither two-minute drills nor no-huddles took center stage, as the pace descriptor falls more under a “quick huddle” and “run-to-the-line” mode.
Whether it was the frantic pace at practice, Armand Membou’s words on his head coach, or Mason Taylor’s thoughts about the current process, one common theme rang true on the first unofficial day of the Aaron Glenn era …
Accountability.
There are no secrets, and nothing remains in the shadows. Communication and straightforward words are consistently spoken.
Aaron Glenn could talk about his plans all he wants—as he’s done up until now—but Friday marked the first day when those plans came to fruition in the practical football world.
Finally, the accountability piece New York Jets fans have been screaming about for several years has come home to roost. How that impacts the Jets’ potential success will obviously remain a mystery.
That’s for a different day—say September-ish.
For now, we’ll let rookie wide receiver Arian Smith cap day No. 1 for us:
“He’s going to tell you straight up, what he wants from you,” Arian Smith said of his head coach. “That’s what I want; I want to be coached hard.”
