Reporting live from New York Jets HQ in Florham Park, NJ—Aaron Glenn’s New York Jets are expected to take rookie minicamp to a contrasting environment on day No. 2.
After the weather forced the Jets to take Friday morning’s session indoors—to the Atlantic Health Jets Center field house—there’s a terrific chance that Glenn’s youngsters will practice under the sun in Northern New Jersey on Saturday morning.
Fans can catch up on the first day’s happenings at any point, and you can follow Jets X-Factor for live updates throughout Saturday’s proceedings. We’ll be live and on the scene for the morning practice session and all media availability thereafter.
The practice session
The Jets were in the middle of a smattering of positionals when the media arrived on the scene, just before breaking into an early team session. Like Friday, UDFA Donovan Edwards started the party with a rushing attempt.
The Jets fans who weren’t happy with Mason Taylor’s No. 46 can suddenly rejoice. Just one day after telling the world he didn’t choose the number, and that he’s “here to play football,” the rookie tight end showed up on Saturday morning with Wesley Walker’s No. 85.
A couple of plays that looked identical stood out at one point. UDFA Brady Cook continued the trend of misfiring high on intermediate-to-deep in-breakers.
Interestingly, AZ Thomas was in the area on both plays, but I’d love to see it on film to know why he wasn’t more attached.
Most likely in a deep outside-third zone, the open targets found room between Thomas and the free safety. While Thomas’s over-the-top and outside leverage makes sense, it’s an example of something needing further investigation.
Unlike Taylor, first-round selection Armand Membou returned with the same number (70). The Jets’ mauler of a right tackle did the usual thing with his fellow hogs up front.
There isn’t much to say about how Membou performed in teams. The helmet-only practice doesn’t allow for a proper evaluation for any player, but that’s especially true for offensive linemen.
The same can be said for defensive linemen, but fifth-round rookie Tyler Baron’s presence caught the eye. The Miami Hurricane appeared to be bigger than his listed height.
It’s doubtful that he grew a few inches in the last 24 hours, but if true, that’s a tremendous weapon Aaron Glenn could use moving forward.
Aaron Glenn’s expectations
New York Jets head coach Aaron Glenn asked for three specific things from the players who attended rookie minicamp, he told the media after Friday’s session. More precisely, the three things he laid out to his players are as follows:
- Are you capable of learning?
- Are you coachable?
- Can you play special teams?
“Once you get in the building, you have a shot,” Glenn said in his opening statement after Saturday’s morning session. “So, I thought it was important for them to understand that.”
True to every word he’s said this offseason, Glenn believes it’s critical to communicate clear expectations transparently.
“I thought it was important for them to understand the direction of what we’re trying to do in this camp—that it wasn’t a true physical camp—but there were three things I wanted to get out of those guys,” Glenn added. “What I want to know is, ‘Can they learn?’ Two, ‘Are they coachable? And three, ‘Can they play special teams?’
“I think a lot of those guys answered those questions. So, that was my message to those guys, and I felt those guys did a really good job.”
Everything his players have stated so far confirms the idea that Glenn lays out concrete expectations in a way these players might not be used to, particularly considering the past few years.
So far, he’s happy with the veterans during the offseason training program, and says about 90% have attended.
