Despite not being on the practice field, New York Jets special teams coordinator Chris Banjo sees something very special in Irv Charles.
Speaking to the media at Jets’ mandatory minicamp, Banjo praised the special teamer and the noise he has been able to create throughout the entire NFL.
“I don’t know who doesn’t know about Irv,” said Banjo. “If you are talking about playing football on fourth down, it is hard for anybody around the league to not know about somebody like Irv, and obviously, he did a phenomenal job last year until his unfortunate injury, but right now, he is doing his best job staying mentally sharp and prepared.
The Jets exercised Charles’ ERFA (exclusive rights free agent) tender this offseason, meaning he will remain with the team on a one-year contract for the league minimum salary of $1.03 million, which includes no guaranteed money.
Over the past two seasons, Charles has quietly emerged as one of the Jets’ top special teams contributors, despite seeing limited involvement on offense. Across that span, he’s been targeted only twice, yet former head coach Robert Saleh once called him an “absolute wolf” on the special teams unit.
Charles, 28, joined the Jets as an undrafted free agent in 2022 and spent his rookie year on the practice squad. He earned a spot on the active roster the following season.
In 2023, Charles appeared in 12 games and logged 236 special teams snaps, earning a team-best 90.3 special teams grade from Pro Football Focus, while registering seven tackles and carving out a reliable role as a special teamer.
He was on a similar track in 2024, appearing in 13 games before suffering a season-ending ACL tear in the Jets’ Week 14 overtime loss to the Dolphins.
At the time of the injury, Charles had again posted a team-leading special teams grade of 88.6 from Pro Football Focus, which ranked eighth in the NFL among players with at least 200 special teams snaps.
His 2024 stat line also included seven tackles and a pivotal blocked punt in Week 2 against Tennessee that helped New York secure its first win of the season.
Despite the impressive production, Charles still has areas to refine, namely, his discipline. He committed three 15-yard penalties last season, including unnecessary roughness in Week 3, kick catch interference in Week 4, and roughing the kicker in Week 9.
If he can clean up the penalties, Irv Charles has the makings of a special teams star.