Much was made about the New York Jets waiting until the second round of the 2025 NFL draft to select a tight end. The organization needed to find a consistent weapon they could trust outside of Garrett Wilson.

They believe they found it in Mason Taylor.

The 42nd overall pick out of LSU set records at his position for the program. The son of Hall-of-Fame edge rusher Jason Taylor, Mason has the kind of NFL pedigree organizations look for.

Through his first few weeks of training camp, his first in the NFL, Taylor has done nothing but impress those at Florham Park.

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Taylor has received the second-most targets at Jets training camp behind their star receiver in Wilson. That shouldn’t be overlooked. The 21-year-old has already shown an ability to get open, and is sure-handed enough to make the most of each target.

That kind of dependability is a big reason why quarterback Justin Fields has been nothing short of thrilled with the rookie pass catcher.

“He doesn’t talk a lot, he does work a lot though,” Fields said. “From the moment he got here, he’s been working, his head down working. He doesn’t make really any mental mistakes, at least from what I’ve seen.

“He’s a great route runner, he’s smooth, has natural hands, so he’s been great so far.”

It’s not just New York’s quarterback who has been impressed with what Taylor has shown.

“He’s a dog. He’s got great hands,” Garrett Wilson said. “He finds a way to be open when he needs to be. For a position like that he’s as good as I’ve seen (in terms of) making plays.”

In New York’s offense, the tight end position will be of paramount importance in 2025. Fields has targeted the position on 22% of his career pass attempts. For a quarterback who has averaged just over 430 attempts per 17 starts in his young career, that amounts to around 95 targets for a single season.

When you add in the context of Wilson recording around 150 targets on his own (his average is 156), Taylor is set to receive a significant target share that could change how he is perceived not just in New York, but across the NFL as well.

Taylor was the third tight end taken in the 2025 draft. Two were taken within the first 20 selections.

But if he can continue to build off of what has been a successful training camp to this point, he may just be the most productive out of all of them.