After Tyrod Taylor went down with a groin injury in the first quarter of Sunday’s blowout loss to the Miami Dolphins, undrafted rookie Brady Cook was thrown into action for the rest of the game.
Cook was never supposed to play this year. Even after earning a spot on the Jets’ practice squad, the expectation was that he’d spend the season developing behind the scenes, not taking snaps against a division rival in December.
For a player like Cook, a UDFA making his NFL debut, the supporting cast has to make life as easy as possible.
Instead, the opposite happened. Jets pass-catchers dropped five passes and did not give the signal-caller any favors.
“Personally, I’ve got to be better, we’ve got to execute, we’ve got to take advantage of all the looks and opportunities we get out there, regardless of who is out there, regardless of who is throwing the ball,” Jets wide receiver John Metchie III told reporters following the loss.
Metchie had one drop in the loss, and it came at a brutal juncture, with 12:25 left in the fourth quarter on Miami’s seven-yard line. The pass would’ve given him a clear lane to the end zone, trimming New York’s deficit to 10 and delivering Cook his first career touchdown. Instead, the ball slipped through, and the Jets were forced to settle for just a field goal.
Last week against the Falcons, the former Houston Texan also struggled to hold on to the ball, dropping two of his eight targets, a 25% drop rate.
With an undrafted rookie thrown into the fire, the Jets needed to do everything possible to help him out — and they didn’t on Sunday.
