As he prepares for his second NFL season, tight end Mason Taylor has a prime opportunity to break out with the New York Jets in 2026.
Will he?
After impressing during his rookie campaign despite playing with three different quarterbacks, the LSU product is looking to build off his performance. Perhaps most importantly, he believes Frank Reich’s scheme is the perfect system to catapult him.
“[Reich] likes to use us,” Taylor said about the scheme per the Jets’ official website. “The more we can go out and practice and prove ourselves, we make plays, and we can be versatile … [and] dictate what the defenses have to do instead of them dictating what we do, it gives us that advantage that we need.”
As we’ve broken down ad nauseam, Reich has historically used his tight ends in the red zone.
During his first season as the Indianapolis Colts’ head coach (2018), tight end Eric Ebron notched 13 TDs, while throughout his two years as the Eagles’ OC, Zach Ertz led the squad with 12 touchdowns.
During his rookie season, the area where Taylor stood out the most was in the contested catch game. His 79% contested catch rate finished as the second-best clip among qualified tight ends, trailing only George Kittle.
Given his ability in that regard, coupled with Reich’s schematic preferences, it is a perfect fit and could not only lead to Taylor breaking out but also to his emerging as the Jets’ primary red-zone target.
Overall, the Jets’ tight end room features a lot of promise entering 2026.
The hope is that Taylor could emerge as the go-to guy in the red zone with Kenyon Sadiq, a first-round rookie, refining his hands and route-running ability to turn into an all-around weapon, with Jeremy Ruckert serving as primarily a run-blocking specialist at the TE3.
