It’s all on the rookie.
Over the last several decades, tight end has not been a position of abundance for the Jets. It certainly doesn’t look to be a spot where the Jets have great depth in 2025, but there is a promising rookie in the mix.
The Rookie Hope
Mason Taylor
The Jets selected Taylor in the second round of the 2025 NFL Draft. In an ideal world, a second round tight end could start off as the number two or even number three player at the position. That would provide the player a chance to get his feet wet in the NFL playing limited snaps and focusing on a handful of concepts. From there, he could grow to take on the number one tight end role in a year or two.
Because of the lack of quality at the position, Taylor will receive no such luxury. He will be tossed into the starting lineup immediately.
Is it possible he will be an impact player from day one? Sure, some players grow quickly as soon as they are given big responsibilities in the NFL. For Taylor’s part, the competition for targets in the passing game will not be fierce. Early reports out of training camp also have Jets coaches impressed with his early progress.
But while some tight ends are ready to contribute immediately, most are not. Jets fans can certainly hope for the best with Taylor. They should, however, brace themselves for the possibility of a slow start. As we discussed earlier in the week, even a 400 yard rookie season should leave Jets fans feeling very optimistic about his future trajectory.
For a guy of his size Taylor’s movement skills, particularly his ability to change direction is very smooth. The physical tools are there for him to become a quality starter at the tight end position. The question is how quickly he can master the nuances of blocking technique and route running.
A dream scenario would be for him to pick these things up quickly.
A more realistic scenario might be that all of the extra game reps he will get as a Week 1 starter will help him develop quicker than your typical tight end, and by the end of the first season he starts to look like a guy who belongs in the NFL.
The Previous Regime’s Projects
Jeremy Ruckert
Zach Kuntz
Life is good when the head coach and general manager believe you have potential. You can keep a spot on the roster and/or practice squad no matter your level of play.
Life becomes more difficult when they get fired, and you have a new head coach/general manager duo. The new regime will have its own project players. Suddenly remaining on the team requires you to produce.
Such is the situation in which Jeremy Ruckert and Zach Kuntz find themselves.
Ruckert was a late third round pick in the Jets’ stellar 2022 Draft class. Unfortunately he has not come close to attaining the heights of his fellow selections from that year. After three seasons in the NFL, Ruckert has caught only 35 passes for 264 yards and still does not have a touchdown.
Frequently I find that tight ends who offer little in the receiving game receive the “good blocker” label whether it is justified or not. Ruckert has received it. It does not seem justified by his performance to date. While he is certainly capable of throwing good blocks, on a play to play basis he has been a very inconsistent blocker.
Looking back, it was probably a warning sign that Ruckert had such a tough time overtaking CJ Uzomah for the number two tight end job in his first two years.
Meanwhile, Kuntz has spent almost the entirety of his two season career on the Jets practice squad. He was picked by the team in the seventh round of the 2023 NFL Draft mainly because he posted historically great athletic testing numbers. Of course, the Jets need to be in the business of adding great football players. To date, Kuntz has looked like a great athlete with minimal NFL tight end skills.
The best case scenario for both players is that a new coaching staff does a better job developing their respective skills.
That is plausible, but probably far less likely than the biggest fans of these players would like to admit.
The New Project
Stone Smartt
In most cases if you told me the Jets signed a soon to be 27 year old tight end with 45 catches, 380 yards, a 1 touchdown across three NFL seasons, I would tell you the odds are zero this player will be productive.
In the case of Stone Smartt…well the odds are still close to zero. Still, he has a more interesting profile than the first glance at his biography would suggest. He is relatively new to the tight end position, having played quarterback and then wide receiver in college. A second position change brought him to the spot he plays now.
With a decent athletic profile, is it possible he could develop as he gets more familiar with the tight end position? You can’t love the odds, but crazier things have happened. It says something that he was able to stick on an NFL roster for three years and produce more than Ruckert, a prospect with actual tight end experience before entering the NFL.
The Longest Longshot
Neal Johnson
Johnson’s Jets career began in December 2024 when the Jets signed him to the practice squad. He was released six days later. The team eventually decided to sign him for training camp. Johnson is on the smaller side at the position and didn’t produce a ton at small school Louisiana. One might think he’ll try to show enough upside in training camp and the preseason to try and earn a longer stint on the practice squad in 2025.