Analyst Pushes Jets to Give ‘Freak Athlete’ ‘a Shot’ This Season

Getty Several members of the New York Jets defense sacking Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen.

The New York Jets were dealt a tough blow ahead of their bye week.

Former first-rounder Sheldon Rankins suffered a serious elbow injury on November 7 that’ll put him on the shelf for the foreseeable future. While he didn’t get much recognition from the national media, Rankins has been in the midst of a breakout season.

Now the Jets must make a roster decision on where they go from here with Rankins out of the picture.

NFL Host Says Jonathan Marshall Deserves His Shot With the Jets

Jets pre and post-game host for SNY Connor Rogers shared his take on who should replace Rankins in the lineup on the November 9 “Boy Green” podcast.

“The draft guy in me would love to see Jonathan Marshall get a shot. He is a freak athlete and he flashed over the summer. Let’s not forget he had some moments,” Rogers said.

The former Arkansas product currently resides on the Jets’ practice squad and could be a call-up option with the Rankins injury.

Marshall originally entered the NFL as the No. 207 overall pick in the sixth round of the 2021 NFL draft. NFL analysts said Marshall came out of college with all the traits to turn into an interesting player if he landed with the right coaching staff.

Marshall’s rookie season was essentially a redshirt campaign where he only appeared in four games and played a total of 76 defensive snaps.

But with all of the movement on the defensive line this offseason, it appeared Marshall had a clear path to playing time.

As Rogers mentioned during the interview, Marshall showed flashes throughout training camp and in the preseason. Unfortunately, because of the numbers game, he didn’t make the final 53, but Marshall has been biding his time patiently on the practice squad.

With the Rankins injury, now may be the perfect time to see what the youngster can do.

There Is a Plan B for the Jets in Replacing Sheldon Rankins

Rogers said if the Jets decide to go outside of the organization for a Rankins replacement, that isn’t a bad strategy either.

“It never hurts bringing in a vet. With a vet, you can ask them to not make this mistake,” Rogers said. “With a young player, it feels like they want to win the game. Who can blame them because they have been waiting to wear that uniform in live action for how long?

They [Robert Saleh and Jeff Ulbrich] have the pulse of the team so they’ll know what they need. Do we need a guy to just come in and do your job? Or do we need a guy that we can limit his workload but we think he can fly off the ball and give us some juice and pop.”

Rogers added that if the Jets want they can try the Marshall route of going with the younger guy for a week or two and see how it goes. If it flops or is unsuccessful they can have a veteran like Linval Joseph on “speed dial” and tell him to be ready and stay in shape.