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When general manager Joe Douglas was hired by the New York Jets, he mentioned in his opening press conference that he would turn over every rock to try and improve this football team.
Apparently, he wasn’t kidding.
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Fascinating Workout Scheduled
On Thursday evening, NFL Insider Field Yates reported that the Jets were scheduled to work out longtime NFL wide receiver, now converted tight end, Jordan Matthews.
The veteran wideout has been in the league since 2014 and has played for three different NFL franchises. Earlier this offseason he announced his desire to make a position change in year No. 8.
Over the last couple of months, Matthews has taken this career move very seriously.
He was one of 49 NFL tight ends that were invited to participate in the inaugural “TEU” which was a special camp designed to hone the craft of tight ends from across the league.
In addition to all of those reps both on and off the field, Matthews has bulked up adding “nearly 30 pounds” and much of it “translated to his lower body and thigh thickness” specifically.
So what are realistic expectations for the 29-year old?
A recent scouting report from The NFL Draft Bible from this offseason had some pretty high praise:
“He possesses the torque to transition to tight end and even possibly make a Darren Waller-type of impact in the passing game.”
After a few mediocre seasons, Waller has become one of the best tight ends in all of football for the Las Vegas Raiders:
- 2019: 90 receptions for 1,145 yards and three touchdowns
- 2020: 107 catches for 1,196 yards and nine scores
Matthews possibly making that kind of leap or impact seems incredibly hyperbolic, but if he can have half of that impact, he would be well worth the speculative add this late in the offseason.
Gang Green Throws an Interesting Dart at Tight End
The Jets’ tight end room lacks some luster, to put it lightly.
They have six TEs on the 90 man roster here at the end of July:
Herndon is the most talented of the bunch, but he has yet to find any level of consistency in his three-year NFL career to date.
Kroft is a reliable, yet unspectacular veteran who can hold down the fort but nothing more. While the rest of the group is littered with inexperience or JAGs (just a guy).
That’s why this workout and potential signing is sneaky good GMing by Douglas.
This is a dart throw. It could miss completely or it could prove to be a diamond in the rough. Make no mistake about it, this is a low-risk vs high-reward kind of move.
Knowing the lack of depth and star power at tight end, Douglas is pulling a ‘what do I have to lose’ kind of workout here.
Matthews is a tough, highly intelligent ball player that has soft hands. He was a high effort blocker when he was a wide receiver and has only gotten better in that regard with his recent training and workout regime.
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