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When Robert Saleh took over as head coach of the New York Jets, one thing became abundantly clear. This franchise will not overlook any area of the roster, including special teams.
Saleh immediately enlisted general manager Joe Douglas to bring in a respected gunner and special teams ace in Justin Hardee before pushing the front office to leave no stone unturned at the kicker position. He also prioritized roster spots for players like LB Del’Shawn Phillips, WR Jeff Smith, WR Braxton Berrios, TE Trevon Wesco, Hardee and more ST contributors.
Even as recently as this summer we saw the Jets sign gunner and special teams veteran Craig James, and apparently, they’re still looking at potentially adding more to this facet of the game.
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Jets Host Famous Returner
On July 25, Gang Green hosted two return specialists according to the NFL transaction wire, which might seem odd considering the franchise’s lone first-team All-Pro selection of 2021 went to Berrios (a returner).
The two tryouts went to the ultra-experienced Pharoh Cooper and the younger USFL standout, Rashard Davis. Both are wide receivers by trade, but neither is known for their offensive prowess.
Cooper is the headliner here — a six-year NFL pro and former first-team All-Pro returner in 2017. With the Los Angeles Rams that season, he averaged 27.4 yards per kick return with one touchdown and 1,421 all-purpose yards.
Now at age 27, Cooper’s career average has dropped to 23.5 yards per return on kicks and only 8.8 yards per return on punts. Pro Football Focus gave the NFL veteran a career-low 50.0 kick return grade in 2021 but his punt returning was near the top of his game at 67.9 — the second-highest grade of his career for punts.
Cooper can also participate on kick return coverage and at times, punt return coverage as a gunner. His grade has never been particularly impressive in these areas on PFF, however, and yielded a 54.6 last season.
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USFL Head-Turner Could Provide Some Juice
Although Cooper was the bigger name, Davis could be the more intriguing talent at the height of his career — while the former has clearly regressed.
As a senior at James Madison in 2016, Davis was named the CAA Special Teams Player of the Year. He then signed with the Philadelphia Eagles as an undrafted free agent but had a hard time latching on at the NFL level, bouncing around the league with Oakland, Kansas City and Tennessee.
The only team he ever played in a regular-season game with was the Titans, his final stop before giving the independent leagues a go.
Davis began his comeback with the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League (CFL) before his most recent chapter with the USFL’s Tampa Bay Bandits this spring. CBS19 in Charlottesville reported that the former NFL cast-off finished “near the top of the [USFL] in receiving yards (369 yards, No. 10 in the league), yards per catch (16.8, No. 1) and punt return yards (224, No. 1).”
He even recorded the longest return touchdown of the USFL season, which can be seen via NBC Sports, and appeared to be performing at a very high level.
With Berrios cemented at both punt and kick return and other capable options on the roster like Tevin Coleman and Elijah Moore, it’s unclear why the Jets are hosting return specialists like Cooper and Davis.
Perhaps they have bigger plans for Berrios in 2022 and plan to lessen his special teams workload with a complimentary piece? Or maybe Cooper and Davis are simply candidates for Saleh’s emergency list that he’s mentioned in the past — players he does not intend to immediately sign but instead keeps in contact with in case of mid-season injury.
Whatever the case may be, this new Jets regime is continually looking to get better, and that’s something all Jets fans can get behind.
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