Jets preseason gets underway tomorrow when the team hosts the Washington Commanders. While we won’t likely see the team’s big names for very long in this game (if at all), there are some players who are worth watching. Here are a few of them.
Will McDonald: After a quiet rookie season where he saw the field sparingly, McDonald enters a vital year. He is likely going to be a key rotational defensive end. While not nominally a starter, Robert Saleh is famous for rotating his defensive linemen heavily. The Jets want little to no dropoff when their reserves enter the game. McDonald’s camp started slowly, but the last week has seen him flash more frequently. The absence of Haason Reddick both gives McDonald more opportunities for reps and increases his importance. Can he keep the momentum going?
Jamien Sherwood: Sherwood’s play has been one of the talks of training camp. The third linebacker is a situational guy, but he will likely see extensive usage against teams that play with heavy formations frequently…like the team the Jets play in Week 1, the San Francisco 49ers. It is one thing to stand out in training camp. Can Sherwood now do it in the exhibition games?
Olu Fashanu: I guess it’s cheating a bit to talk about the team’s top Draft pick, but Fashanu is in an interesting spot. Unlike most tackles picked in the top half of the first round, Fashanu is not being pressed into starting duty immediately. That likely makes preseason reps more valuable for his development than they would be under other circumstances. With a pair of 33 year old starters, Fashanu will undoutbedly see the field at some point this season so it would be good to see him build upon a strong training camp in this contest.
Malachi Corley: This will be our first real look at the third round pick. Questions abound. How far has his route running come along? How well will his tackle breaking ability translate from the college level to the NFL? These are critical questions that cannot be answered by one preseason game alone, but this is the starting point for those answers.
Braelon Allen: By all accounts, Allen has turned heads since he arrived in New York. His pass catching skills in particular have caught some by surprise. Practices aren’t all that physical in this day and age, even in training camp. This game will be a first chance to see Allen’s bruising running style for real.