Rookies Bring Athleticism, Speed to New York Jets Special Teams
In his first NFL Draft with the New York Jets, general manager Joe Douglas targeted athleticism. That athleticism is exciting for Brant Boyer.
The Jets special teams coordinator, Boyer, should have more overall talent with which to build his unit after a draft that prioritized speed and position flexibility. Consider former Pac-12 track star Ashtyn Davis, a third round pick of Douglas who was a safety at Cal or La’Mical Perine, a running back out of Florida. Both have speed and strength that translates well to special teams,
And of course there is Braden Mann, who may not be an athlete like Davis or Perine but the punter projects to be a big part of the Jets on special teams.
Boyer on Wednesday talked about his returning core of players before talking about some of the draft picks who can potentially make their name on special teams.
“But the new guys, Ashtyn and Perine and several others have done a nice job, but it’s hard to tell with just two and a half weeks of practice and we really haven’t scrimmaged yet, and that’s going to be the tell all,” Boyer said on Monday’s virtual press conference.
“Will they tackle? Will they block? Can they play with power? Can they run with these guys once we go full speed and turn it up? So, that’s going to be the tell all when it comes down to it here in the last two or three weeks.”
Mann is the obvious name that jumps out as being able to play a significant role on special teams. An All-SEC selection the past two years, he won the Ray Guy Award in 2018 as the nation’s top punter.
“Does everything you ask, he’s a great kid, fast learner, he’s done everything,” Boyer said about Mann.
“As far as his punting and stuff like that, his hang times are really good, there are some things that we can work on, little bit with his drop and stuff like that, but he’s come in and done a great job and doing what we are asking him to do and he’s got a really good arsenal of kicks that we can use and things like that but we are trying to keep him steady and keep it simple for right now and we will expand on his toolbox here at a later time. But he’s done a great job thus far.”
Last season at Texas A&M, Mann averaged 47.1 yards per punt.
