Analyzing How Jets Should Use Kenyon Sadiq, D'Angelo Ponds in Week 1 After Promising Injury Update

As we get closer to Week 1, the Jets need to figure out how to best utilize Kenyon Sadiq and D'Angelo Ponds.

New York Jets tight end Kenyon Sadiq will hope to be on the field for Week 1 against the Tennessee Titans. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

When the New York Jets take the field next week against the Tennessee Titans, they'll have only two members of the rookie draft class expected to receive significant snaps.

Second overall pick David Bailey and fellow first-rounder Omar Cooper Jr. have made it through training camp unharmed and ready to make an immediate impact with New York. Other draft picks like quarterback Cade Klubnik and defensive tackle Darrell Jackson Jr. are considered projects and need to sit behind vested veterans to learn. Sixth- and seventh-round picks Anez Cooper and VJ Payne were placed on IR, so they won't even be listed as healthy scratches next Sunday.

Then there are Kenyon Sadiq and D'Angelo Ponds. Sadiq, the first-round tight end, suffered a setback in his recovery from hernia surgery early in camp. He missed the final four weeks of practices and the preseason because of it.

Ponds, meanwhile, missed all of camp with a calf injury. While Sadiq was seen joining offensive players on Monday, Ponds was still away from the team in workouts.

Both players were high picks and will be needed at some point this year to provide help to New York's talent level. But with Sadiq and Ponds both on the mend, it's fair to wonder exactly what kind of role they'll have in Week 1 and early in the year as a whole.

Jets address Week 1 usage concerns for rookie stars

Kenyon Sadiq

Good news hit the Jets when they walked on the practice field Monday afternoon. Sadiq was seen working with the offense. While the Jets are not required to list an injury report just yet, it's a good sign of the tight end's progression as we get closer to Week 1.

That doesn't mean the Jets are simply going to throw everything at him, though.

Offensive coordinator Frank Reich has made it clear that the team could have a package of plays for Sadiq, but integrating him into the offense will come in parts and won't be immediate.

"There's no doubt we'll have to scale it back," Reich said. "Just gotta work him in slowly. We can't rush it, as much as we would like to."

Sadiq went through hernia surgery after being drafted by the Jets with the 16th overall pick in April. Early in camp, he looked the part of a player capable of producing immediately as the fastest tight end to record a forty-yard dash time at the NFL Scouting Combine.

What makes New York even happier about his recovery, though, is that Sadiq has made it clear that anything taught in the classroom won't be forgotten.

"The good thing is he's very smart, and we've said it all before, and he'll be as ready as you can go, but there's nothing like practice," Reich said. "I know he has stayed locked in, but we gotta get back out on the practice field and just slowly work him back into the mix."

Jets fans should expect a similar situation to what the team dealt with from last year's rookie tight end, Mason Taylor. The LSU product dealt with an ankle injury that limited his overall reps at the beginning of the year. By the end of the year, he was fully integrated into the offense and was a strong contributor. The same could happen to Sadiq.

It just may not be right away.

D'Angelo Ponds

Unlike Sadiq, Ponds has yet to be seen working out with the team. While that could mean he is in danger of missing Week 1, the Jets and head coach Aaron Glenn remain committed to the belief that the Indiana prospect will be ready in some capacity.

"The plan is to get them out there as much as we can, but we have to make sure we do the right thing and make sure we don't mess up anything as far as our plan to be ready for Week 1," Glenn said.

Former Indiana defensive back D'Angelo Ponds (DB25) will hopefully be on the field when the New York Jets open the season against the Tennessee Titans. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Like Sadiq, Ponds could be in store for a limited role as he makes his way onto the field. New York won't throw him into the slot and cover some of the fastest players on the field. They have a quality starter in Jarvis Brownlee to rely on until Ponds is ready.

And even then, there are things the second-round pick has shown that prove he won't need long to ramp himself up.

"He is a really smart player and has shown that," defensive coordinator Brian Duker said. "I'm certainly very confident in his ability to do that, he's played a lot of good football in his career, and there's been plenty of guys who have overcome a short-term injury and have had good careers, there's a long history of that."

As of now, it's more likely than not that Jets fans will see more from Sadiq in Week 1 than from Ponds. That doesn't mean the tight end will get 60-70% of the snaps, but it does highlight that both players need clear ramp-up periods.

And there just isn't a lot of time for it right now.

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