Mason Taylor's Entire World Has Been Flipped Upside Down by Jets' Draft

Jets tight end Mason Taylor makes a catch during a game. | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

In the lead-up to the 2026 NFL Draft, there was a thought that the New York Jets could address the tight end position in Day 3, given the need for an upgrade at TE2. Last year, New York ran with Jeremy Ruckert as its TE2, who played alongside rookie Mason Taylor. 

The Jets took Taylor in the second round, who had a solid first season despite the issues under center. The former LSU tight end had 44 receptions (65 targets) for 369 yards and a touchdown. Mason led the Jets in receptions and targets last season. He also missed the last four games due to a neck injury and had a bit of a drop issue, totaling eight.

While the number of drops isn’t ideal, New York still has a good young pass catcher, who will hopefully take a bigger step in Year 2 with new QB Geno Smith and offensive coordinator Frank Reich. In fact, head coach Aaron Glenn was hyping up Taylor at the end of March. 

"I don't think he's flying under the radar, but I'm really looking forward to what Mason does this year," the Jets head coach said via Jack Bell of NYJets.com. "Yeah, I think Mason's going to have a hell of a year, I really do, because there are some things that we talked about."

Despite Glenn’s enthusiasm, it won’t be that simple for Taylor heading into Year 2, especially with the Jets taking former Oregon tight end Kenyon Sadiq with the No. 16 overall pick in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft. Sadiq is a do-it-all tight end who was considered one of the best offensive and overall draft prospects in this year’s class.

Mason Taylor’s role could be changed instantly with Kenyon Sadiq’s addition 

Sadiq can be used as an H-back or flexed out, which works with his speed and athleticism. The former Oregon tight end ran a 4.39 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine, which is unreal for a tight end, and one can only imagine what he’ll be able to do against NFL linebackers.

That said, with Sadiq in the fold, the Jets will be able to run more two-tight-end sets, aka 12 personnel, which they didn’t do a ton of last season under the then-offensive coordinator Tanner Engstrand (17.03% rate, per Sumer Sports). New York’s passing rate was 44.77%.

At the same time, the league average was 22.34% for 12 personnel, but the Cleveland Browns and the Atlanta Falcons ran it the most at 41.17% and 38.17%, respectively. And they threw the ball a lot out of their two-tight end set (57.78% – Cleveland, 40% – Atlanta).

For Taylor’s sake, the hope is that the Jets will use 12 personnel more in 2026. However, he should expect his production to take a dip as the TE2. For example, we saw something similar happen with the Las Vegas Raiders, who took Michael Mayer and Brock Bowers in consecutive years.

As a second-round pick, Mayer was productive in 2023, racking up 27 receptions (40 targets) for 304 yards and two touchdowns. But his numbers started to fluctuate with the addition of Bowers in 2024 and 2025. It also didn’t help that Mayer dealt with injuries over the last two years.

YEAR	Michael Mayer	Brock Bowers
2024	21 receptions (32 targets) for 156 yards and 0 TDs in 11 games	112 receptions (153 targets) for 1,194 yards and 5 TDs in 17 games
2025	35 receptions (50 targets) for 328 yards and a TD in 13 games	64 receptions (86 targets) for 680 yards and 7 TDs in 12 games

Not only will Taylor have to compete with Sadiq for targets, but he could also lose looks to Omar Cooper Jr., the Jets’ other first-round pick in the slot. Last season, Taylor was ranked second in slot snaps with 155, per StatsRankings.com. The only other player with more slot snaps for the Jets was Isaiah Williams (183).

However, that could change with Cooper Jr., who can play outside and in the slot, but is more likely to be a slot WR. And then there’s Sadiq, whose athleticism would be the perfect option in the slot, especially against nickel corners, who might be 5-foot-10/5-foot-11.

Needless to say, it will be interesting to see how Reich gets all these pieces involved on offense. It’s not a bad problem to have as a playcaller, as the more weapons the better. But for Taylor, it could make the difference in his overall impact after being the TE1 in 2025.