NY Jets 2015 Report Card: Tight Ends

For the NY Jets, no positional group had less to do with their offensive success this season than the tight ends. Undoubtedly, the Jets’ tight ends were the worst in the league.

In my opinion, the most telling statistic for pass catchers isn’t receptions, yards or touchdowns. The most telling stat in which you can judge a receiver’s ability is targets.

If a quarterback isn’t targeting you, then you’re not getting open. The Jets’ tight ends averaged .5 receptions on 1.6 targets per game this season.

The tight end is supposed to be the security blanket for the quarterback when no one is open. There were 50 tight ends that were targeted as many as 25 times this season.

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Good tight ends are supposed to be used as weapons in the passing game and the running game.

The Jets were forced to use their tight ends as glorified linemen this year, because they lacked the ability to get open.

In the grand scheme of it all, the Jets finished tantalizingly close to the NFL Playoffs.  They played four games that should’ve been winnable against the Philadelphia Eagles, Houston Texans and Buffalo Bills (twice).  In those games, the tight ends were targeted a total of four times, all against the Eagles.

They are cap-strapped this off-season, for now.  So, they make have to look toward the 2015 NFL Draft in order to find one.  There are good ones available on each of the first two days.  Their top two priorities this off-season are to find a suitable pass-catcher at tight end and a pass rusher (not necessarily in that order).

More jets: 2016 NFL Draft: Analyzing the needs of the Jets

The Jets had a splendid run this season.  The offense clicked on almost all cylinders, most of the time.  Ryan Fitzpatrick and Brandon Marshall set new records and the running game was a huge success. If the Jets can’t find a tight end, they may just end up stuck at 9-7 or 10-6 and again, on the outside looking in coming next January.

Overall, the tight ends earned a grade of F since they had zero production and were only used to help the Jets’ rushing attack and pass protection.  Aside from that, here’s to hoping the Jets find a quality tight end that can add that missing dimension on offense.