The New York Jets need more production out of their tight ends as all eyes are on Jace Amaro to put everything together and deliver in 2016. Judging by some early preseason action, Amaro is still a work in progress.
Last year for the New York Jets, their tight ends were pretty much nonexistent. Offensive coordinator Chan Gailey utilized them mostly for blocking schemes to establish the run or add extra protection for the quarterback. The Jets’ offense soared last year but one can only imagine how much more potent it could have been if they had some natural born play-makers at tight end.
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Tight end Jace Amaro so far in his tenure with the Jets hasn’t really lived up to his potential out of Texas Tech. In his collegiate career, Amaro totaled 1,818 receiving yards, 13 touchdowns and had a decent yards per reception of 13.2. When he was drafted by the Jets back in 2014, they were hoping his 6’5/265 pound frame would be a huge red-zone threat.
Unfortunately thus far, Amaro has been anything but that. His transition to the NFL originally the year he was selected was a rough one. He looked confused on the gridiron and earned a reputation of dropping easy passes that he should easily come down with. Amaro also missed all of last year due to a severe shoulder injury.
Of course it’s not easy to thrive in the NFL, especially at tight end. But so far during training camp however, Amaro was getting major praise by his teammates and fans in attendance during public showings. He looked consistent, was doing good with his route-running and was making decent catches for the most part.
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Training camp and live action football however are obviously two completely different things as Amaro didn’t bring it come game time.
Of course preseason football is meaningless but Amaro didn’t make much of an impact when he saw some reps come his way.
Amaro had opportunities to make some plays but once again, showed that he’s still a bit raw and needs more work to develop to the next level.
Hopefully with more training camp and preseason football, Amaro can continue to hone his craft to have a bigger impact next time around.
With the Washington Redskins on the horizon, it’s a perfect time to see what Amaro could do as he continues to progress. He’s definitely gotten better compared to what he did in his rookie season but time is ticking to prove he’s worthy of getting more plays designed for him.
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Overall, hopefully his bounce back from injury is a good one once the regular season arrives. He’s got the potential, now it’s time to see if he can put everything together to finally give the Jets a reliable tight end capable of keeping those chains moving.