New York Jets: The return of Chris Herndon can help stabilize the offense

The New York Jets will be getting some reinforcements sooner rather than later in the form of Chris Herndon. Here’s why he can help stabilize the offense.

There’s no other way to slice it, the New York Jets have been horrible on offense this season. The analytics speak for themselves.

But there’s one piece that will be returning sooner rather than later that can stabilize things offensively for the green and white: tight end Chris Herndon.

Now some of you may be saying to yourselves, how in the hell can a tight end stabilize an offense?

Here’s how.

Regardless of who is playing quarterback for the Jets, every QB can use a security blanket. Something to keep them warm at night. When all else fails, you’ll always have it.

That’s what Herndon is and can provide in this offense.

There are three big keys to playing tight end: security, seam, and red zone.

Security

Too often the offensive line has let Jets quarterbacks get pounded and injured. The quarterback doesn’t have enough time to go through his reads and find an open guy.

That’s why Chris Herndon can be a saving grace.

He can stay in to pass block, which provides additional time for the quarterback. Plus when things get hairy he can flex out as a pass option.

In other words, Chris can hover around the line of scrimmage and be a last resort for whoever is playing quarterback to dump the ball off for a minimal gain that could turn into something bigger with a missed tackle.

Seam

Herndon has ideal size (6-foot-4, 253 pounds), he’s young (23) and has wheels.

He’s too big for a corner or safety, he’s too fast for a linebacker, that’s what we call in the business a mismatch nightmare.

As a rookie in 2018, he finished with modest numbers: 39 receptions, 502 yards, and four touchdowns, but he has the potential for so much more.

Chris is a perfect example of the 2019 NFL tight end. Herndon has an insane wingspan and amazing hands that he routinely has shown off in training camp and at the Jets facilities.

Red zone

So far this season the New York Jets have the 24th ranked red zone offense in the league, per NFL Team Rankings.

When you look at the roster for gang green, there just aren’t any red-zone weapons. You have two tight ends who have size (Ryan Griffin, Daniel Brown), but they aren’t known for their pass-catching ability.

This team has sorely missed what Herndon can bring to the table.

Plus with Adam Gase coming in as an offensive wizard, we have no idea what more he can get out of Chris.

Prior to the 2019 season commencing Herndon was suspended for the first four games of the season stemming from a DUI incident. Which means despite the fact four weeks are about to go by, the Jets have only played three games with a bye week approaching.

So Herndon isn’t eligible to return to the team until a Week 6 home game vs the Dallas Cowboys. Until then the Jets will have to survive without him. Although when he does return to the starting lineup, Herndon will be able to stabilize things offensively regardless of who is playing quarterback.