New York Jets 2019: Ranking the 53-man roster — #32 Chris Herndon

The New York Jets season is over so it’s time to evaluate the 53-man roster. Let’s continue this daily ranking with #32, injured tight end Chris Herndon.

The New York Jets 2019 offense was to be anchored by Miami-bred tight end Chris Herndon, their 2018 fourth-round draft selection (107th overall) outta “The U”  with 40 receptions for 509 yards (12.7 yards per) in his rookie season.

But the Norcross, Georgia product blew his chance this season to reach those upper NFL echelons with a disconcerting array of legal issues, league suspension, poor conditioning, healthy scratches, and a season-ending IR due to fractured ribs.

The 6-foot-4 255 pound man-child’s 2019 flameout was so complete (just one reception for seven yards in 18 snaps) that any Gang Green fan would feel justified kicking CH4 to the curb in 2020.

But with Ryan Griffin slow to recover from tricky ankle surgery — and likely to miss OTAs if not much of training camp — Herndon incredibly has a chance to win back his starting job over the summer.

In training camp, an optimistic Adam Gase was so taken by the tight end’s blocking and catching skills that he hailed him as “a unicorn type player.” But like the iconic unicorn of literature, Herndon’s elevated stature reads more like fiction than fact.

This new Jets regime can’t be pleased with the underperformance they got from Herndon in 2020. Don’t be surprised if Joe Douglas brings in a capable free-agent TE to compete for playing time.

This franchise has invested much time and effort into developing Herndon — and now’s his time to reap some tangible results. In other words, we will have to see a very different Herndon next season than we saw this year.

#53 Trumaine Johnson   #52 Ryan Kalil    #51 Kelechi Osemele     #50 Quinnen Williams    #49 Chuma Edoga    #48 Frankie Luvu    #47 Sam Ficken   #46 Nate Hairston   #45 Brandon Shell     #44  Jordan Willis    #43 Vyncint Smith    #42 Kyron Brown    #41 Bilal Powell   #40 Maurice Canady    #39 Darryl Roberts   #38 Harvey Langi    #37 Tom Compton    #36 Trevon Wesco  #35  Daniel Brown   #34  Matthias Farley   #33  Demaryius Thomas