NY Jets reportedly expected to target FB Ben Mason on Day 3

The NY Jets have been looking to replicate a lot of the same roster-building strategies that their counterparts in San Francisco have enacted in recent years. And with rumors the team could target Michigan fullback Ben Mason, that trend might continue.

Pro Football Network’s Tony Pauline reported on Sunday that Mason is one of the more unheralded prospects in the 2021 NFL Draft class and that he’s pretty much a “lock” to go on Day 3 of the draft.

And perhaps no team is more interested than the Jets.

Pauline state that “more and more people” are telling him that “Mason is a natural fit for the Jets.” He followed that up by saying that the “expectations are that Gang Green looks Mason’s way in the middle of Day 3.”

Could the NY Jets look to target Ben Mason on Day 3 of the draft?

As Pauline noted, Mason projects similarly to fullback Kyle Juszczyk who spent the last four years playing under Robert Saleh and company in San Francisco.

If the plan is for new offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur to run a similar system to the one he helped run with the 49ers, it might make sense to target a player like Mason who could fill that Juszczyk role in the offense.

Much like Juszczyk who attended Harvard, Mason had offers from a variety of Ivy League schools including Dartmouth, Yale, and, yes, even Harvard. But he chose to attend Michigan as they offered him a chance to play linebacker.

Mason was a four-year standout on special teams at Michigan and spent time bouncing from offense to defense, even earning a start at defensive tackle in his junior season.

While on offense, Mason was primarily used as a fullback/H-back hybrid lining up mostly as a wing in the backfield. At 6-foot-2, 246 pounds, Mason is a violent lead blocker with a compact frame.

He has the tenacity to excel as a lead blocker in the pros and the size to match up with NFL linebackers. He’s unproven as a pass-catcher with little production to speak of in the receiving game, but his athleticism and success in limited opportunities leave room for untapped potential.

Mason was a two-time winner of Michigan’s “Toughest Player of the Year,” the school’s most consistent special-teamer, and a team captain in his senior year.

While Pauline and others have compared him to Kyle Juszczyk, he might be more comparable to someone like Patrick Ricard of the Baltimore Ravens, albeit a smaller version.

Nonetheless, the Jets could be looking to add a true fullback to the roster on Day 3 of the draft. And Ben Mason is widely considered the best (and perhaps only draftable) option this year.