The Jets' most invisible player may finally be unleashed in Week 15

Jelani Woods has unfortunately become one of the running jokes of the New York Jets’ season. He's a 6-foot-7, freakishly athletic tight end who fans swear might not actually exist because they’ve never seen him on the field.

Woods has appeared in just one game this year, playing a single offensive snap back in the team's Week 7 win over the Cincinnati Bengals, and has been a healthy scratch essentially every other week. But with injuries to the Jets' tight end room, the so-called “ghost” of the Jets’ roster may finally get his moment.

Rookie Mason Taylor has been ruled out for this Sunday's game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, while backup special-teamer Stone Smartt is listed as questionable with a concussion.

Smartt was a full participant in practice on Friday, but he still has to clear protocol before Sunday's game. Seeing as he suffered the concussion less than a week ago, that seems highly unlikely.

That leaves the Jets with just two healthy tight ends on their active roster: Jeremy Ruckert and....Jelani Woods. The team also has hybrid fullback Andrew Beck who can fill in at tight end and the newly-signed Nick Muse, who was added to the practice squad this week.

Still, it seems inevitable that Jets fans finally see meaningful snaps from someone who has been the most invisible player on the roster in Week 15. It's finally happening.

Jets fans might finally see Jelani Woods play significant snaps in Week 15

A third-round pick of the Indianapolis Colts in the 2022 NFL Draft, Woods was a freakish athlete coming out of college, posting a perfect 10.0 Relative Athletic Score that made him the most athletic tight end in NFL history — before that record was tied by ex-Jets tight end Zack Kuntz.

Woods ran a blazing 4.61 40-yard dash at a whopping 6-foot-7, 253 pounds, adding 24 reps on the bench press, and elite 3-cone, broad jump, and vertical jump numbers. He was a classic Combine warrior, and that made him a hot commodity come draft season.

Unfortunately, following a promising rookie campaign that saw Woods finish with 25 catches for 312 yards and three touchdowns, the Virginia product would be hit with a ridiculous string of bad injury luck.

Woods missed the entire 2023 and 2024 seasons due to injury, and by the time he returned in 2025, he had been phased out of the Colts' plans. The Jets would claim Woods off waivers after he was released as part of final roster cuts, and many fans hoped to see him in action at some point.

But Woods has been the invisible man on the Jets' roster. He's been a healthy scratch for all but two games and has only played one singular offensive snap. That snap marked his first NFL appearance in nearly three full years.

However, with Taylor and likely Smartt sidelined this week, Woods may finally receive a golden opportunity to contribute, both on offense and special teams. The Jets run a ton of 12 personnel as it is, with Ruckert playing over 41% of snaps for the Jets this season.

Ruckert will receive the lion's share of snaps, and Beck figures to see an uptick in playing time as well, but Woods should be factored into the team's plans, even if Muse is elevated from the practice squad.

The Jets claimed Woods for a reason back in August, and on Sunday, we may finally see their vision come to fruition. Jelani Woods season has arrived.