Mason Taylor has an obvious Jets opportunity he can’t afford to waste

Adding six points to the scoreboard shouldn’t be the only reason New York Jets tight end Mason Taylor hopes he and Geno Smith connect for a touchdown this season. 

Taylor’s lone score as a rookie came on a pass from running back Breece Hall. Despite recording 44 catches as a rookie, that marked the only time the former LSU standout reached the end zone. 

The respective arrivals of Smith and Frank Reich, a veteran offensive mind who loves working tight ends into the passing game, bode well for Taylor’s chances of finally having a more traditional touchdown catch. 

“It’s going to be exciting,” Taylor said. “A bunch of playmakers in that room, in the run game, in the pass, and it’s going to be a problem for defenses.”

New York Jets tight end Mason Taylor has capitalized on the increased action

Kenyon Sadiq’s continued recovery from a hernia only meant more first-team snaps for Taylor, and he took full advantage. According to The Athletic, Taylor caught 17 passes from Smith during team drills in training camp, the third-most among the Jets’ projected starters. 

Most importantly, Taylor easily led all tight ends, and he had only one fewer catch than breakout star Adonai Mitchell, who was arguably the Jets’ best offensive player. 

Then again, we shouldn’t be overly surprised. Smith and Taylor trained together in South Florida this summer, and Jeremy Ruckert’s primary role will be as an inline blocker. 

Reich and Aaron Glenn don’t have the job security to force passes to Sadiq solely because he’s a first-round pick. Otherwise, Omar Cooper Jr. would be a near-lock to receive more targets than Isaiah Williams, who also had a strong offseason. 

We’re nonetheless interested to see how much Smith relies on Taylor. The dup of Mitchell and Garrett Wilson will draw significant attention, and the Jets appear unlikely to regularly use running backs as receivers. 

“I loved the way he attacked this training camp, not just from a [receiving] aspect, but also from a blocking aspect,” Glenn said of Taylor. 

Taylor said that Smith and Reich will have “endless options,” especially after Jelani Woods made the 53-man roster. Woods played for Reich in Indianapolis and became one of the summer’s best stories; he’d missed all of 2023 and 2024 with injuries but maximized his reps with Cade Klubnik and the Jets’ second-team offense. 

Glenn said earlier this week that he expects Sadiq to play in Week 1. It is unclear whether he’ll be on a snap count, as he missed all of training camp and the preseason. 

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