4 NY Jets players whose stock is falling after mandatory minicamp

The NY Jets concluded their two-day mandatory minicamp on Wednesday officially bringing an end to the team's spring practices. The team will now have over a month off before reconvening for training camp in July.

While it's never wise to put too much stock in padless spring practices, they are useful to gauge where certain players on the roster stand ahead of the summer. They're also an opportunity for new players on the team to make strong first impressions.

Unfortunately, not all players emerge from spring practices in a better spot than how they entered the spring. Those are the players we're going to take a look at on this list.

Let's take a look at four Jets players whose stock is falling for one reason or another following mandatory minicamp.

4. Haason Reddick, DE, NY Jets

Haason Reddick isn't on this list for anything related to his performance. After all, he was one of just two Jets players who didn't step foot in the team's facilities this spring. Therein lies the problem.

Reddick's absence from OTAs and later minicamp has probably been the biggest story coming out of Jets spring practices. Reports have since emerged suggesting Reddick doubled back on his initial agreement to attend spring workouts and is now demanding a new contract before the start of the season.

The specifics of the situation are unclear, but what is clear is that the longer Reddick is away from the Jets, the worse it is for both the player and the team. Nobody wins in this scenario.

Expect the Jets to revisit extension talks with Reddick this summer in hopes of reaching a compromise. Nonetheless, this isn't how anyone envisioned his first few months with the organization going.

3. Zack Kuntz, TE, NY Jets

The Jets knew they were drafting a project when they added former Penn State and Old Dominion tight end Zack Kuntz in the seventh round of the 2023 NFL Draft. It wasn't a shock to see him fail to make the 53-man roster as a rookie, although there was some hope that an extra year of development would do wonders.

Through spring practices at least, Kuntz remains a longshot to make the final roster. The 25-year-old is firmly behind Tyler Conklin, Jeremy Ruckert, and Kenny Yeboah on the depth chart, and while Ruckert and Yeboah had strong springs, the same wasn't true for Kuntz.

Kuntz struggled with drops on a number of occasions and worked almost exclusively with the second and third-team offenses. Ruckert and Yeboah made strong cases for expanded roles on offense in 2024 — Kuntz doesn't look like he belongs on an NFL roster.

The Jets will give Kuntz plenty of reps this summer and they might look to keep him around again, but barring a major turnaround in training camp, I wouldn't bet on him making the team.

2. Malachi Corley, WR, NY Jets

It should be noted that it's still only June. The expectation is always that rookies will take a little time to get up to speed with their new NFL teams. Such has definitely been the case with Malachi Corley.

It's not necessarily that the 2024 third-round pick had a bad spring by any means, but Corley did miss time with an undisclosed injury and did little to stand out when on the field. He's also worked primarily with the backups.

Meanwhile, second-year wideout Xavier Gipson was one of the more notable standouts of OTAs and minicamp and seems penciled in as the team's starting slot receiver at the moment.

While many fans were quick to label Corley as the Jets' third wide receiver, he's still trying to work his way up the depth chart. Don't be surprised if he's not a featured part of the offense to begin the season. He's going to have to wrestle that job away from Gipson.

1. Israel Abanikanda, RB, NY Jets

There is no player on the Jets roster who has seen his stock plummet more over the last few months than Israel Abanikanda. Abanikanda entered the 2024 NFL Draft as the Jets' de facto RB2, only for his team to add two running backs on Day 3 of the event.

Both of those rookie running backs not only outplayed Abanikanda this spring but both of them have seemingly already surpassed him on the depth chart. The same is true for recent signing Tarik Cohen, who received more reps with the first-team offense than Abanikanda.

To make matters worse, Abanikanda suffered an injury during Tuesday's practice and was not on the field on Wednesday. All the while rookies Braelon Allen and Isaiah Davis continued to impress.

Abanikanda has gone from de facto RB2 to a player firmly battling for his roster spot this summer, and if OTAs and minicamp are any indication, that might be an uphill battle.