NY Jets: 4 players whose stock is falling after first preseason game

The NY Jets kicked off their 2021 preseason in style with a 12-7 victory over the NY Giants on Saturday. The game saw plenty of notable standouts on both sides of the ball.

The likes of Zach Wilson, Denzel Mims, and Ty Johnson made strong impressions on offense while the defense was carried by a dominant defensive line with players like Bryce Huff, Jonathan Marshall, and Hamilcar Rashed Jr. having big days.

It was an all-around impressive performance for Gang Green, but not every player managed to improve their stock.

The Jets are just a couple of weeks away from final roster cutdown day. By the time August 31st rolls around, the team will be forced to trim their roster to 53 players.

Over the next two or so weeks, the remaining roster bubble players will quite literally be fighting for their jobs. Some of those players did so this past Saturday.

But while many may have helped their cases, the players we are going to talk about weren't as fortunate.

Disappointing performances and lackluster showings led to the following four players hurting their standing with the organization. They each could face an uphill battle when it comes to either finding a consistent role with the team or even making the final roster.

Let's take a look at four players whose stock is falling following the Jets' preseason opener.

4. Jabari Zuniga, DE, NY Jets

It's safe to say that Jabari Zuniga's rookie season was a bit of a letdown. A quad injury sidelined him for the first half of 2020 and when he returned, he was little more than a footnote in a terrible Jets season.

In eight games, Zuniga managed just five tackles and one QB pressure in 103 defensive snaps. He was a complete non-factor.

Going into the 2021 season, Zuniga needed to make a strong first impression on the new coaching staff as he competed for playing time in a deep defensive line rotation. Unfortunately, he's had yet another slow summer.

The 2020 third-round pick has battled multiple injuries including a knee injury that forced him to exit Saturday's game early. But even when he was on the field, he was just a body.

Zuniga played nine pass-rush snaps and did nothing with his opportunities. Meanwhile, players like Bryce Huff and Hamilcar Rashed Jr. flashed their pass-rush abilities.

Zuniga's inability to stay healthy early in his career combined with his complete lack of an impact when on the field doesn't bode well for his chances to make the final roster this summer.

It would certainly sting to cut a third-round pick after just one season, but the Jets might find it difficult to save him a roster spot.

Carl Lawson, John Franklin-Myers, Vinny Curry, and Huff are all roster locks. Ronald Blair and Rashed have outperformed him. Kyle Phillips is hanging around on the PUP list.

Then you have the likes of Quinnen Williams, Folorunso Fatukasi, Sheldon Rankins, Nathan Shepherd, Jonathan Marshall, and even Tanzel Smart at defensive tackle.

That's 13 defensive linemen who deserve a roster spot over Zuniga based on merit alone. It will be hard to justify Zuniga earning a spot on the team unless he turns things around in a hurry.

3. Kenny Yeboah, TE, NY Jets

Many were excited when the Jets signed Kenny Yeboah as an undrafted free agent this past May. Viewed almost universally as a Day 3 prospect, the Jets reportedly had a fourth-round grade on Yeboah who was one of the most coveted undrafted free agents.

But as we approach the end of August, he's failed to do anything that would make him stand out.

That's especially disappointing given the state of the Jets' tight end room. Tyler Kroft has been the team's most effective tight end, and even he has dealt with drop issues in practice.

The position is wide open for the taking, but Yeboah hasn't done anything to indicate he should receive more snaps. Saturday's performance was further proof of his inability.

The Ole Miss product was targeted just once and that one play was arguably the lowlight of the Jets' night. Yeboah caught a pass from James Morgan in the flats only to fumble as he was tackled. The play would have gone for six if not for a last-ditch arm tackle from Morgan.

Yeboah finished as the Jets' lowest-graded overall player from Pro Football Focus receiving an abysmal 32.2 grade.

His chances of making the final roster seem to be growing slimmer by the day, even with his competition floundering.

There's still time for him to turn things around, but Yeboah did himself no favors with his performance on Saturday.

2. James Morgan, QB, NY Jets

While the headlines were always going to be about the two series of football that Zach Wilson played on Saturday, the real competition at the quarterback position came after Wilson left the game.

That's when the duo of Mike White and James Morgan took center stage with each player vying to convince the Jets that they are worthy of the backup quarterback job.

When the dust settled, it seemed clear who the better option was. And it wasn't the player the team spent a fourth-round pick on just a year ago.

White finished 13-of-19 for 127 yards and helped orchestrate the only Jets touchdown drive of the game capped off by a four-yard La'Mical Perine rushing score.

While he didn't light up the stat sheet, White looked like a competent NFL backup who made a few plays with the backups. The same can't be said for Morgan.

The former FIU standout finished 5-of-9 for 45 yards and failed to do much of anything with his playing time. The Jets struggled to move the ball on offense with Morgan under center and it wasn't just because of who he was playing with.

The team still has time to add another veteran quarterback to the room, but if they roll with their in-house options, White is the likely choice.

Morgan will need to show a lot more over the next couple of weeks if he is to win the backup job.

1. Chris Herndon, TE, NY Jets

The tale of Chris Herndon is a tragic, yet mysterious one. But time is running out for the former fourth-round pick to rediscover the magic of his rookie season.

And Saturday's lackluster performance was hardly a step in the right direction.

Herndon led all tight ends with 26 snaps, however, most of those came with the backups as Tyler Kroft once again received the start.

And in those 26 snaps, Herndon managed just one catch for nine yards and was a relative non-factor for most of the game.

Herndon entered the spring as the de facto starting tight end, but it wasn't long before he was working with the second-team offense behind Kroft and splitting time with Ryan Griffin.

Kroft and Griffin are journeyman veterans who don't exactly strike fear into opposing defenses. If Herndon, a player the Jets coaching staff is still high on, can't even beat out them, what does that say about his future with the organization?

It might still be a stretch to say that Herndon is on the roster bubble — if only because the Jets are so thin at tight end — but it's only a matter of time before he's phased out of the offense entirely if he continues to play like this.

Chris Herndon is on his last legs with the Jets organization. And he didn't exactly earn himself more playing time on Saturday.