NY Jets: Predicting the 53-man roster and 16-player practice squad

NY Jets specialists

• Matt Ammendola [K], Braden Mann [P], Thomas Hennessy [LS] (3)

The Jets are locked in at punter and long snapper. The hope is that rookie kicker Matt Ammendola continues to impress. Barring a collapse in the final preseason game, it looks like he will be kicking for the Jets in Week 1 at Carolina.

Don't be surprised if the Jets carry a kicker at some point on their practice squad to keep Ammendola's seat warm as added insurance if he falters.

Last season, many NFL teams carried an extra kicker on their practice squad to safeguard against injury and the pandemic. Because of Sam Ficken's injury last season, the Jets carried an extra kicker in reserve throughout much of the season.

NY Jets defensive linemen

• John Franklin-Myers, Quinnen Williams, Sheldon Rankins, Folorunso Fatukasi, Ronald Blair, Bryce Huff, Jonathan Marshall, Hamilcar Rashed Jr. (8)

The Jets have a weak spot at the defensive end position. With Carl Lawson out for the season, Joe Douglas will be working the phones. Vinny Curry is expected to start the season on the team's PUP list, so he could miss the early part of the season.

The question is, who will the Jets retain at defensive end if they don't acquire an edge rusher in the coming days. Bryce Huff and Ronald Blair are locked in to make the roster, but Hamilcar Rashed Jr. might temporarily end up on the active 53 by default.

One of the team's true breakout candidates is John Franklin-Myers. He is hurt by not having Lawson on the other side, but Gang Green is happy about his prospects this coming season.

The Jets have plenty of depth inside at defensive tackle, but they desperately need a healthy Williams/Rankins duo to generate a pass rush.

In theory, because the team no longer plays the 3-4, the Jets could carry as many as nine defensive linemen. Nathan Shepherd is good enough to be on any NFL roster as a quality backup defensive tackle, but the numbers game could squeeze him out.