The New York Jets haven’t been winning games, and rookie tight end Mason Taylor has fallen off a cliff.
A media member revealed to head coach Aaron Glenn that Taylor hasn’t been as productive in the last five games versus the first five games of the season. She asked what AG has seen from him, and if the team has plans to get him the rock more.
“Absolutely. I mean, he is one of our dynamic players. So he is always in the plan of making sure that we are giving him the ball. Things happen sometimes where the ball doesn’t get to him, but there’s not a week that goes by that we don’t plan on trying to get him the ball. He has always shown what he can do as far as a receiving tight end and as a blocker. But being one of our threats, we have to make sure that we are getting him the ball. So you’re absolutely right about that,” Coach Glenn admitted.
The Numbers Back up the Media Member’s Claims
Taylor, 21, entered the league as the No. 42 overall pick in the second round of April’s draft. The 6-foot-5, 251-pound behemoth was a factor offensively through the first five games of the season.
During those games, Taylor was targeted 28 times and caught 20 passes for 175 receiving yards. However, in the next five games, Taylor has disappeared from the stat sheet.
The former LSU product was targeted 20 times and caught 14 receptions for 101 receiving yards and a touchdown.
Taylor has three and a half years remaining on his $10.4 million rookie contract.
Insider Says Jets Made QB Change With Taylor in Mind
This week, ahead of the Week 12 Baltimore Ravens game, the Jets made a QB change. Justin Fields got sent to the bench, and Tyrod Taylor was promoted to the starting lineup.
This was the first time this season that Coach Glenn made a change at QB ahead of a game, not due to injury. Coach Glenn went to Taylor because of Fields’ ineffectiveness in the passing game.
What was the other reason the Jets made the change?
According to ESPN NFL Insider Dan Graziano, rookie tight end Mason Taylor.
“The Jets’ reason for moving from Justin Fields to Tyrod Taylor has a lot to do with their desire to evaluate the young non-quarterbacks on their roster, especially tight end Mason Taylor and recently acquired wide receivers John Metchie III and Adonai Mitchell,” Graziano explained. “They haven’t been able to develop any kind of real passing game around Fields, whose running ability wasn’t keeping them competitive in games. They know Tyrod Taylor brings increased turnover risk because he’ll take chances Fields won’t, but they need to figure out what they have in the rest of their receiving corps before making an offseason plan. And they felt they weren’t going to be able to do that with Fields constantly checking it down and/or holding the ball too long.”
The Proof Will Be in the Pudding
How will one Taylor perform with another Taylor at quarterback? Shoulder shrug emoji.
Taylor has only started one game at QB this season for the Jets. It was the Week 3 road game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The former LSU product finished with the third-most receptions he has had in a single game this season. However, it’s hard to draw much from that, considering it was a one-game sample size.
The veteran passer should at least provide more opportunities/targets for Taylor in the passing game than Fields did, which is certainly progress.
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